Below the Threshold. The dark side of the everyday from "Twin Peaks" to "Dark"

Abstract

Since the opening of Blue Velvet, David Lynch’s cinema questioned the aura of respectability of the American middle-class. Through a peculiar use of the Freudian concept of uncanny, Lynch showed that – just under the surface of what is perceivable – another dimension is lurking. This specific theme is even better expressed in Twin Peaks, where the brutal murder of Laura Palmer makes the homonymous community crumble. This specific feature of Lynch’s aesthetics is present in many TV series that try to actualize his legacy. The idea of a closed suburban community where something perturbing and shocking suddenly happens is present in series such as Stranger Things (with the Upside-Down) and Dark, just to name a few. Moving from these premises, the essay explores the ways in which these two contemporary series adopt a Lynchian aesthetics in order to promote a specific counter-narrative of the suburban utopia.