Politics of Twin Peaks

The strange and wonderful place of Twin Peaks captivated audiences for more than two decades before its long-awaited return to television in 2017. David Lynch and Mark Frost created a land that embodies the politics of American culture. With its focus on small-town America and life outside urban centers, rural and suburban values play a big part in the overall Twin Peaks narrative. More than just a soapy murder investigation or a mysterious puzzle to be solved, Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Return are metaphors for the political years in which they are set. The Politics of Twin Peaks investigates the show’s engagement with American politics and identity. With a close relationship between the two, Twin Peaks is the rare cultural landmark in both film and television whose timelessness is defined by the fact that it can constantly be reinterpreted. Within that sometimes dreamlike Lynchian narrative, Twin Peaks hints at, sometimes explicitly and sometimes subtly, the political fault lines in the United States. In this edited collection, the politics inherent in Twin Peaks is approached from numerous points of view.

Aristotle argued that man is a political animal, but political readings of Twin Peaks have been slow to surface until now.Twin Peaks is a series about a community and the societal questions that community confronts, warranting further investigation from a political-philosophical approach. This is what The Politics of Twin Peaks does using an array of useful theories and approaches., This book offers a much-needed political perspective on Twin Peaks and skillfully weaves together the meanings of both the original and return series.

Amanda DiPaolo is associate professor of human rights at St. Thomas University.Jamie Gillies is associate professor of communications and public policy at St. Thomas University.