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ENQUIRIES,ANALYSES
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A collection of research, publications, and edited volumes that examine media, culture, and society through a critical lens.

Deconstructing Kantara
A Heady Mix of Metaphysics, Local Traditions and Class Struggle

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,” and so wrote the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his unforgettable poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner way back in 1798 (Taylor Coleridge in The rime of the ancient mariner and other poems, 1st edn. William Collins, Glasgow, 2016) . While one cannot be sure if Coleridge was a clairvoyant, the prophetic line could very well turn into a dystopian reality soon if people are not sensitized about the misuse of water. In this regard, the role of popular media in general and cinema in particular is critically important. In a country like India, cinema has the potential to bring about awareness vis-à-vis the conservation and proper utilization of water.

David Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive' (2001), often stylized as 'Mulholland Dr.', constitutes a perplexing journey along the slippery isles of the human subconscious. It belies the very concept of cinematic logic in all its available dimensions. Critics and scholars often categorize the movie as a mystery thriller and rightfully so. However, the mystery does not stem from unanswered questions asked by the film's ingrained diegesis. In contrast, the mystery lies in the entire film being a question mark on the established notions of human sense and sensibility. Just as dreams seldom paint a coherent narrative, 'Mulholland Drive' hardly drives a point home, at least a point that can be singularly identified. It might as well be argued by some that reality also barely makes sense. While an overgeneralization of the above nature might at times hold some grounds, the fact remains that Lynch makes his intentions clear with his portrayal of Hollywood and its unique culture through 'Mulholland Drive'-that of creating a dreamy maze, a maze that could scarcely be deciphered with the help of everyday logic. This paper tries to critically analyze 'Mulholland Drive' from diegetic, thematic and theoretical perspectives and find out how dreams beat reality in playing the primordial role in its making. In doing so, it would consider the interpretations of the movie given by other experts and scholars while establishing the fact that it certainly falls within the surrealist genre, something that seldom follows the linear narrative structure. This paper will also look at the movie in terms of Lynch's other cinematic works, all of which have broken the established cinematic norms in some form or the other.

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