DUNE...
Blue Velvet...
Twin Peaks...
The three works by David Lynch that I find eerily connected. I know most of you reading this are probably thinking, "Why is DUNE even listed as a connection?" I answer this simply: DUNE is heavily influenced by dreams and the main character Paul Atreides (played by Kyle MacLachlan as his film acting debut) is a Messiah-like figure to the Universe. Yes, DUNE was created by a whole other mastermind, Frank Herbert, but I believe that it is still a part of the Lynch-verse and that Lynch was very deeply influenced by the thought of such a messianic character as Paul Atreides. Though Lynch refuses any relation to DUNE due to not being given the final cut, it is still a masterpiece of its own. And worth the comparison.
As for those questioning Blue Velvet, it has been claimed by Sabrina Sutherland that David Lynch sees Jeffrey Beaumont (again played by Kyle MacLachlan) as Agent Cooper in his mind's eye. So this is too worthy of analysis on why I think Paul, Jeffrey, and Cooper are woven together as one being at either different times or alternative realities.
Now, first off, I start with DUNE. To really get the gist of what I'm about to say about this, feel free to watch the alternative redux of the film by Spicediver on YouTube. I've shared the link below this paragraph and it is so worth the watch and expands on everything that happens in the original cut. Would truly make those who loved DUNE in the first place love it even more, and those who weren't too much of a fan might like it more or not. Depends. But anyway, feel free to give it a shot. Even for those who have never seen David Lynch's DUNE, this will be your lucky start (don't read on til you do).
DUNE Alternative Redux brought to you on YouTube by Spicediver
Okay, so Paul Atreides. What about him? First off, he's been prophecized about to be the Messiah of DUNE and the Universe. He is feared by the Emperor and the arch-nemesis, the Harkonnens, and he is to be killed. He has dreams about DUNE and his future before his arrival on the desert planet and continues to prophecize what is to come. Unfortunately, he begins to lose his 'sight' and is to drink the Water of Life, which those before him have perished. From this drink, he becomes almighty and powerful, takes down the Emperor and the Harkonnens, and becomes the new Emperor of a new era. The spice is used to travel through space and time. A powerful drug to sustain life and change the natural eye color to a sapphire blue.
Now this spice is another major factor in my theory of connection. It can travel through space and time... This hints that using this drug could not only space travel but time travel as well.
Blue Velvet [Extended Version]
So, this would be able to time-jump us to 1986 in Blue Velvet, where we meet our Jeffrey Beaumont. He is the middle piece between the messianic Emperor to our beloved and quirky Special Agent Dale Cooper. Without him, all connection is lost. Now, this character sniffs out a mystery and becomes so involved in it that he's addicted. To the point, he loves the thrill of the mystery. He wants to help Dorothy Vallens and save her and her son from the psychotic clutches of Frank Booth and his drug gang. This spirals Jeffrey further into exploring the dark side of himself, to the extent of sadomasochism. He may not be much of a dreamer (though he is dreamy...*ahem*... Sorry... *whistles quite bashfully*) he enhances the path to a detective-like nature. He also has the white-knight syndrome (a similarity to Cooper when going into the Black Lodge to save Annie Blackburn) to keep going, despite the risk of getting killed at the hands of Frank Booth himself. We also can't dodge Jeffrey's love for black coffee and pie sweetly provided by Sandy's mother as seen in the extended version of the film.
Speaking of the extended version of Blue Velvet, there are added scenes that spark so much of Twin Peaks it is even more baffling. When Jeffrey and Sandy visit the Slow Club, they watch the performance of a big man in a red jacket (like the suit of the Little Man) doing slapstick humor, and the boombox during this performance has the name BOB on it. There are also red curtains on the stage, and there was a performance of a dog just eating from a doggie bowl (despite it not being a black dog that runs at night in Twin Peaks, it might have an overall dog symbolism to the Lynch-verse). Even though this comparison is obvious and in the original cut, Sandy has a boyfriend named Mike, who is a high school football player. In Twin Peaks, Donna Hayward's boyfriend is also called Mike and is a high school football player as well. Both Mikes have their girlfriends stolen from them - Jeffrey got Sandy, and James Hurley got Donna. It's like a story somewhat repeating itself in terms of the Mikes in the Lynchian Universe. Deja vu in the time loops, perhaps. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a MIKE in Blue Velvet, but maybe I missed something and didn't see it.
There could be other powerful Twin Peak-isque resemblances in Blue Velvet I either forgot or didn't think about, but it is a fantastic film closest to the iconic series. And we can't dodge the fact that Sandy Williams (played by Laura Dern) has some connection to Diane Evans in Twin Peaks, but we'll get to that in another article. Her assistance in Jeffrey's case is undeniably crucial, even though she gave him fairly little information that she eavesdropped on her father.
And now, time-jump to three years later into 1989. We have now arrived at the time of Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper. He's of the Blue Rose Taskforce, solving the mystery as to who killed Laura Palmer in the town of Twin Peaks. He uses his dreams as a method of solving the case and claims his dream-like connections to that of the Dalai Lama. From this, coming from the messianic Emperor of DUNE and the young sleuth of Blue Velvet, Cooper has the power of dreams and highly intellectual detective brains and quirks. He soon discovers that the town of Twin Peaks is much more than it seems. A dark supernatural force, as well as a psychotic ex-FBI agent Windom Earle, draws him to the Black Lodge to be doomed and trapped there for 25 years. He is then released in Twin Peaks: The Return to stop Mr. C and continue to fight against Judy, the Queen of Evil. He claims, as Phillip Jeffries had in FWWM, "We all live in a dream" and can travel through space and time (like the spice of DUNE) within The Return.
I hope this was well-written to state my theory on the connections between Paul Atreides of DUNE, Jeffrey Beaumont of Blue Velvet, and Agent Dale Cooper of Twin Peaks. Though I had written an immaterial section that had nothing to do with the three Lynchian characters, I found it fascinating and possibly crucial to display the eeriest of similarities between Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks to support my theory.
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