![]() ![]() Many critics, like myself, cite Jim Sterling’s “Blatantly Better” series as the moment they took interest in Deadly Premonition. Add to that a labored internal timing system that demanded the player live on a strict schedule and drive to the game’s many remote locations in real time and well, it was a decent mirror of the mundanity of rural life. And yet, somehow the low budget feel only enhanced the campiness established by the game’s primary source of inspiration, giving it an antiquated feel that was right at home with small town themes of remoteness and isolation. By the time the Twin Peaks homage hit retail shelves, the graphics and conventions were already massively outdated. When Deadly Premonition, the work of the eccentric Swery65, emerged, it had already been through a host of setbacks, including a port to the Xbox 360 from the PlayStation 2 before it was even released. In that sense, it comes as little surprise that Twin Peaks found an enthusiastic audience in Japan, where generally the population is more comfortable with a lack of resolution in narrative fiction. Lynch’s art is often his attempt to translate random, obtrusive imagery without analyzing or questioning its meaning, a trait that is tied deeply to his comfort with the horrific and the surreal (and, it should be noted, is responsible for the improvisational elements of the development of Twin Peaks, including multiple key plot points and the creation of the characters Maddy and BOB). He is allowed an unrestrained indulgence of his creative fascinations and thus, his stories are intertwined with a patient attention to detail that is equally honest as it is subtle. While, for example, The X-Files or Twilight use the setting as a lazy narrative shortcut meant to evoke mood and mystery, Lynch seems to be as caught up with his characters as the audience is. It’s perhaps due to this same humanity that Lynch succeeds in his portrayal of the Pacific Northwest where so many others have failed. Like the show itself, Lynch showcases a humanizing and vulnerable duality, revealing that for all his darkness, he still cherishes the light. Against decades of “lovable asshole” sitcoms and irredeemable antihero dramas, the strength of character in the noble Cooper, the pure and steadfast Major Briggs, the quiet but dependable Deputy Hawk, the humble hero Harry Truman, the tenderhearted Andy Brennan, the adorably lovestruck Gordon Cole, the loyal and long suffering Ed Hurley, the stalwart and principled Albert Rosenfield, and the affable Pete Martell are refreshingly optimistic, despite Lynch’s desire to expose the seedy underbelly of small town living. ![]() It naively believed in a world where men are good people the women, though flawed, are handled with compassion. ![]() While surreal and inexplicable, Twin Peaks always struck me as hopeful. In attempting to illuminate the drama and personal complications that come when “everybody knows everybody”, he also established a very sympathetic portrait of the good he believes still resides in the countryside. David Lynch (along with series co-creator Mark Frost), however, did a fair job. Few are able to resist the lurid temptation of sensationalizing or exotifying the seemingly bizarre nuances of small town life. Speaking as a woman who grew up in one of the many logging towns that inspired Twin Peaks, there aren’t many artists who “get it right”. Unless you’ve lived it, you don’t get to complain. The combination of rural isolation and poverty puts us on the defensive. Outsiders may maintain a sense of awe and reverence that reflects the forbidden mystery of our forests and wetlands, but only we’re allowed to pick on the Pacific Northwest. Any criticism of its portrayal from an insider always has a whiff of sibling entitlement. Growing up in Western Washington is a unique experience, one that can instill a kind of possessiveness when you see it depicted in books or on film. ![]()
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