Aquaman #37: Headline
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54 “Great to finally meet you, Your Majesties.” the man in the suit said, nodding to Orin and Mera. “My name is Dr. Stephen Shin. I’m an expert on Atlantis; or, at least, an expert on surface perceptions of your fine nation. I’ll be interviewing you today.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Shin.” Mera sat with her legs folded and her hands clasped lightly on her lap.
Orin sat next to her. They were in plain wooden chairs that he was finding very uncomfortable. He had no idea how Mera was able to look so composed; he couldn’t stop fidgeting. “Likewise. I assume you’ve been very busy these past few months.”
Shin smiled. “That would be correct. But for you two, there’s always time. Shall I start with my questions?”
Nodding, Orin tried to force a smile. He had heard smiling helped people feel more relaxed. He had spent the last few weeks travelling, meeting with international delegates, and it had worked wonders for him. “Go ahead, Doctor.”
Clearing his throat, Shin held his papers up to his eye level, peering through his bifocals. “You may have fully revealed yourself to the world recently, but a few years ago, Your Majesty, you showed yourself and your abilities to us as a member of the Justice League. Have you noticed any difference in treatment now that the world knows you’re a king, as opposed to when you were strictly considered a hero?”
“There is a bit of a difference. People still do their best to treat me well, and people are still wary of how powerful I am. But it’s a different type of power.” Orin tapped his foot as he thought. “I’d say the biggest difference isn’t across time, but across space. In Atlantis, I’m the king. That’s what I’m known for. Here... people look at me, they see Aquaman, not King Orin. So getting past that impression is the hardest part for me when trying to be taken seriously.” He glanced down at his clothes before laughing. “Maybe I should be wearing a suit instead of these scales. That might command more respect.”
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Orin tried to look nonchalant, the blond-haired white man in Tokyo thumbing through a tankōbon with somebody who looked an awful lot like him on the cover. He had started a world tour of sorts. His travels hadn’t started out that way. At first they were just a few visits to individual countries. However, it seemed whenever he got around to visiting a country there were three more invitations waiting for him back in Atlantis, so it got to the point where he simply wanted to do all of them in one fell swoop.
And when he got to Japan, it only made sense that he should go and check out his manga. The temptation to see what the world thought of him was too alluring.
He couldn’t read Japanese, but flipping through it it was obvious that the mangaka had taken some... creative liberties.
When he reached the drum-playing octopus he had to back out.
Sliding the tankōbon back on the shelf, he headed back to the entrance, sliding past a couple teens, whose mouths gaped open. “Aquaman...” he heard one of them whisper.
He nodded in their direction as he exited the store. They followed, pulling out their phones and taking pictures. Orin waved his hand as he speed-walked away. “No pictures, please.”
They kept following him. As he walked, a few people turned to stare at him. They recognized him. Blub.
He took a deep breath as he headed for Tokyo Bay. Looking over his shoulder, there were now around a dozen people following him, and as the noise behind him grew louder he broke into a run. The bay was within sight, with only one street between him and the harbour.
The light turned red just a second too late, the intersection in front of him filling up with cars. He was swarmed by more camera flashes and people reaching towards him with pen and paper, looking for autographs.
There was nothing for him to do but give the crowd what they wanted.
Two hours later he finally made it the last hundred metres to the Bay, slipping into the water softly. Hopefully wherever he headed next, he wouldn’t be as much of a celebrity.
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Chuckling, Shin lowered his papers for a second. “Maybe. So Your Majesty Queen Mera...”
“Just Mera is fine.” she broke in. “I personally don’t mind, for the purposes of this interview. Do you mind if he uses your name, Orin?”
“Fine by me if you call me Orin, Dr. Shin.”
Shin nodded, glancing down at his papers. “Alright then. Mera, this has been your first major exposure to the surface and surface life. Have you been experiencing culture shock?”
Mera absentmindedly twirled her hair around her finger. “I don’t think culture shock’s quite the right word for it. Orin’s told me all about his life growing up, so I had a good idea of what the surface is like. And I don’t spend much time there anyways, since Orin’s much better suited to deal with our foreign relations considering his upbringing. From what I’ve seen, however, it seems like a very nice place, though it is very strange in some ways.”
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Orin strolled down the boardwalk, holding Mera’s hand lightly in his. It had been a while since they’d had any real alone time that wasn’t taken up by the whale in the room of governing Atlantis.
He had wanted to bring her to the surface for a while, and Atlantic City was as good a place as any. Whenever they wanted to leave, they had an easy path to the sea, and he had never been as a child.
“So you’re telling me these casinos... people go there knowing that they’ll probably lose money?”
“Yeah,” Orin nodded. “But there’s a chance they might win. So they’ll keep trying.”
“People will do anything for a chance to win, huh?” she noted.
Orin turned to face her, pushing her scarlet hair back over her shoulder. “Maybe that’s what we’ve been doing, too. Trying to stare down the rest of the world and win.”
“We have a superhero, we can manage that.” Mera buried her face in his chest as she gave him a hug.
“Thanks for the support.” Orin said, stroking her hair. “Now come on, let’s get some taffy.”
Mera looked up at him from the hug. “Taffy? Some surface food, I presume.”
“You got it. It’s good, you have to try it. Nothing like this in Atlantis, I can promise you that.” Orin had been counting the taffy stalls as they had been walking, and he had gotten up to almost fifty. Spotting one just ahead of them, he pointed as he said “Let’s go to that one.”
As they approached, the man behind the counter smiled at them. “You want some taffy?”
“We’ll take a bag.” Orin said.
“What is this... taffy... exactly like?” Mera asked cautiously.
The taffy maker smiled. “You’ve never had saltwater taffy before?”
“No, this’ll be my first time.”
He stared off into space. “Ah, if only I could experience having taffy for the first time again...” He turned back to Mera, a grin on his face. “You’re in for a treat.”
Mera nodded. “Thank you very much.”
Orin paid for the taffy, and they made their way to a nearby bench. Sitting down, with his arm around Mera’s shoulder, Orin opened the bag.
Taking a piece, Mera popped it into her mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed. Her face lit up. “This is really good!”
“I’m really happy you like it. Here, take another.” Orin smiled as he unwrapped the taffy.
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“Well, I’m very glad to hear you think that about us.” Shin turned back to face Orin. “Do you think Atlantis has anything to be afraid of from the surface? Or vice versa, of course.”
“If we had to fear anything from the surface it would be surface weaponry, and surface heroes. Just knowing that we exist makes us a much easier target to hit.” Orin said. “After all, it seems like there’s a threat to civilization as we know it a couple times a month, so that in itself is a terrifying proposition for a nation to face for the first time, or at least be made newly aware of.”
Mera squeezed Orin’s hand, the signal to let her take over. Looking over to her, she smiled at him. “As for the surface being afraid of us, I wouldn’t be too worried. We’re relatively small, and while many of us do have... powers, we will do our best to keep our citizens in line. Rest assured that we have no intentions of attacking the coastal nations of the world.”
Shin smiled at her. “Thanks for the reassurance.”
“The Justice League trusts me.” Orin said calmly. “If you trust them, then you can trust me.”
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Having imagined England as an alternative magical world as a child, Orin was disappointed, to put it mildly, as he made his way through the streets to the rendezvous point.
It just looked like the US, except the street was mirrored.
And it was a lot more rainy.
Head down, still hoping that he’d stumble across something out of one of the imported picture books he read as a kid, Orin turned into a small alcove and knocked on a plain, unassuming, dark blue door, paint faded from what seemed to be long years of neglect.
The door opened, and Orin walked through, head still down.
He found himself in a plain foyer that had a few hallways branching off of it. Using his powers to push the rain off of himself, he collected it into a ball and used the water to give the plants in the corner of the room a light shower before walking down the hallway with the gold carpeting.
Fifth door on the right. Knock four times. Orin stood around in the hallway for a few seconds, tapping the shoes he had purchased the day before in Ottawa. Shoes didn’t keep long underwater; he’d gone through three or four pairs already since he had started his tour.
Orin looked around the room. Three diplomats, there to greet him. They shook hands, gave him their names. Plus a hero in the corner, as always, this one dressed in a Tower Guard outfit. Nobody bothered to tell Orin the hero’s name; it was like he wasn’t there.
It wasn’t actually that bad. They didn’t have too many questions for him, especially compared to some of the other NATO countries he had visited, and said they could use a similar contract to the one Atlantis had used with the US. Plus he didn’t have to worry about his words going through an interpreter, which was a nice bonus.
After only an hour and a half he was ready to leave. It was short, as these meetings went. As he turned to go after shaking hands, one of them tapped on his shoulder.
Stopping, he looked back at her. She was shorter than average, with green eyes and blonde hair that was tied back in a bun. Her name had been given as Stubbs. “Can we speak in private? It won’t be long.”
“Alright, you know somewhere here that’s private?” Orin asked.
She nodded. “Just through here.” Moving quickly, she pulled open the door to the hall. Orin followed and stuck his head around the corner to see her unlocking another door a couple doors down.
He followed her as she pushed the door open to reveal a bare room with a couple chairs. Closing the door, she moved to lock it behind her. Orin grabbed her hand.
“I’d rather not be locked in here with somebody I don’t trust, Stubbs.” Orin said quietly. “Please leave it unlocked, if you can’t leave it open.”
She paused, and looked up at him for a second, casually leaning against the door. “OK” she replied.
“So what is it you wanted to ask me?” he asked. “Must be pretty important if you need so much privacy.”
She looked around the room, drawing a shaky breath and letting it out before responding. When she did, it was in a hesitant tone. “Have you heard about N.E.M.O.?”
Orin scratched his head. “No? Should I have?”
Stubbs smiled for a moment. “If you had I’d be surprised. But you should know about them and that’s why I’m telling you. They’re an organization that seeks to gain control over the oceans. I have a... family connection to them. I know they’re trying to destroy you and Atlantis as a whole.”
He nodded, pushing past her to grab the door handle. “Thanks for letting me know. Hope you have a good day, any other hobby groups you want to let me know about?”
“No, you don’t understand, they’re going to destroy Atlantis!” she repeated, placing her hand over his, struggling to prevent him from moving the handle.
Orin sighed. “Listen, Stubbs, there are always going to be groups wanting to destroy you. You learn that, as a king. Almost none of them are going to be able to make any serious attempt. I’ve learned to let it go.” He opened the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to make it back to Atlantis for dinner.”
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“That leads me to another question.” Shin pulled out a pen and scribbled down a few words on his paper. “Has the Justice League said anything to you about your reveal? After all, it has made a pretty big splash.” He sat in silence for a few moments. “Pardon the pun.”
“Any conversations I’ve had with any other members of the Justice League are between us, Dr. Shin. That being said, it’s nice to be able to be more open. You might see me helping the League more often in the future; I know I haven’t been the best teammate.” Tapping his finger on the arm of his chair, Orin gazed at a fixed point in space. “Leading Atlantis has and will always come first, and I trust my teammates to handle crises.”
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There was a quick knock on the door before Dolphin came rushing in on a cold current. Orin and Mera were eating dinner together, Orin having just returned from another surface visit. “We’ve got mail!!” She swooped down in front of her foster parents. “Got a few letters from your Templar friends, Mera. And something that is apparently top secret for you, Orin.” She squinted at a package she was carrying about the size of her fist, that had been stamped with a Top Secret stamp on five of the six sides. Tentatively, she placed it in front of him.
“Thanks, Dolphin.” He stared at the box as it sat on the table. He hesitated to open it. The sixth side bore a different stamp. The Justice League one.
“You gonna open that now?” Mera asked.
Orin looked at the box for a few more seconds before answering. “I might leave it for a few days. Let it sit a bit, you know?”
“You should probably open it now.” she said, showing him a letter she had received.
It simply stated, in letters big enough for him to read it from across the table:
TELL ORIN TO OPEN HIS JL BOX ASAP!
“Alright, fine, I’m doing it!” Orin said as he dug his nail into the box, prying it open.
Inside was a Justice League communicator and a note. Picking up the scrap of paper, Orin squinted at the tiny writing:
Hi Orin, We didn’t know if your communicator got lost or broken, since the originals weren’t pressure-tested, so here’s a new one that should work even down in Atlantis! We haven’t heard from you in a while and you’ve been on our minds recently so here’s a token of appreciation! Btw I rigged it so I get a notification if you broke the seal, so you should receive a call from me soon! All the best, Watchtower
(Then there were two lines below that were even tinier, each in their own handwriting:)
+ Wonder Woman And Wonder Girl!
The communicator buzzed. Staring warily at it, Orin pressed the button with one finger.
“Hello? This is Watchtower calling Atlantis? Anyone there?”
Clearing his throat, Orin responded. “Hi Watchtower! This is Aquaman speaking from Atlantis.”
“Oh good, we were able to reach you! I was worried it would get intercepted somewhere along the line. So, how have you been doing?” Watchtower’s voice sounded out across the dining hall with just a hint of static.
“We’re doing good! Yeah...” Orin looked across the table at Mera, staring at him as she slowly chewed her greens. “We’re eating dinner right now, though. Can we call you back later?”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever works for you guys. I always forget about time zone differences. Just give me a shout when you’re available.”
“Will do. Talk soon.” Orin turned the communicator over in his hand.
“Alright, talk then!” The absence of the voice somehow made the hall seem that much emptier.
“So... who was that?” Dolphin asked, grinning.
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“I don’t think any of us fault you for your devotion to Atlantis, Orin. It is a truly incredible place.” Shin said as he flipped over his page. “One last question for the night. Would you say that you’ve met with any... complications with your arrival into the larger global marketplace?”
Mera replied, her quiet voice resonating in the mostly empty room. “Things have been mostly smooth. We’ve been opening up in stages, and things have been running smoothly. The biggest complication has been sorting out the mess of requests for surface visits and trade that we’ve had since we’ve started opening up. Turns out when a whole world suddenly opens up, people want to see it.”
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The first requests for visas to Atlantis had come in the day before, and Swatt was a bit swamped, to say the least. He was surprised he had found enough filing cabinets in all of Atlantis to keep things in order; he hadn’t bothered to count the requests, but there must have been at least a few hundred. And each one had to have a reason for visiting that had to be corroborated with some Atlantean contact, and they had to have a background check from their associated government... it had sounded good at the time, but he didn’t know that there would be so much work.
Knocks sounded on the door to Swatt’s office. Fast, three times. Grumbling, Swatt got up and opened the door to find Tula waiting for him. “We’ve got a disturbance out at the trading point. Your assistance is needed as soon as possible.”
“Is that supposed to mean now?” Swatt asked.
“Yes” Tula replied.
“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming.” Swatt followed Tula, the door left open behind them. Blub the visas, they could wait until another day.
It took a while to reach the outer limits of Atlantis, where the trading point was located. Swatt wished he was able to talk to Tula, but due to only being half-Atlantean he was marginally slower than her, and his breathing was strained just trying to keep up.
A lot of the other Drift soldiers tended to look down on him. It happened, especially considering his origins and relative lack of skill, but Swatt had helped train Tula when she was just a kid coming up through the ranks, and he hoped that she still thought well of him. At least she remembered to go slowly.
When Swatt finally surfaced and pulled himself over the edge of the sea platform that served as the hub, the problem wasn’t immediate. There was no man standing over a bomb, nor was there a boat full of rice that needed to be paid for, cash on delivery.
As he clambered onto the platform, everything looked normal. That is, until Tula brought him over to a Black woman with two young children, standing together next to a speedboat at the edge of the platform. “I’ve been here an hour waiting for someone who can see to let us know if you guys can take us as immigrants yet. Couldn’t find anything saying for sure online so I just figured I’d come and see what you guys can do.”
There was a hiss as Swatt removed his helmet. “We don’t have anything set up in stone yet, but we might be able to work with existing laws, set something up real quick. I’ll talk to the king, see what I can do.”
She nodded, optimism tinging her voice. “Thank you. I don’t want a part in any country that’s gotten to the point that Lex Luthor might turn out as president.” She spat out Luthor’s name spitefully.
Swatt pulled his helmet back on and dove into the ocean.
A couple hours later, he returned. “Alright, I’ve drafted up this basic immigration law, nothing fancy but it’ll do, and I got the Queen to sign it. I’ve got somebody to bring up suits for you and your children. Had to guess at the sizes, but they should be close. Is it alright if you come to my office for some forms?”
She nodded, a smile on her face. “Thank you so much for all of this, I never meant to cause so much trouble, I swear.”
“We needed immigration law anyways, ma’am. Don’t worry too much about it.” Swatt looked at the setting sun across the waves. Another day gone. But at least he had gotten something done, helped somebody out. In the end, wasn’t that always the goal?
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“I’ll end it here then. Orin, Mera, I’m glad to have met you. Hopefully I can come visit your great civilization soon.” Shin stood up, holding his papers under his arm.
“We’ll be happy to have you.” Orin said, stretching.
After Shin left the room, Orin turned to Mera. “So, what’d you think?”
“Easier than you were making it out to be.” She headed for the exit.
“Come on, Mera, you’re telling me you weren’t nervous?” Orin followed after her.
She punched his arm. “Don’t take it so seriously, I was just joking. Yes, I was nervous. But thank you, for taking the lead.”
Rubbing his arm, Orin grinned. “Alright then, let’s head back to Atlantis. Can’t let the work pile up too much.”
Mera smiled. “Lead the way.”
NEXT TIME Orin and Garth have both been manipulated by N.E.M.O., despite their best efforts. Backed into a corner, they need to decide their next courses of action. Will they join together, or will rising tensions force them apart? Breach reaches its conclusion!
Coming December 1 in Aquaman #38! << |
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> Note: I'm writing this as someone who has watched the entire original series, Fire Walk With Me, The Missing Pieces, and The Return, as well as other features from Lynch's filmography (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Eraserhead); marked for spoilers now, do not proceed if you haven't seen them all. This is a longpost for Twin Peaks-obsessed nuts like me. One of the things that remains a statement of the original incarnation (and thus, a statement by being substituted with HD digital cameras in
The Return) is Twin Peaks's absolute mastery of the highly saturated 4:3 box TV aesthetic. I've heard Lynch was adamant the color palette not be corrected to a grittier, desaturated version when execs received the tapes. It's part of what's made so many iconic sequences and shots from the original run hallmarks of Tumblr and Instagram accounts aplenty. Twin Peaks came (and could be argued, ushered) on the precipice of a major shift in the television format. We would see the contemporary form of television media developed further with shows like The Sopranos in the HBO prime cable era, or The X-Files (no wonder Chris Carter plundered Twin Peaks's cast for his own attempt). As a marker for the end of the 80s and its preceding decades though, in many ways Twin Peaks to spoke to a form of TV largely since faded: soap operas and sitcoms and serials. It's part of why I loved the metatextual inclusion of the soap opera
Invitation to Love, allowing the show to reference its own stylized dramaturgy.
Jade & Emerald... Jade give two rides, hm? Very specifically, I find the series loves to riddle blue and red, like
one oni to another. Fire and water. Hot-cold (like the shivery feeling Audrey gets when she holds an ice cube on her bare skin for a long time). The red and blue on Mike's TP varsity letterman jacket could be the most striking and concise marriage of this dynamic pairing. Donna & Maddie dive into this in the season 2 opener, scheming at the Double R (docked points for the silly jailhouse seduction routine by Donna, though). Subtler in palette but more obvious in Americana, Major Briggs's omnipresent blue uniform incorporates red in his breast patch (and Don S. Davis's ruddy-warm complexion, imo) speaking to his inherent patriotism as part of the Air Force. On more than one occasion Big Ed is spotted with a red & blue flannel.
Much to be said about the pairing of Bobby & Mike, comparing to BOB & MIKE; MIKE saw the face of God, but Bobby is the one who saw the light in this duo. The flashing lights of a cop car. Dr. Jacoby's iconic 3D glasses-flavored shades (note that Jacoby and Ben both hailed from the Robert Wise-directed 1961 film adaptation of
West Side Story, the famous 50s musical depicting rival gangs experiencing a Romeo & Juliet plot amidst culture clash in NYC). Lil the Dancer, communicating through expressive dance a coded message in FWWM. A barbershop quartet in the background behind Coop & Albert in "Coma".
I believe it's The Secret History of Twin Peaks book that is paired with red and blue filter lenses, so you can view certain hidden information? Either way, Lynch likes his 50s/60s Americana; reminds me of Castle Horror gimmicks. The blue flower was a central Romanticism symbol; as blue roses don't occur in nature, they hold an air of mystery and fantastic possibility. Tennessee Williams used the blue rose to symbolize the fragile & unique character Laura(!!) in The Glass Menagerie. The sign outside One-Eye Jack's. Red pairs often with green or black in gambling/casino situations; from the card deck motif for the sex workers to the mix-match patches of a roulette wheel. The malfunctioning lift for Leo in "The Orchid's Curse." The stage behind Julee Cruise during Roadhouse performances, especially "Lonely Souls." Even though the Red Room is known for its red, we see eventually that the Lodge holds strobing blue lights and the milky cataracts of doppelgangers. In a more peaceful sense, blue light washes over Laura as she smiles in the Lodge at the end of FWWM, reunited finally with her angel.
You can practically hear the buzz of the neon zapping into life from here. Knowing how important electricity is to Twin Peaks, these little details really stand out. Ben and Jerry, at various times, switch between the two to complement each other much like the
Miser Brothers. We also see it in Ben's interactions with Catherine; their affair in "Traces to Nowhere" finds Catherine clad in a powdery blue blanket, Ben's fiery tie, Catherine's ruby toenails (sidenote: not a fan of the Tarantino interaction). We see more of this Ben-Catherine color scheme in "Cooper's Dreams" during the Iceland convention with Leland's impromptu dancefloor breakdown. Ben, as central locus for Twin Peaks's criminal element, seems to be a lightning pole for these color dynamics. Notable is his integral need as a character to keep his publicly clean image and seedy underworld dealings separate, the perfect human symbol for Lynch's sequence in
Blue Velvet's intro depicting the rotting & squirming insects buried beneath the idyllic Levittown surface of Lumberton. And Ben, even beyond his perennial cigar, enjoys many scenes by the fire of a hearth.
Ben floats through the two by himself on a regular basis, which I think ties into his role as the uber 80s corporate & cold American businessman, espousing social niceties & charm but hiding his sinister and impulsive skeletons in the closet. It's almost like he should be Lodge, but he's only run parallel to it as a human being. Likewise, when it comes to the Lodge, BOB and the Man from Another Place/The Arm make a perfect red-blue pair. I noticed this especially in FWWM during the chaotic
convenience store sequence. Given that during the night the sky can range from black as a cup of Coop's coffee to a Prussian shade, by following a
Goethe color theory mindset, we can admit "
Blue is a darkness weakened by light." BOB never comes off weak, but as a possessing spirit, for the viewer, his sudden appearances/reveals herald a (at times literal) spotlight into the
black oil that is his essence (follow this link for a Youtube vid that informed some of my own theories). Goethe characterizes blue as common (think of country folk and bikers and truckers), as well as cold and melancholy, powerful. Red is much easier for The Arm; in addition to evoking the Christian iconography of a devilish imp figure, he is pure fire, the kind that truly walks with you (Goethe considers red as beautiful, dignified, closer to the essence of light; perhaps this echoes the Neoclassical Venus statue found often with Red Room curtains, or the red lipstick of the various beautiful women commonly prey to Twin Peaks).
BOB's always clad in blue denim to match The Arm's impish red suit. Noticeable since they remain the two most active agents as Lodge creatures, continuing the BOB/MIKE dualism that existed pre-show. Given the only color left to throw in is white (HMM,, White Lodge?
Sarah's pale horse? Leland's hair? The stuffed arctic fox in Ben's office? That weird long-faced elk thing at the Packard-Martell house? Pete and Coop enjoying/trying to order a mug of milk? The Tremond/Chalfont boy's white mask?) and you have the Star-Spangled Banner itself (the mini-flag at Twin Peaks Sheriff's office that flanks Coop while he's sitting across the table from Dr. Jacoby, as well as Coop's fixation on the full-sized incarnation while he's in the Bros. Fusco's office during his Dougie stint in
The Return, are just two instances). Notable as a tri-color national aesthetic, red white & blue sometimes finds its way back in altered forms: straightforward visual representation with the
Icelandic investors, as well as more tonally & artistically-derived influence from Lynch's
favorite country (we'll forget the agonizing French hookup leaving scene from
The Return and think more of Monica Bellucci's dream sequence, or Ben & Jerry orgasming over fresh baguettes with brie).
Great shot from Tim Hunter here. Part 9, \"This is the chair.\" I remember this sequence being a spark of sorts, tantalizing to see Coop stir somewhat from his Dougie stupor. While it should come as no surprise an American show would have many American-specific themes, I'm often convinced that Lynch is using the visual shorthand to simultaneously sing, criticize, celebrate, and reflect on what it means to be America. It is not coincidence that Dale Bartholomew Cooper's name reflects the notorious Pacific Northwest hijacker D.B. Cooper, or Harry Truman with the 33rd President (who, mind you, ordered the atomic bombs dropped in WWII). Or Franklin "Frank" Truman with the 32nd, for that matter. Coop openly ponders the Kennedy assassination (itself rife for conspiracy theories and speculation, much like TP) in a log to Diane, as well as Marilyn Monroe's involvement with the family; who else is Laura Palmer but a hometown Monroe?
Much like D.B. Cooper, Coop took a historic leap. I would love to dig down deep and really review all of his work to understand more about Lynch's fixation on Lincoln (a portrait is in the Donna/James classroom when Laura's death is announced; a dramatic shot in
Blue Velvet fixates on Lincoln Street which divides the town's good/bad parts & has an antagonist by the name of Booth; the "Gotta light?" Woodsman in
The Return).
Now if someone could explain this connection... Dick says this right before the fire alarms go off and swamp Leland with water while BOB rams Leland's head in to break his last vessel and escape from justice. Why Lincoln? I refer to it as
The House Divided. Lincoln is one of the most recognizable presidents, partially due to his assassination (Kennedy echo), partially due to his role in the Civil War and how America resolved its most divisive internal conflict. He's emblematic of the Old America and the New America, slavery and post-slavery, secession and preservation. Somewhat like Republicans & Democrats, red v. blue. We know the toy Lincoln Logs, we hear the term Lincoln Lawyer, he's even one of the faces on Mt. Rushmore (referenced explicitly in
The Return - "There they are Albert, faces of stone"- as well as compositionally in "Cooper's Dreams"); given the existence of both a Black Lodge and White Lodge in mythos, I think it's safe to draw at least some broad comparison to black America and white America (as well as Windom Earle's fetish for chess). Even as a goofier entry during Season 2's decaying period, Ben's mental lapse into General Robert E. Lee and fixation on the Civil War (mirroring Johnny Horne's fixation with the indigenous headdress and colonist America) gives some meat to this motif. Although it's never quite outright verbalized in show, one gets the sense that America is inherently built on some original sins. The water in the well was poisoned before the Trinity test
Notable too for the context of having Hawk (Nez Perce) included in this recreation. Mt. Rushmore was originally a sacred place for the Lakota Sioux; its present condition is considered desecration to their culture. America in its current incarnation was founded on the genocide and forced relocation of its indigenous peoples; Twin Peaks is loaded with Native American patterns and imagery, i.e. The Great Northern. Note as well that red, by itself, can easily be tied to Twin Peaks's lifeforce, and by extension Lynch's entire repertoire. Fire. Red velvet curtains. Lipstick and nail polish. Blood. Pete's fisherman flannel. Audrey's heels, and her cherry trick. Norma's cherry pie. Log Lady's frames. "Let's rock" on Agent Desmond's car in FWWM. The women at One-Eye Jack's. The blooming roses peaking through white picket fences in
Blue Velvet. The vast majority of neon signage (The Roadhouse especially). The traffic light at Sparkwood & 21. Leo's ostentatious Corvette. The lifeline zigzags on the high school walls. MIKE, in Philip Gerard, is fond of red tops, connecting him directly with The Arm. Much is made of Twin Peaks's proximity to Canada in the original series; the corrupt Mountie during the internal investigation arc stands out. The balloons at Dougie's corporate plaza.
The Scarlet Letter. Lancelot Court, red door. Laura Palmer's Secret Diary.
Night time, my time. Red can be a carnal color, igniting passion, but also a warning to stop, turn back. Often we find it in the company of characters who have experienced a lot in Lynch's world, and not too much good. And blue too. Blue is much more sparing in Twin Peaks, to greater mystical effect.
Blue Rose. Laura's cold lips in the Pilot.
Blue Velvet. Isabella Rossellini's dramatic eyeshadow as Dorothy Vallens. The waitress outfits at the Double R Diner. Leo's button-down when Shelly shoots him. The light in the morgue as Hawk tails Philip Gerard. The lifeline zigzags on hospital monitors (how they spike with Ronette, how they fall flat when Leland strangles Jacques). Ronette is swaddled in soft blue blankets during the S2 opener, her tilted head recalls
Marian imagery (interesting from a Madonna-Whore complex standpoint); two episodes later her IV drip is tainted with blue dye, a visit from BOB. Maddie Ferguson's nightgown during her carpet-stain vision. Coop's iconic jammies. Rita's blue key & Betty's blue box in
Mulholland Drive. The woman's hair at Club Silencio. Whenever television sets or camera footage shows up onscreen in Twin Peaks, there's a noticeable cool blue tint: think of that first tape, Laura & Donna dancing in the woods; the static showcased in the opening credits to FWWM; the footage of Coop gambling, obsessed over by Jean Renault. Gordon & Albert speaking together after meeting with Mr. C and watching Tammy walk away. Flashes of lightning. The sign at the Luna Lounge, where Fred Madison plays his discordant sax solo in
Lost Highway. Two dead girls wash up in the water. Calhoun Memorial's morgue stays bathed in blue light. Louise Bourgeois claimed it as hallmark, stating blue left behind \"the drabness of day-to-day reality\" for \"a world of freedom\", inner truths. BOB is certainly free. Beyond red and blue, the colors I tend to notice in Twin Peaks are pink and green (notable for following a warm/cool polarization as well), which do not concern themselves to the same extent with Americana, if at all. Pink is much more sparse in its application, typically feminine: Nadine's prom dress during her suicide attempt in the S1 finale; Naido/Diane's bathrobe in
The Return; the drapes behind the new One-Eyed Jack's girl Ben sleeps with in "Zen" (purposefully designed to evoke a vagina, in my opinion); fudging into purple, but we can count the Mauve Zone and Coop's run-in with Naido to an extent; Gersten Hayward's princess outfit during her piano performance for the Palmers; the trio of Candie, Mandie & Sandie; the gut-churning Pink Room sequence from FWWM with Laura & Donna.
Candie was a surprising standout for The Return. I felt these girls were a commentary on One-Eyed Jack's in the way the Mitchum Bros. were commentary on Ben & Jerry; where Ben & Jerry enjoyed public acceptance but indulged in dark secrets and ran through vulnerable sex workers, Bradley & Rodney have a dark reputation/entrance but ultimately possess hearts of gold, rescuing at-risk women like these three. Green is more expansively utilized, and supernatural in tone: the billowing leaves of those Douglas firs in an ominous breeze; the iconic Twin Peaks font's outline; the guiding light we see through Dougie's eyes (which I assume has always been a part of Coop's psyche and intuition); Dougie's iconic oversized jacket; the infamous Owl Cave ring; the vintage lampshade adorning Ben's desk; the childhood bike Ben fondly recalls in
The Return; the framed picture of the tall pine in the Sheriff's Department lobby; the tiny fir stuffed by the partition in the Palmer household; Jade & Emerald, even. Ben says to Leo, conspiring to burn the mill in "The One-Armed Man" -
"Three nights, Leo. Green light." Something about it reminds me of Jay Gatsby's over-analyzed yearning green light from the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic; the idea of the American Dream with wanton capitalism, and how it's impossible to achieve (am I crazy for thinking there's a connection between Big Ed's Gas Farm's neon egg sign and the West Egg/East Egg class divide?).
Of course, the owls are watching. Much like the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Ed's business harkens to how convenience stores (early-to-mid-century modernist American consumerism) were both the pumping blood and desiccated bone of our culture, as well as the Woodsmen womb. It also reminds me of old-style egg timers, and what is Twin Peaks but a show obsessed with the manipulation and perception of time? Was it the chicken or the egg that came first? Is it future or is it past? By the time of
The Return, we have lost these overly saturated tones, but the direct symbolic use of color is still integral to a Peaks viewing. I find it even more interesting that
The Return made extensive use of black & white footage.
Eraserhead and
The Elephant Man alike (I've found both hold the spores for concepts and aesthetics fully developed in Lynch's later filmography, like the chevron Lodge floor pattern we all dearly love) were filmed in this manner; I feel Lynch chose this as nod to this earlier work, as well as the old formats of pre-color TV and film, like WWII newsreels. I find it relevant as well that older generations
dream in black & white, a vanishing phenomenon which is directly related to the media of their era. B&W film informed the visual rhetoric of their unconscious minds; we, as younger Americans, dream in Technicolor.
This is the first shot we see of The Elephant Man. Notice how this is specifically his left arm, hand floating over the flame. Later in the film during a particularly moving sequence, Merrick first proves he is capable of speech for the first time by reciting the 23rd Psalm in a louder and louder tone, mirroring Annie Blackburn's prayers while Windom Earle led her bound into the Lodge. The black & white sequences occur within the Lodge, relate directly to the Lodge - may Part 8 live forever in its atomic power - or otherwise involve unexplained phenomena (Cole's Monica Bellucci dream). By the time of
The Return, a disconnect with the past and nostalgia is a core theme. The colors have faded. Coop, a half-baked shadow of himself, only gets restored by the chance mention of Gordon Cole's name in
Sunset Blvd. Note Billy Wilder's 1950 film revolves around an aging actress lost in the reverie of her long-gone prime. (Also note her insistence, when William Holden's character asks her about the Salome film script, she's not conducting a "comeback" but a *return*; this, I feel, ties in as well to Major Briggs's
underappreciated vision scene, emphasizing the idea of a return.) Although not shot in black & white, Pete, assisting Catherine as she tears apart their library, pauses for a moment during "The Last Evening" to linger on his high school yearbook. He's lost in the old pre-color photos, in the memory of Midge Jones, a man we never know. He's returned to a place in his youth, much like Garland's return to the gleaming, radiant marble of the fantastic palazzo in his S2 vision.
These two live in a retro-futurist Art Deco fever dream, accompanied the very appropriate Slow 30s Room soundtrack piece. Everything about the Fireman & Senorita Dido tells me of an America past its prime. I'm also convinced this was what Lynch envisioned for Briggs's palazzo; if only Don S. Davis was alive for The Return. There's a plethora more I could get into, definitely for another thread: the preoccupation with trinities, animals, rings, technology, fine art references, and sonic elements are on my mind as well. I need to rewatch
The Return again soon so more connections and thoughts are present. Let me know if you guys enjoyed this rambling mess!
submitted by Casino Night Zone (カジノナイト, Kajino Naito?), often called just Casino Night, is a location that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.. It is a casino-themed Zone located somewhere on West Side Island. 1 Description 2 History 2.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 2.2 Sonic the Fighters 2.3 Sonic Generations... Casino Night Zone as it appears in the Simon Wai prototype version. Sometime in the game's early development, Casino Night Zone seem to have a different appearance as the Simon Wai prototype of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 shows this. While the level layout seem to be slightly similar, the overall appearance is different, as landmass features more pinkish coloring with sky blue floors and French card Casino Night Zone is a new stage introduced in Super Smash Bros. Crusade. It is the home stage for Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow. This zone became the first of many casino/carnival style zones that would eventually be included in future Sonic titles. A straightforward zone with many objects to fool around with (such as pinball flippers and bumpers), and no real threats apart from some crushing blue blocks and a slow badnik called Crawl. Slot machines Casino Night Zone is the fourth zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Genesis (Megadrive), coming after Aquatic Ruin and before Hill Top Zone. As with most other stages in this game, Casino Night Zone consists of two standard Acts with a boss fight at the end of Act 2. In M.U.G.E.N, Casino Night Zone has been made by JordanoDaMano (JDM) and edited to support M.U.G.E.N 1.1 zoom by Yoshian12 Layout. Casino Night Zone showcases a night sky with shining blue stars as well as the city background from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.The Lottery Slots include the faces of Sonic, Tails, and Doctor Eggman.Casino Night Zone has one main platform, with one main platform directly under the slot machine, and two platforms connected to the main platform lower down. Watch the video for Casino Night Zone from 中村正人's Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Casino Night Zone is a stage introduce in the original World Fighters based on a stage from Sonic the Fighters of the same name. Sometimes, Nack will walk by and shoot you. In World Fighters 3: Calling all Heroes if you die from getting shot by Nack you get the achievement MLG NO-SCOPE 360. "Casino Night" is the twenty-second episode of the second season of The Office and the 28th overall. It was writtenby Steve Carelland directed by Ken Kwapis. It first aired on May 11, 2006. It was viewed by 7.7 million people. It is the first "supersized" episode of the series, being 28 minutes... A night at the casino is a perfect opportunity to dress up and have a great time with your loved ones! It’s a fun, classy way to spend a night out, but make sure you’re dressed properly for the occasion. Knowing what to expect and how to find the perfect outfit will make your night even better!
This is the music for the 1-player stage of Casino Night zone in Sonic 2. Don't forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!The music from Casino Night Zone, from Sonic 2 but deconstructed. Enjoy!Deconstructed playlist: https://www.youtube.com/pl... Sonic 2 Casino Night Zone music extended to play for 10 hoursGame: Sonic the Hedgehog 2Composer(s): Masato NakamuraDeveloper(s): Sonic TeamPublisher(s): Sega... Music: Casino Night Zone (2 player) (Nick Arcade Prototype)Composer: Masato NakamuraPlaylist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL0CQjrcN8D0Cg568nZ9Sabv... Music: Casino Night Zone (OST Version) Composer: Masato Nakamura Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL0CQjrcN8D0Cg568nZ9Sabv0ohqJ5GMl Platform:... This is the music for the 2-player stage of Casino Night zone in Sonic 2. This joyful Jazz version of Casino Night...this is why old Sonic games are better, they have the best music ever!! This version belongs to Sonic Generations ... First little Preview for Casino Night Act 1 in Sonic Mania.IMPORTANT: THIS STAGE MOD IS NOT INCLUDED IN RETURN OF METALTwitter:Metal Shadow Productions: http... My first go at the Casino Night stage DLC for Sonic Generations. Try it as both Modern and Classic, and it's fun. Pinball straight-up, but enough interesting... Music: Casino Night Zone (2 player) (Simon Wai Prototype)Composer: Masato NakamuraPlaylist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL0CQjrcN8D0Cg568nZ9Sabv0o...
