David Lynch, an American filmmaker known for his weird and distinct twist on filmmaking, died at 78 years old on January 15, 2025. His unique films, including but not limited to “Eraserhead” (1977), “The Elephant Man” (1980) and “Blue Velvet” (1986) made him known as a distinctive and stylized filmmaker in his 50-year career, according to CNN.
His love for film was born through his earlier love to paint and “seeing paintings move,” according to BBC. From there, he brought surreal and absurd ideas and stories to life, making himself “a true artist” according to Film Department Chair Jo Dery.
“As a director, he really had a singular vision and approach to making films and largely was able to make it outside the studio system and still get a lot of critical acclaim and a building audience,” Dery said, “so he’s a pretty canonical 20th century figure in filmmaking.”
Dery was not the only professor to share her respect towards Lynch’s work. Associate Professor Taylor Dunne said she also knows the importance of his filmmaking.
“He just had this impact to spruce out an image even if it was abstract and weird and just made you feel these things that you can’t even describe or talk about,” Dunne said.
One of the most known pieces he created was his show “Twin Peaks,” earning itself 14 Emmy nominations for the first season, according to CNN. It only ran for two seasons before it was cancelled, but it became a cult classic, making its influence substantial.
Lynch’s distinct work earned him popularity that still stands today, as well as many awards for his achievements. According to CNN, at the Venice Film festival in 2006, he was presented with the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement, and he was also awarded an honorary Oscar for the same reason.
He was also a four-time Oscar nominee for some of his films. The nominations were for best director for his films “Elephant Man” (1980), “Blue Velvet” (1986) and “Mulholland Drive” (2001).
Both Dery and Dunne talked about how the film program and its students have been impacted by his work.
“With Lynch, you can reference him, and sure, there’ll be students who haven’t seen his films but I would say overall, especially in the film program, I would say about 80% of my class has at least seen something that he’s made and everybody knows who he is,” Dunne said.
“We definitely bring him into our courses and expose students to his films,” Dery said. “We have students that really love his work. Sometimes we screen his work in our classes and discuss it in film history.”
Dunne also talked about how the topics and themes depicted in his films, such as death and the universe, made him stand out from other popular directors at the time, such as Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola. Despite his darker themes in his films, he was an ‘incredible, thoughtful person,’ as stated by Dunne.
“It seems that everything that came out of his mouth was like pure gold, and I just didn’t realize what a huge impact he had on me personally,” Dunne said. “I feel like his passing has just made me think about how much I like him as a person even separated from his films.”
In remembrance of the filmmaker, a shrine was created in the Media Arts Center to pay respects to Lynch. Located near the offices in the building, Dunne said she herself has even contributed to the small gesture, along with students.
“It’s in this place where a film professor died a couple of years ago and there was a memorial to him there,” she said. “Now there’s a memorial to Lynch there so we’ll see how many people add things.”
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
hayley@kscequinox.com
