Mulholland Drive : Reading Sign Language…

Reading Sign Language…

There exist many “signs” that can be discovered in MD that can help lead to a remarkably complete and interconnected view that relates back to David Lynch. The Mulholland Dr. sign after the pillow is perhaps a “sign” that can suggest we should be on the lookout for other “warning signs” on the dark twisting road ahead. All are “symbols” of one kind or another. I have previously explained how I view the title to be a metaphor relating to “material ambition” where the physical location of Mulholland Drive is home to Hollywood elite, a physical symbol of material wealth, fame, power and worldly success. “Drive” is a synonym for "ambition" and "desire". This is NOT the “road” that leads to “happiness within” (in a philosophical sense)…(as Lynch is known to speak of). The two words "Mulholland Drive" can be perceived as a symbolic metaphor meaning "material ambitions" or "physical impulse".

"We" are confused and mistakenly believe the physical/material world provides the "roads" to "happiness" but can lead instead to "inner negativity"...all depicted symbolically as an artistic composition within the film. The physical characters (and narrative) are simply abstractions used to symbolize the concept. The "real reality" is "inner" and the "solution" is to recognize and understand that in the film as well as our own lives.

I have not seen IE or LH but I expect these also have symbolic meaning having to do with the road to a happy life as a "lost highway" and Inland Empire referring partly to the inner mind. Also Eraser Head etc.

Another small "sign" example is an interpretation of the character name “Coco” as a “sign” referencing a “coconut”. The reference is portrayed in two ways…first when Betty arrives at Havenhurst and meets Coco, and later when she is at the dinner party sitting with Coco...The “same”…but different. ..like many things inside the film, the most obvious perhaps is the two different readings of the audition lines. “Coco”’s last name (at Havenhurst) is Lenoix which is French for “the nut” and “Coco” takes a “nut” when speaking to Diane at the dinner. In both cases it can suggest “coconut”. (I have read various interpretations but none of those connected for me though I don’t think any symbol has to have only one meaning even within a single interpretation.) I am not the first to make the “coconut" connection but I have a view as to how to understand it.

COCONUT:
One possible “sign” that works wonderfully for my POV is to understand what perceiving “Coconut “ can suggest as a “symbol”. Below are two links that describe related interpretations for a coconut. I have cut and pasted the relevant text and how I fit that to the film. These symbolic meanings also seem so simple and logically derived from the coconut itself. This simplicity and logic is something that can become more evident throughout the entire film when exploring the film using this approach.

http://www.mydreamvisions.com/dreamdictionary/symbol/2376/

http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/coconut/


“A problem that seems difficult to solve or a question that is difficult to answer, as in "hard to crack."

Meaning in film: As in the search for happiness/enlightenment…the film depicts an endless repeating search for “happiness” that is never understood.



“A situation where you can't get to something you want (since the inside of the coconut is difficult to get to)”

Meaning in film: Misunderstanding how to find happiness/enlightenment



“The idea of "tropical," or thoughts or feelings you associated with that, such as relaxation, escape, warmth, comfort."

Meaning in film: “happiness/contentment/peace/enlightenment”



“change of scenery, etc. The idea of effort paying off or something coming to "fruition" (as a tree produces a coconut)”

Meaning in film: Evolving to a higher level of consciousness.


From the second link...

Nuts can represent humanity: the kernel, or spirit, is encased by the shell, or flesh and bone. Nuts are also goodness hidden in a hard shell, so represent truths or realisations that were worthwhile working at
A nut to crack means a problem to solve, or in a nutshell suggests wisdom or information put in a compact form.
Smashing the coconut is symbolic of annihilating the ego and humbling oneself before Life.
The smooth outer skin of the coconut represents man’s Gross Body. Within the Gross body is the subtle body of mind, this is represented by the matted coir of the coconut, indicating the desires and attachments of man with the outer world. The hard shell represents the Causal Body and the white inside the Kernel represents the Self.
Coconut is a fruit, the end result of some action. Similarly as an end result of our actions we also obtain some fruit (a particular status in the material world and state of mind) PLUS a new set of desires from this achieved platform. Basically the end result of working on one set of desires is another set of desires. When you offer the coconut fruit to Life, the significance that you are required to keep in mind is that you are giving up the fruit, i.e. the new set of desires relating to the materialistic world.
Coconut Palm Tree is called the ‘Tree of Life’, ‘The tree from heaven which gives all that you desire’ by those living in coastal areas is as a thanksgiving to God and a symbolic gesture, for the path to Self Realization which you tend to forget in the midst of the stress and strain of day to day living.


I am not suggesting the character of Coco is necessarily representing these concepts but rather the connections made in the film "language" can lead to a "reading" that creates a "sign" that then can be related to the entire film...Signs that are easily missed and misunderstood, our own minds leading us away from where we think we are going. There are other ways viewers see this though IMO not as well developed.
ogt

Re: Reading Sign Language…


The Mulholland Dr. sign after the pillow is perhaps a “sign” that can suggest we should be on the lookout for other “signs” on the dark twisting road ahead


Not long after the MD sign we are shown Sunset Boulevard.

I think going from MD to SB is meant to convey something as well.

Re: Reading Sign Language…

Medinensis,


"Not long after the MD sign we are shown Sunset Boulevard.
I think going from MD to SB is meant to convey something as well."


I am uncertain exactly what you are referring to about going from MD to SB in this context. Maybe you mean HH? But there can be a journey from MD to SB in the full film too so maybe you are thinking bigger? In a sense the entire film can be seen as one big "warning sign" filled with separate related symbolic "signs" that connect to a larger "total picture". I tend to see both SB and MD as symbols filled with an oppressive feeling of negativity, but shown differently...the same but different.

The scene where Laura Herring ignores the light up ahead at the crash, looks up at the dark night sky and decides to "descend" into the darkness and bushes (and weeds) and "down" the hill to West Hollywood, passing Franklin and Sunset Blvd, can suggest ignorantly (amnesia) deviating from the intended "path" and "going down" a different "direction" into a "dark place". Note as Laura is in the weeds, the image of distant lights with cars headlights that seem to be moving too fast. (Perhaps recalling an earlier shot looking out over LA where headlights are symbolically moving "backwards"). First at Franklin Street we see Laura's frightened face brightly illuminated by some "headlights" from a passing "blue van"...a "warning sign" symbol...be careful! Notice how the back of the STOP sign is visible (unseen "stop"). At Sunset Blvd., red flashing lights from a passing police car are another but more intense "warning sign" (notice the "No Trucks" sign that can relate to the blue van/blue box). She continues down a towards a distant "glow" to eventually hide and rest outside the "closed" gate of Havenhurst. There had been some distant but noticeable red stop lights (warnings) in the background too during this sequence. In the POV I have tried to describe, these warning signs are sometimes missed, ignored and/or misunderstood.

I do not intend to necessarily suggest that "Laura's character" is being "warned" but only that symbolic warnings can be portrayed and decoded in a symbolic film "language" that might be understood by the viewer. This sequence (and all) has more that can be analyzed from this POV. There are seemingly endless connective details. In my view I interpret Laura as a symbolic embodiment of "physical desire" that leads to suffering. Perhaps it could be imagined that "desire wants to lead to suffering...the "desire of desire"...though I have not yet focused on that.

I tend to connect all of the locations together as like different symbolic elements within a mental landscape. We think we want the MD dream/desire but it was not what is expected when beginning the journey. It becomes a symbol of dark negative suffering, not the wonderful happy experience dreamed/desired for.

The sign at Sunset can of course suggest the film "Sunset Blvd." a film Lynch is known to enjoy. It portrays an aging silent film star living inside a self-centered, sad and desperate crumbling world of fantasy and self illusion that I can relate to MD. Additionally the word "Sunset" can easily suggest a coming of darkness that repeatedly returns in a cycle. It s another element that relates nicely for me in MD (as well as describing both Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis). Shortly after this we see another "warning sign" at Winkie's as a siren can be heard wailing and a palm tree is reflected in the sign.

ogt

Re: Reading Sign Language…


I am uncertain exactly what you are referring to about going from MD to SB in this context.


I wasn't going anywhere in particular, just thought that the mention of signs -- in any context -- must include mention of Sunset Blvd. As you observed, there are definite connections between MD and SB in theme.

The MD sign bookends the story of the two women. But so do other things surrounding the appearance of the sign. Rita is a stumbling mess, without an identity, descending to SB (even Hell as the sign indicates on the way to Club Silencio). Later she reascends the mountaintop with her sacrificial lamb in tow, appearing quite victorius. Dianne descends right after Rita, only fast tracking it using an escalator. One interpretation is that they are both already dead at the beginning of the film and we are viewing their journey in the spirit world. A bardo journey, some have suggested, perhaps.

Your observations nicely serve to delve deeper into what lurks beneath (within) the story, that which we connect with subconsciously (at least for those who feel the connection). Whether it is lost innocence, unfulfilled desire, betrayal, etc. Lynch isn't telling us a simple story, he's mapping out areas that tap into our subconscious without our realization. The illusion of a story is meant to draw us in slowly so that when we come out the other end we'll feel a whole lot more than we'll ever understand.

I enjoy the thought of Betty, the innocent, dressed in apple red, a temptation for Rita in the beginning of the film. With her red sweater on, Betty is tempting Eve (the naked Rita). But what is Betty offering Rita? What is Rita offering Betty?

In ancient myth that represented trouble.

If there's trouble -- get rid of it!

Not a bad warning to echo in our minds at all times.
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