Lost in the Movies: THE ARCHIVE Chapter 26: Awaiting the Good and Bad (November 2016 - January 2017)

THE ARCHIVE Chapter 26: Awaiting the Good and Bad (November 2016 - January 2017)


The coming year was already set to be "The Year of Twin Peaks," as the countdown to Showtime's third season began, but a few days into this period it quickly became clear this would be the year of something else as well. On the site at least, I knew which subject would be the focus (my attention on Twitter would be more evenly split) but both the exciting artistic promise and the political threat of 2017 haunted the remaining months of 2016. I belatedly cross-posted projects (often political) that had been published elsewhere during my Favorites series, shared some call-ins to a left-wing talk show, and reviewed the grimly beautiful Jame Campion TV series Top of the Lake - itself very much a synthesis of Peaksian and political landscapes.

Subjects include a documentary about Nat Turner, a new "Lost in Twin Peaks" segment for my Unwrapped appearances, a couple podcasts on Mark Frost's fresh Twin Peaks book, a final piece on The Prisoner (whose time on my site already felt like it belonged to a distant era), and the election of Donald Trump...via Twitter, of course

For this period, I'm highlighting Black/White: a video essay on Black Girl, asking relevant political questions through a formal analysis of Ousmane Sembene's groundbreaking film.

NOVEMBER

Nat Turner & Charles Burnett: video essay on Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Burnett's multifaceted documentary explores various incarnations and interpretations of Turner

Election Day Status Update
On the morning of the presidential election, I reflected briefly on my political evolution even as my engagement with current events had mostly vanished from the site (or rather, migrated to Twitter)

11:30 pm to 3:30 am: The Unthinkable
Tweeting the night of Trump's election

Lost in Twin Peaks #1: discussing the Owl Cave ring w/ Twin Peaks Unwrapped
Analyzing one of the most mysterious objects of Fire Walk With Me for a new, recurring Twin Peaks podcast segment covering various topics

Lost in Twin Peaks #2: discussing the theme of incest w/ Twin Peaks Unwrapped
How Twin Peaks confronts incest in its characters' lives (and how this relates to real-life scenarios), explored in another podcast segment

Lost in Twin Peaks #3: discussing Mark Frost w/ Twin Peaks Unwrapped
The work of Frost on and off Twin Peaks, part of a special podcast episode on the show's co-creator

Sci-Fi Countdown - Star Wars (CinemaVille discussion w/ Bob Clark for Wonders in the Dark)
I join Bob for his final countdown podcast, for the film where it all began

Discussing The Secret History of Twin Peaks #1 (Obnoxious & Anonymous)
With the third season still on the horizon, I talk Mark Frost's novel along with a podcast host who didn't care for it...

Discussing The Secret History of Twin Peaks #2 (Twin Peaks Unwrapped)
...and then I join in with another podcast to dig into the question of whether the book's "mistakes" are intentional.

Black/White: a video essay on Black Girl
A video study of how Ousmane Sembene used his film's design to express its political outlook

ODE TO BOSTON (video essay on Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench for Fandor Keyframe)
Clips from Damien Chazelle's low-budget musical form my tribute to a New England city

DECEMBER

Lost in Twin Peaks #4: speculating about season 3 w/ Twin Peaks Unwrapped
What might happen in season 3? I indulge in some guesswork with a podcast six months ahead of the premiere

December status update: where we've been, where we're going (+ my call to the Ben Dixon show)
Taking stock and sharing a political call-in as 2016 approaches its conclusion

Top of the Lake: a viewing diary
An introduction and directory for my first-time viewing of the Jane Campion mystery series

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 1 (Sundance version) - "Paradise Sold"
Barely a few minutes in, Top of the Lake quickly establishes the evocative landscape, whose unusual architecture, open space, and vague sense of melancholy recall The Sweet Hereafter

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 2 (Sundance version) - "Paradise Sold"/"Searchers Search"
What strikes me on my second visit to this bleak, dour town is just how funny it can be at surprising times

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 3 (Sundance version) - "Searchers Search"/"The Edge of the Universe"
Robin's fascination with the Tui videotape is one of Top of the Lake's clearest nods to Twin Peaks, placing her closer to the likes of Dale Cooper than the "True Detectives" but with an extra twist of identification

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 4 (Sundance version) - "The Edge of the Universe"/"A Rainbow Above Us"
The community is defined by the struggle between the powerful, maintaining a code of silence to preserve their power, and the victimized, keeping quiet to preserve something more valuable (and vulnerable) than power

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 5 (Sundance version) - "A Rainbow Above Us"/"The Dark Creator"
As the series moves toward its climax, here's an hour marked by death and discovery

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 6 (Sundance version) - "The Dark Creator"/"No Goodbye Thanks"
Characterized by sharp images, narrative twists and turns, and a growing sense of anxiety - something feels slightly off but the troubling storm on the horizon is moving too fast for us to escape

Top of the Lake season 1, episode 7 (Sundance version) - "No Goodbye Thanks"
The season finale provides an effective conclusion with at least one moment of brilliantly realized dread

JANUARY

The Prisoner - Final Conclusions w/ Christopher Yohn
With Top of the Lake finished and the year of Twin Peaks about to begin, I dip back into a previous viewing diary for a few last observations, plus a long guest reflection

Lost in Twin Peaks #5: Twin Peaks documentaries w/ Twin Peaks Unwrapped (+ other appearances & Ben Dixon call-in & status update)
Discussing the documentaries on the Entire Mystery blu-ray on a podcast

Lost in the Movies: Past & Future - a status update (sort of)
My shifting relationship to the movies and my online work



(I also covered this period on Episode 24 of my Patreon podcast)

Next: Characters Everywhere (January - May 2017)
(in which I study Twin Peaks characters in the lead-up to the new season)

Previous: Finishing the Favorites (May - November 2016)


No comments:

Search This Blog