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The Women of David Lynch
David Lynch has been accused for decades of sexism and even misogyny in his work, due largely to frequent depictions of violence against women. Yet others see in Lynch’s work the deification of the female, and actresses like Laura Dern and Naomi Watts jump at every opportunity to work with him. “He is the master of the juxtaposition of the creepy and the sweet, the sexual and the chaste,” wrote W’s Lynn Hirschberg. “And at the heart of this tense, intriguing friction, you will always find Lynch’s women.” The Women of Lynch is a deep, provocative dive into this paradox, featuring ten essays, thought pieces and impressionistic interpretations of Lynch’s depiction of women on screen, by an eclectic array of accomplished female critics, scholars, performers, and writers, each tackling this vexing conundrum in her own unique way. The book also contains an interview with actress Mädchen Amick (Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks) where she gives first hand knowledge on what it is like to be a woman of Lynch. Lisa Hession interviews the original woman of Lynch, Charlotte Stewart ( Eraserhead, Twin Peaks ) about being the actress with longest active span of working with David Lynch. This is the first essay book about the work of David Lynch by all female writers. Readers will enjoy The Women of A Collection of Essays . This book contains essays x. An Introduction by Philippa Snow 1. The Uncanny Electricity of David Lynch’s Women by Leigh Kellmann Kolb 2. Women’s Melodrama and Women’s Trauma in the Films of David Lynch by Lindsay Hallam 3. A Colorless On the Whiteness of Twin Peaks by Melanie McFarland 4. Warding off the Darkness with Coffee and Pie by Mallory O'Meara 5. “This is where we talk, Shelly.” An Interview with Mädchen Amick by Lindsey Bowden 6. Welcome to the Bipolar Silencio Club! by Hannah Klein 7. The Triple Goddess by Lauren Fox 8. Isabella The Shocking “Real” in Blue Velvet by Kathleen Fleming 9. Tea And Mrs. Kendal and The Elephant Man by Rebecca Paller 10. Ornamental Gem or Protective Talisman? A Character Study by Marisa C. Hayes 11. "Mary X Marks The Spot." An Interview with Charlotte Stewart by Lisa Hession 12. Impressions of Journaling a Requiem by Mya McBriar Edited by David Bushman Concept by Scott Ryan Front Cover by Blake Morrow Art by Wayne Barnes & Hannah Fortune
176 pages, Paperback
Published July 7, 2018
14 people are currently reading
351 people want to read
About the author
Scott Ryan
46 books10 followersScott Ryan is the managing editor of The Blue Rose magazine, the author of Moonlighting: an Oral History, Fire Walk With Me: Your Laura Disappeared, the co-president of Fayetteville Mafia Press and the host of The Red Room podcast.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 2, 2021
emoc ot weiver
☕ si ti ereh:
I am and always have been a huge admirer of David Lynch's work, primarily his film and tv work but also his sculpture, painting, staging of performance art, and though I don't practice it his dedication to Transcendental Meditation and the generosity of his Foundation, for which he has made a scholarship available for the asking to any child worldwide, every one!, to learn TM.
With the onset of covid lockdowns he started a YouTube channel to help us all de-stress, and it's not about meditation. In the What's David Doing section this week I've watched him varnish a bookcase, demonstrate a stick with attachments he invented to evaluate his paintings as he goes which I can't possibly describe, make a wood phone case to steady his I-phone camera and mend a pair of khakis using paper towels and paint, this man who could, I think, afford to buy all the khakis in California. I'm not into home improvement, once painted a window shut, can't even post a picture let alone take an artistic one and don't sew but he's so brilliant watching him truly is relaxing because watching mastery of any sort is so engaging everything melts away. And he knows that just as he knows when and how to disturb viewers and snatch them from their comfort zones in his films.
Ever since I saw Eraserhead in college, and it was his student project for film school, I've been hooked on his trippy, brilliant work, especially the films and tv, especially Twin Peaks, but I've never subscribed to the magazines or hung out on websites or subReddits or bought books by unqualified people trying to deconstruct his meanings.
And I've never criticized the lack of diversity in his work because he's an older white guy born in a idyllic suburb of Boise and raised in an idyllic suburb in Montana who had to move to Philadelphia to "dirty up" his work which is all about what lies beneath, or in the case of Blue Velvet, next to, that white picket fence with the roses. I also never criticized Spike Lee for focusing on black Brooklyn. The best, deepest art comes from authenticity alchemized.
This book consists of a series of essays by Lynch fans, possibly contributors to one of the two Twin Peaks magazines that were published for years. Though this book is recent the criticism is old and stale, the essays themselves self-contradictory. There are straw-women arguments and slippery-slope arguments and with all the terrific books full of intelligent insights into Lynch and his oevre, had I known, this would have been a pass for me.
He's not a misogynist (and some of the essays discussing this quote actresses who say so, and none has ever said otherwise, not one) and it was great to read Isabella Rossellini say that the scene in Blue Velvet usually pointed to as Exhibit A of his Misogyny (including in this book) was not written that way; it was her idea to play it that way. A brilliant director allowing his leading lady to make an ugly acting choice that improved his film, this to me is not misogyny. Apparently she's been saying this in interviews ever since the film was released in an effort to set the record straight and stop his being bludgeoned with that scene, but all along it seems she's been shouting into the void (and in this book other essays will repeat that same criticism).
As for the charge of racism, no less than three essays, maybe more, point to the character of Jade in TP3, who is black -- one of only two they can count in his work and I've never tried to count the races or ethnicities so I'll take their word for it -- who is a prostitute. As with minor characters in all of Lynch's work, Jade has little screen time but a big impact on the story. She's mostly naked in the role, is seen having sex (gasp! a prostitute!) with a key character. This is how we meet him.
In one essay Jade is referred to as "...pleasing to the eye, a titillating plaything." Yes, and this is why that actress was cast and her character is counting those big bucks in the scene. Later we see Jade driving away in a fancy car having dropped off her client, alone and still apparently content.
Unlike Laura Palmer, the iconic white, blonde cheerleader whose rape, molestation, trafficking and degradation drives the entire series, Jade is doing what she wants. Based on what we see of her she's quite qualified for the job and Lynch's direction shows her beauty for reasons far beyond titillating for those with eyes to see more deeply. How a happy, good-natured, beautiful, sexy woman whose kindness sets many events in motion can be considered offensive by some, and proof of Lynch's racism by other, writers in the book is beyond me.
These accusations: there's no there. He's never been criticized by an actor or actress. Almost all of the stars of his work have been in multiple projects in very different roles. There's sex and nakedness in almost everything. The actresses adore him. That there's only one Native American and two Asians (these people count these things! too far!) is irrelevant; this is his vision and it's been consistent because like all art it comes from a deep place in his history and psyche and manifests in his creativity. I wonder if these writers would have had Van Gogh painting kitties.
This is a book that argues with itself, makes something out of little to nothing, and would have been worthless to me...
...if not for all the trivial little gems mentioned along the way. Not being glued to Lynch fan media I've forgotten more than I remember from his long career. Things like that Mel Brooks chose him to direct The Elephant Man, first film out of Brooks's new production company, on the basis of Eraserhead, Lynch's student film. That Mary, the leading lady in Eraserhead, was played by the same actress who played Betty Briggs in Twin Peaks and twenty-five years later in The Return. That the Log Lady's husband died in a fire. That's a biggie yet I forgot it.
And didn't forget this because it just wasn't on my radar then: That he was the first director to include a trans character on television. When we met David Duchovny's (minor) character in season one of Twin Peaks which aired in 1990, this FBI agent arrives in the small town in women's clothes and straightaway asks to be called "Denise." It was utterly revolutionary and yet so organic it didn't even register with me. Twenty-five years later, in the years prior to her short appearance in The Return, Denise has had gender reassignment surgery. In her only scene Lynch's Gordon Cole is very happy to see her in person again and congratulates her because she now runs a large division of FBI. Denise, like any victim of prejudice who is grateful to the one or few who have treated them fairly, is very thankful to Cole. But again, it's not a big deal; he looks at her and says with sincerity "when you became Denise I told all of your colleagues, those clown comics, to fix your hearts or die."
So many lovely reminders, eighty-six to be precis, incidental to the authors' intent, made me happy. But that's practically a coincidence.
It's so American, to take someone famous, be overly worshipful then knock them down and then redeem them. I could care less when it's Kanye and Kim but this is an artist who has created a body of work so rich with texture and subtext and beauty and ugliness and symbolism, so much depth -- which is why every work is still discussed no matter how old -- I mind, especially when it seems to be his own fan base though how these essays came to be curated is not explained.
Yet again I'm reminded that as regards Lynch, Europeans generally bring a far more refined and educated eye and pen when they watch his work, study and review it. Which is why he's never won an award in the U.S. but has won four times at Cannes, last time receiving a seven-minute standing ovation which moved him to tears. If that's a bit of bias against my own country I own it.
What a waste of time and space. If not for the eighty-six pieces of marvelous trivia I adore being reminded of, I'd delete it. The one I bought last week and the pre-order for February promise a Return to intelligent, enjoyable and yes cozy analysis, The Return for me to Lynch's work. One has read, the other yet to be published, but I am confident neither will object to Jade one bit, let alone to Lynch showing her taking a shower -- which in her mind and mine is healthy work-related hygiene no different than a surgeon scrubbing up.
☕ si ti ereh:
I am and always have been a huge admirer of David Lynch's work, primarily his film and tv work but also his sculpture, painting, staging of performance art, and though I don't practice it his dedication to Transcendental Meditation and the generosity of his Foundation, for which he has made a scholarship available for the asking to any child worldwide, every one!, to learn TM.
With the onset of covid lockdowns he started a YouTube channel to help us all de-stress, and it's not about meditation. In the What's David Doing section this week I've watched him varnish a bookcase, demonstrate a stick with attachments he invented to evaluate his paintings as he goes which I can't possibly describe, make a wood phone case to steady his I-phone camera and mend a pair of khakis using paper towels and paint, this man who could, I think, afford to buy all the khakis in California. I'm not into home improvement, once painted a window shut, can't even post a picture let alone take an artistic one and don't sew but he's so brilliant watching him truly is relaxing because watching mastery of any sort is so engaging everything melts away. And he knows that just as he knows when and how to disturb viewers and snatch them from their comfort zones in his films.
Ever since I saw Eraserhead in college, and it was his student project for film school, I've been hooked on his trippy, brilliant work, especially the films and tv, especially Twin Peaks, but I've never subscribed to the magazines or hung out on websites or subReddits or bought books by unqualified people trying to deconstruct his meanings.
And I've never criticized the lack of diversity in his work because he's an older white guy born in a idyllic suburb of Boise and raised in an idyllic suburb in Montana who had to move to Philadelphia to "dirty up" his work which is all about what lies beneath, or in the case of Blue Velvet, next to, that white picket fence with the roses. I also never criticized Spike Lee for focusing on black Brooklyn. The best, deepest art comes from authenticity alchemized.
This book consists of a series of essays by Lynch fans, possibly contributors to one of the two Twin Peaks magazines that were published for years. Though this book is recent the criticism is old and stale, the essays themselves self-contradictory. There are straw-women arguments and slippery-slope arguments and with all the terrific books full of intelligent insights into Lynch and his oevre, had I known, this would have been a pass for me.
He's not a misogynist (and some of the essays discussing this quote actresses who say so, and none has ever said otherwise, not one) and it was great to read Isabella Rossellini say that the scene in Blue Velvet usually pointed to as Exhibit A of his Misogyny (including in this book) was not written that way; it was her idea to play it that way. A brilliant director allowing his leading lady to make an ugly acting choice that improved his film, this to me is not misogyny. Apparently she's been saying this in interviews ever since the film was released in an effort to set the record straight and stop his being bludgeoned with that scene, but all along it seems she's been shouting into the void (and in this book other essays will repeat that same criticism).
As for the charge of racism, no less than three essays, maybe more, point to the character of Jade in TP3, who is black -- one of only two they can count in his work and I've never tried to count the races or ethnicities so I'll take their word for it -- who is a prostitute. As with minor characters in all of Lynch's work, Jade has little screen time but a big impact on the story. She's mostly naked in the role, is seen having sex (gasp! a prostitute!) with a key character. This is how we meet him.
In one essay Jade is referred to as "...pleasing to the eye, a titillating plaything." Yes, and this is why that actress was cast and her character is counting those big bucks in the scene. Later we see Jade driving away in a fancy car having dropped off her client, alone and still apparently content.
Unlike Laura Palmer, the iconic white, blonde cheerleader whose rape, molestation, trafficking and degradation drives the entire series, Jade is doing what she wants. Based on what we see of her she's quite qualified for the job and Lynch's direction shows her beauty for reasons far beyond titillating for those with eyes to see more deeply. How a happy, good-natured, beautiful, sexy woman whose kindness sets many events in motion can be considered offensive by some, and proof of Lynch's racism by other, writers in the book is beyond me.
These accusations: there's no there. He's never been criticized by an actor or actress. Almost all of the stars of his work have been in multiple projects in very different roles. There's sex and nakedness in almost everything. The actresses adore him. That there's only one Native American and two Asians (these people count these things! too far!) is irrelevant; this is his vision and it's been consistent because like all art it comes from a deep place in his history and psyche and manifests in his creativity. I wonder if these writers would have had Van Gogh painting kitties.
This is a book that argues with itself, makes something out of little to nothing, and would have been worthless to me...
...if not for all the trivial little gems mentioned along the way. Not being glued to Lynch fan media I've forgotten more than I remember from his long career. Things like that Mel Brooks chose him to direct The Elephant Man, first film out of Brooks's new production company, on the basis of Eraserhead, Lynch's student film. That Mary, the leading lady in Eraserhead, was played by the same actress who played Betty Briggs in Twin Peaks and twenty-five years later in The Return. That the Log Lady's husband died in a fire. That's a biggie yet I forgot it.
And didn't forget this because it just wasn't on my radar then: That he was the first director to include a trans character on television. When we met David Duchovny's (minor) character in season one of Twin Peaks which aired in 1990, this FBI agent arrives in the small town in women's clothes and straightaway asks to be called "Denise." It was utterly revolutionary and yet so organic it didn't even register with me. Twenty-five years later, in the years prior to her short appearance in The Return, Denise has had gender reassignment surgery. In her only scene Lynch's Gordon Cole is very happy to see her in person again and congratulates her because she now runs a large division of FBI. Denise, like any victim of prejudice who is grateful to the one or few who have treated them fairly, is very thankful to Cole. But again, it's not a big deal; he looks at her and says with sincerity "when you became Denise I told all of your colleagues, those clown comics, to fix your hearts or die."
So many lovely reminders, eighty-six to be precis, incidental to the authors' intent, made me happy. But that's practically a coincidence.
It's so American, to take someone famous, be overly worshipful then knock them down and then redeem them. I could care less when it's Kanye and Kim but this is an artist who has created a body of work so rich with texture and subtext and beauty and ugliness and symbolism, so much depth -- which is why every work is still discussed no matter how old -- I mind, especially when it seems to be his own fan base though how these essays came to be curated is not explained.
Yet again I'm reminded that as regards Lynch, Europeans generally bring a far more refined and educated eye and pen when they watch his work, study and review it. Which is why he's never won an award in the U.S. but has won four times at Cannes, last time receiving a seven-minute standing ovation which moved him to tears. If that's a bit of bias against my own country I own it.
What a waste of time and space. If not for the eighty-six pieces of marvelous trivia I adore being reminded of, I'd delete it. The one I bought last week and the pre-order for February promise a Return to intelligent, enjoyable and yes cozy analysis, The Return for me to Lynch's work. One has read, the other yet to be published, but I am confident neither will object to Jade one bit, let alone to Lynch showing her taking a shower -- which in her mind and mine is healthy work-related hygiene no different than a surgeon scrubbing up.
May 10, 2025
The quality varies greatly throughout a collection of what are essentially internet blogposts. The first few pieces were particularly good- with a standout offering from Melanie McFarland who boldly examines Lynch’s problematic depictions of people of color and women. A few interviews offered some nice insights into what it was like working with Lynch. Aside from those, there are some head-scratchingly bad bits of writing from Hannah Klein and Mya McBriar that do not belong. Better quality control and more critical examination of Lynch’s employment of stereotypes would have made this more worthy of consideration.
February 3, 2023
bought this at the Academy museum. as if snubbing the director for multiple awards wasn’t enough, the academy has decided to disgrace Lynch’s films with this subpar collection of repetitive essays.
First couple are great, and the interviews are pretty good, but a few (I won’t name them, feels mean) are just god awful. Some unbearably boring, others devoid of perspective, and a select few written so terribly as to make you feel bad for the wasted paper.
I guess if you have a free afternoon and want to play Russian roulette with a lopsided collection of essays you might find something nice here. Otherwise, just read better articles online.
First couple are great, and the interviews are pretty good, but a few (I won’t name them, feels mean) are just god awful. Some unbearably boring, others devoid of perspective, and a select few written so terribly as to make you feel bad for the wasted paper.
I guess if you have a free afternoon and want to play Russian roulette with a lopsided collection of essays you might find something nice here. Otherwise, just read better articles online.
April 7, 2021
The best birthday gift in the history of birthdays, perhaps! I love my friends and how well they know my tastes !
This book is a classified first rate banger, but considering it mixes film criticism, feminism and one of my favourite directors, that's just... Probably the least surprising thing I've said all year. Still, just in case this wasn't clear from my rating and overall enthusiasm, this is really, really good, and I do highly recommend it to any Lynch fan passing by. What a strange nice old man!
This book is a classified first rate banger, but considering it mixes film criticism, feminism and one of my favourite directors, that's just... Probably the least surprising thing I've said all year. Still, just in case this wasn't clear from my rating and overall enthusiasm, this is really, really good, and I do highly recommend it to any Lynch fan passing by. What a strange nice old man!
April 21, 2020
The opacity of Lynch couched in TM often allows people to speak too vehemently on his work having an inherent meaning or the lack thereof being his signature. He is a product of his baby boomer idyll and subverts the family unit deftly.
July 31, 2019
This book is great for any Lynch fan. I only wish there was more. And while most of it is all Lynch love, it isn't all adoration. I want a second volume exploring more characters and issues.
April 7, 2020
“He’s drawn to electricity, but he doesn’t want to know how it works. The depth and breadth of the women in Lynch’s filmography clearly show how drawn he is to women, but he’s likely not reading critical feminist theory to help inform his work.”
Would be more aptly titled THE WOMEN FOR DAVID LYNCH, as there was only one essay critical of his work. As someone who owns an ERASERHEAD t-shirt (and, until recently, a TWIN PEAKS pennant), I was able to appreciate this for what it was: a female-led homage to Lynch's female characters. However, I was interested in reading this to experience dissenting takes. The book acts as though this essay collection provides a nuanced, multidimensional answer to the oft-asked question, "Is Lynch's work misogynistic?" Instead, it's just a lot of essays saying, "NOPE" (+1 essay thoughtfully critiquing Lynch's lack of/portrayal of racial and ethnic diversity). Gotta love confirmation bias.
Would be more aptly titled THE WOMEN FOR DAVID LYNCH, as there was only one essay critical of his work. As someone who owns an ERASERHEAD t-shirt (and, until recently, a TWIN PEAKS pennant), I was able to appreciate this for what it was: a female-led homage to Lynch's female characters. However, I was interested in reading this to experience dissenting takes. The book acts as though this essay collection provides a nuanced, multidimensional answer to the oft-asked question, "Is Lynch's work misogynistic?" Instead, it's just a lot of essays saying, "NOPE" (+1 essay thoughtfully critiquing Lynch's lack of/portrayal of racial and ethnic diversity). Gotta love confirmation bias.
July 15, 2019
The scholarly essays and interviews were good. I could have done without the essay that was nothing but an attack on Lynch for not shoehorning more non white characters into his movies to meet some imaginary diversity quota.
August 11, 2021
One thing that's clear from even a casual appraisal of David Lynch's films is that he asks a lot of his actresses. In movies like Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and Wild at Heart, female characters are frequently subject to abuse, assault, and degradation; opening Lynch to scathing criticism from critics like Roger Ebert and many others. But Lynch also elicited some of the most memorable performances from actresses over the last four decades. Frequent performers like Laura Dern and Naomi Watts have fiercely defended his work.
The role of women in Lynch's films is a fascinating topic for an essay collection and is one that The Women of David Lynch, wisely, turned to women writers for. Like any collection, some of the contributions here are stronger than others. The best of the lot may be about race, not gender: Melanie McFarland's "A Colorless Sky" is a sharp critique of the relentless whiteness of Lynch's films. The collection also includes fascinating interviews with Madchen Amick from Twin Peaks and Charlotte Stewart of Eraserhead. Others are less memorable but all are worth reading.
Of course, this book probably wouldn't be very appealing for people who aren't already fans of David Lynch's movies. But if you, like me, admire his films and find them unique and fascinating, then this essay collection is a worthy purchase.
The role of women in Lynch's films is a fascinating topic for an essay collection and is one that The Women of David Lynch, wisely, turned to women writers for. Like any collection, some of the contributions here are stronger than others. The best of the lot may be about race, not gender: Melanie McFarland's "A Colorless Sky" is a sharp critique of the relentless whiteness of Lynch's films. The collection also includes fascinating interviews with Madchen Amick from Twin Peaks and Charlotte Stewart of Eraserhead. Others are less memorable but all are worth reading.
Of course, this book probably wouldn't be very appealing for people who aren't already fans of David Lynch's movies. But if you, like me, admire his films and find them unique and fascinating, then this essay collection is a worthy purchase.
December 20, 2023
love that they made this but almost all the essays seemed so unserious to me. I think David Lynch is one of the most important feminist artists of the last like 50 years and I guess I just wish this could have been written with real scholarship and research, but maybe that’s not really what this was supposed to be.
March 30, 2019
Highlight essays by Lindsay Hallam and Melanie McFarland, and a couple of excellent interviews!
April 19, 2019
This one’s hit & miss but the hits hit hard. Definitely worth a read for Lynch fans.
June 15, 2019
Strong work from all contributors, with the exception of the chapter that is basically a Twitter thread and the one that is a creative writing assignment.
February 27, 2024
An essay anthology usually means you get some you love, some you hate, and most in the middle. This collection was weighted heavily in the Not Great column. The two essays about Jade were superb.
November 9, 2024
7/10
Favorite quote: It is a symbol of creation, mysticism, and feminine power.
Read review on Instagram story highlights here: https://www.instagram.com/jazmyn_art/
Favorite quote: It is a symbol of creation, mysticism, and feminine power.
Read review on Instagram story highlights here: https://www.instagram.com/jazmyn_art/
May 23, 2019
Although filmmaker David Lynch has sometimes been accused of misogyny (due to his frequent, and often graphic depictions of 'women in trouble'), the women who work with him tend to disagree, and there is also a growing body of feminist critics who find empathy and compassion in his movies. With the 'male genius' trope taking a battering in the age of #MeToo, this is a timely collection (following up on a 'Women of Lynch' edition of Lynch fanzine Blue Rose last year.) Lindsay Hallam, who recently published a monograph on Lynch's Fire Walk With Me, compares his oeuvre to the classic women's pictures of Hollywood's golden age; Kathleen Fleming analyses Isabella Rossellini's brave, and controversial performance as the abused Dorothy Vallens in Blue Velvet; Rebecca Paller looks at the real Madge Kendal, the stage actress who befriended John Merrick, as portrayed by Anne Bancroft in the Elephant Man. Mallory O'Meara's portrait of Norma Jennings (from Twin Peaks) is timely, as actress Peggy Lipton recently passed away. Two other Twin Peaks stars, Madchen Amick (aka Shelly Johnson) and Charlotte Stewart (who appeared in Lynch's debut, Eraserhead, before her role as Betty Briggs) are interviewed here. While most of the essays are supportive of Lynch, Melanie McFarland provides a lone dissenting voice with her harsh, but justifiable critique of the absence of non-white characters in his work. However, Marisa C. Hayes, while acknowledging this shortcoming, finds redeeeming qualities in Nafessa Williams' role as Jade in the recent Twin Peaks revival. Alongside the more cerebral pieces are personal takes and some creative writing. These were less appealing to me (just a matter of taste) but still made good points. Overall, it's a mixed bag but a worthwhile read with a wide range of perspectives.
December 30, 2019
I really enjoyed this. Of course, some of the essays were better than others, but overall, it was enjoyable.
October 19, 2019
I thought this book was really great. Very much enjoyed it.
January 22, 2025
thank you david lynch for making women in your films have their own stories and im sorry some people decided to write shit essays about them
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews