Hi Jeremy,
Let’s see if we can continue this discussion now that it’s weekend.
When Sue looks directly at Lost Girl after her death, we don't know exactly what Sue is seeing (or how). Lost Girl is looking at her TV, but how does Sue see Lost Girl? We don't know.
Yes, you’re right about that. We don’t know what Dern is seeing. I’ve checked that scene just now and it’s indeed pretty odd. The only thing we know for sure is that Lost Girl sees Dern staring straight into the camera. Although we later on see a projection on the celluloid in the theater with things that occur right at that moment, I don’t believe that Dern can see Lost Girl at that moment. It seems to me that Dern doesn’t show signs of recognition, but rather of something she feels intuitively. She looks in the direction of Lost Girl intuitively and feels something…perhaps it feels “familiar?” It’s obvious this whole sequence is surreal since we suddenly find Dern in the theater, while she was at the backlot of the studios.
I would say that Sue probably sees Lost Girl's face clearly at the earlier points in the movie, when she sees Lost Girl's instructions and then watches the scene(s) from Lost Girl's life. Being spiritually lost and confused at that point, I would not expect Sue to recognize Lost Girl quite yet — not in the full sense.
The only time we see Dern and Lost Girl interacting is when they embrace: we NEVER see them together in one scene before this. I find it hard to believe that when Sue watched the scenes of Lost Girl that she doesn’t recognize her.
Once Sue is transported, the beautifully insane thing is that we then see that Lost Girl is watching Sue watch her memories. Inception! Once that connection is made, Lost Girl then steps in as a guide.
But…we have ALREADY seen Lost Girl give advise to Sue. After she tells Sue about burning a hole through the silk the first thing that Sue sees is another Dern. Right after this the prostitutes show her Old Poland. So…the connection is made AFTER Lost Girl already had stepped in as a guide.
Then, when Sue burns the hole in the silk, we see time spinning backwards (on the watch), and Sue finally gets to see actual scenes from Lost Girl's life. Just as Lost Girl has been watching scenes from Sue's life. (I think that's indisputable, frankly.)
Why do you think that we see time spinning backwards right at that moment?
Sue, in fact, slowly steps forward and initiates the kiss that melds them.
Yes, indeed. Dern is the one that initiates that kiss. Why do you think that is?
- Calling Nikki "fake" is not quite right. It's better to think of it this way: Nikki is the spirit, and Sue is who she was in one life. Nikki "becomes" Sue because she is remembering (reliving) that life. Then when she finally returns to spirit form, that is indeed Nikki once again.
This is such an instance where I think our views of LH and MD do come into play. I see similar patterns in all three movies where some names are concerned. Lynch uses names just as he uses colours: they do play a significant part in the storytelling. So…Nikki Grace is rather obvious of course as is Sue (aka Sue Blue). We never hear the name of the last Dern we see. She also looks very different than the Nikki we were introduced to. What do you think the image of the last Dern means? And why does she wear a blue dress?
On a side note: I’ve read the analysis of Kylefoley76. Although I admire the effort he has put into this, I’m not at all convinced by his reasoning. Many of his interpretations are pretty farfetched and his overall view (in regard to the meaning of IE) I find pretty convoluted. Your theory of reincarnations at least has consistency and no contradictions. I think it is a viable interpretation. I do think it is inevitable that there are always some minor things or little scenes we cannot put our fingers on, but that’s part of the ongoing appeal of this movie, I think.
You notice that I ask many questions. They involve things that I do not find in your analysis and think are important. I am just wondering how you incorporate these things into your overall view. Yes, we have different views and that makes a discussion like this worthwile. My view isn’t complete and maybe it never will, but I’m pretty confident about certain aspects of it. Like for instance:
- We never see the actual “woman in trouble”
- The Dern character never committed a “real” murder
- The Dern character had an extra-marital affair
- We see a suppression fantasy unfolding through time
These are observations I’m pretty convinced of. This does contradict with your view in that you see only the Nikki Grace sequence as a fantasy, while the rest as a journey to the purgatory (well to put it simple and blunt anyway). To discuss all the non-Nikki Grace scenes means we are comparing apples and oranges. For instance: I’m not worried about explaining locations and movements of characters, since I view IE as the inner workings of the mind of the Woman in Trouble. Hence I view practically everything in IE as metaphorical. Though your theory of reincarnation I find pretty sound, you do have to explain alot more when it comes to these things. You’re right about not having to explain how reincarnation or the spiritual realm works, but even than there are scenes that do not fall into that category like The Rabbits for instance.
Okay, tonight I will check out the next chapters in your analysis: from “Dream Origin” to “Enlightenment.” Looking forward to it.