‘GOTTA LIGHT?’: INTERROGATING AMERICAN DARKNESS IN EPISODE 8 OF TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN THROUGH FORMALISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12795/REN.2024.i28.11Keywords:
Visual analysis, darkness in storytelling, America,, formalist studies, Twin Peaks: The Return, media studies, Bruce BlockAbstract
This article examines how darkness is visually depicted in American storytelling within the eighth episode, “Gotta Light?” of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). To explore the visual storytelling in this episode, I apply the lens of Bruce Block’s The Visual Story (2020), a formalist framework for visual media, to identify specific visual structures in key sequences. The components of Block’s methodology—line, shape, space, and tone—critically explore how visual elements construct thematic depth, portraying darkness as a complex, narrative-rich element of the American psyche. The article provides examples of film scholarship that explore darkness in the context of both America and Twin Peaks, underscoring the narrative significance of darkness as a thematic constant. Block’s framework not only reveals “Gotta Light?” as a seminal televisual reflection on American sociocultural issues but also demonstrates the accessibility and applicability of a contemporary formalist framework in media studies.
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Accepted 2024-11-14
Published 2024-12-02
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