David Lynch and Poststructuralism

Harmony Gibson

Eraserhead is one of the most oddly surreal films you'll ever see.

Shot entirely in black and white and directed by David Lynch, it's an introspective, disturbing and ambiguously told story about a man who lives in a depressing, post-industrial world. His life is further disturbed by the birth of his baby, which he has sick and twisted visions about and views as a grotesque creature. The plot itself seems to have absolutely no rhyme or reason, which allows it to fall within the definitive confines of Poststructuralism in theory.

Poststructuralism highlights lack of structure, absence of patterns, and fragmented narration while emphasizing a total rejection of classic literary structure.

Eraserhead, in keeping with Lynch's typical style, encapsulates this rejection of traditional storytelling and tells a tale more so through its chaotic and bizarre imagery than the actual plot itself.

Lynch uses poststructuralism in almost all of his films, reveling in the fact that none of them have any single, fixed meaning and emboldening the given themes through the discomfort of the viewer.

Because of the abstract notions he so often employs, much of Lynch's work is left entirely up to interpretation. Eraserhead in particular has been defined many different ways-- one might argue that it focuses on the isolation and fear that arises in the face of sudden parenthood, others claim that it brings to light the bleak and enslaving reality of capitalist society, a decidedly Marxist approach. Others may choose to view it as straightforward: about a man who is insane and suffers from hallucinations.

I believe that Lynch's intent is to emphasize the lack of control any of us have over our circumstances. Through a Poststructuralist lens, it makes it quite clear that Lynch wants the viewer to be acutely aware of this, by creating a viewing experience which is just as poststructuralist as the narrative. He creates a world so absurd and unsettling that by the end, the viewer is comforted by the protagonist's return to mundanity, which, before the escalating absurdity, had held such dreariness and anxiety. One way of viewing this is by assuming Lynch is making a point that 'it can always be worse', or that no matter how safe one feels or how closely one adheres to societal expectation, the underlying cynicism and bleak reality remains. No matter the interpretation, Lynch's lack of structure and abstract filmmaking style creates the ambiguity, solidifying it as THE perfect Poststructuralist example.

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