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Dudestein1958's Replies
Not just sarcasm, but sad and lame sarcasm.
It's a variant of Penis Envy. Baby Hands Trump must also wear baby shoes....
I at least made progress in your stopping to conflate both 'Macguffin and Deus Ex Machina, which are separate ideas in Film criticism theory. I guess the future may not be all lost to a generation of Hipster dufus-ness.
"Case Closed" ?
No, it was bored to death. But I do know you took intro to film 101 as a College Freshman.
So green gloved comic book boy was a Deus Ex Machina, not a MacGuffin. The thing that made him interesting was why would this guy be given such a comic book like a super power. Until that moment it seemed like it was whimsy, which so much of this series lent itself to. It's like asking for the truth and meaning of Cotton Candy. It has no meaning, but people have fun eating it.
Sunny-jim and Dougie Jones Vegas family was whimsical. It approached slapstick comedy. Nothing in this, or for that matter any of David Lynch's work conformed to any rules. You may have seen 'Eraserhead', but I studied it for weeks when it was the regular Midnight Saturday movie at the Roxie in San Francisco. His vision always has, and always will, probably, exist as a Lucent dream lefty up for interpretation.
No, you should have paid more attention in your Intro to Film 101 class.
The "Deus Ex Machina" which literally means 'God From a Machine", is named as such because it describes an event and/or a solution to a problem that is virtually miraculous and unforeseen.
A MacGuffin is as I said. But do you need me to cut 'n' paste it from a Hitchcock quote? OKAY.
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In fiction, a "MacGuffin" — sometimes spelt "McGuffin" or "Macguffin" — is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist (and sometimes the antagonist) is willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to pursue, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it is considered so desirable. A MacGuffin, therefore, functions merely as "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction". Common examples are money, victory, glory, survival, a source of power, a potential threat, a mysterious but highly desired item or object, or simply something that is entirely unexplained.
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Mc·Guf·fin
[məˈɡəfin]
NOUN
MacGuffin (noun)
an object or device in a movie or a book that serves merely as a trigger for the plot.
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So which is it, a Deus Ex Machina or a Macguffin? There is no such theory in film criticism as a Deus Ex Machina Macguffin.
Hitchcock coined the term Macguffin as some plotpoint that drives or triggers the plot, while Deus Ex Machina which literally translates as a God Machine in the resolution of the plot. One starts a plot, one ends it.
Maybe they can repurpose Arnold? Perhaps the original Terminator was modeled on a real life character in the post apocalyptic future and Arnold can be him. It can really refresh his role in the franchise as well as appease the nostalgic fans. They pay just as much at the box office...okay, some get the senior discount....
I'm not a JJ Abrams fan and I think his Star Trek reboot series is mediocre at best. And to clarify the story, the universe in Trek was the same universe UP TO the moment Kirk is born and his father dies...etc...etc... blah blah... Not a fan of the reboot.
But my point still holds, and it is IMHO only as a possible interpretation. But after Dale and Diane drive past 430, something fundamental changes.
"Deus Ex Machina McGuffin "
Sorry, but your watching Twin Peaks, not CSI. We suspended reality 26 years ago. This show is all dreamland, part nightmare, Part Pop Culture satire, part nostalgic road trip....plus alot of other parts I'm forgetting. But none of those parts is a crime procedural.
The first hour was in many ways the Finale to the season. The ending was the successful plan to destroy Bob. It was like the most complicated Pool shot ever! When we saw the guy with the green glove, the brain smashing glove, you wrote him off as a whimsical allusion to the odd world of David Lynch's Lucid Dream world. It worked out. Diane and Dale together, Cooper as we remember him most the true blue FBI man.
Hour 2 after Dale goes back to the Lodges(For the life of me I don't know which is which) he reunites with Diane on a road trip of 430 Miles. Exactly. Lynch doesn't waste our time having to have some other characters tell Cooper This, he just acts on the information. We know he's been given it.
At the 430 Mile marker Cooper and Diane drive into another reality. Time and location change. They change. At least Diane changes. While Dale is registering for the Motel Room, Diane's sees her Doppel. Or is the Diane in the Car the Doppel? The next morning Diane leaves a note and mentions their names, but all wrong. Are they their names in a 'Different' Reality? Laura Palmer isn't Laura Palmer. The Palmer House in Twin Peaks isn't owned by the Palmers, not even the previous owners. Something about REALITY has fundamentally changed.
Was Dale's and Diane's drive past that Mile Marker the impetus for this Universe Shift? Are all the other characters changed too?
I have an odd feeling, since David Lynch likes to homage other shows, movies and the Zeitgeist of culture, this was a nod to the Star Trek Reboot which had the universe change in a time travel event.
:-)
Way back in the 1970's there was a series of 3 Musketeer movies. In the 2nd one, they actual shot not only the 2nd movie but also got all the shots for the third one. But everyone was paid for 1 movie. This was one of the most audacious acts by a producer and a movie studio. Since then after the lawsuit, a more stringent definition of what constituted a feature film, or hourly and half hour tv productions could do. If they shot 1 2 hour episode but in syndication sold it as a 2 part episode, hell would ensue.
[quote]I'm preparing for a cross-country road trip with my dog[/quote]
Perhaps Harlan Ellison can write about it....
Sling allows you to Watch episodes on demand, and they archive previous episodes. On some channels, (NOT AMC) you can even stop and rewind or even go back in the broadcast history and restart an episode.
P.S. They all say 'no login required' to use the app. You can watch previews and the occasional 'FREE' episode. But when one tries to watch a full length episode, you'll get redirected to a login page.
Is your Internet provider also your cable company? Probably the only way you can get streaming is that your internet provider automatically logs you in. The great majority of time you will be asked to log in. This I know from experience. I've tried. Always asks me to log into my cable subscriber.
I'm not a big fan of that either. Mostly I think they try to keep episodes near 1hr with the syndication value kept in mind.