Buy Or Don’t Buy

First: By “David Lynch TV,” I don’t mean Twin Peaks. That would be a definite Buy.

What I do mean is his newly launched website, David Lynch Foundation Television. The David Lynch Foundation was created to promote Transcendental Meditation, which Lynch has been practicing for 35 years, and to provide funding for students to learn how to meditate transcendentally. Basically he believes that if like 25% of the world learned how to do this, it would bring about world peace. (…Yeah.)

A few days ago, DLF.tv launched, and as a Lynch fan I don’t really know what to think, regardless of my views on TM. Lynch has a long history of maintaining an Internet presence, releasing web-only films on his website, maintaining a Twitter account and posting a video weather update every day. However, this site has more than just an inkling of self-importance to it. For example, this is featured prominently on the home page:

Considering it’s on his own website, it kind of screams, “HEY! WOULDN’T IT BE THE COOLEST THING EVER TO MEET ME?” (And the truth is, no, it probably wouldn’t. Because you’d be all, “Dave, what up with Inland Empire?” and he’d just smile and hand you a chocolate milk or something.) It’s also pretty presumptuous to think that there’s an audience interested in watching a whole category of videos entitled “David Doing Stuff.”

Many of the videos that make up the “television” part of the endeavor are, shall we say, underwhelming. For instance, in this video, Lynch imparts the brilliant insight that the reason people think his movies close the gap between art film and Hollywood is that…his movies include elements of art film and elements of Hollywood film.

Then he tells an audience “how to make a good movie”: make your actors practice a lot.

Basically, these “Daily David” interviews sound like they were plucked from the mind of a college freshman who took Intro to Film because he thought he’d get to watch Forrest Gump again.

Even so, there are three things that prevent me from making this a Don’t Buy:

1. It’s David Lynch! One of my faves! Director of Blue Velvet, Mulholland Dr., Twin Peaks…even when his movies have zero logical consistency (hello, Lost Highway) he’s a master of mood.

2. He managed to convince Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to perform together live again…that’s no small feat, and it’s pretty savvy considering that now a bunch of Baby Boomer Beatles fans who’ve never heard of TM are paying over $100 to attend a concert dedicated to it.

3. Where else can you see the oddity of David Lynch rocking out with Moby?