Exploring Nowhere in David Lynch’s Masterful ‘Eraserhead’

“Eraserhead” is a weird ass movie to say the least. Of director David Lynch‘s filmography, his 1977 film may be one of the more difficult pieces for audiences, even avid fans, to comprehend. It is within this lack of comprehension that we can, however, find meaning in Lynch’s seemingly arbitrary cinematic work. “Eraserhead,” like many other Lynch films, has more to offer than what we see upon first glance.

In a video essay by Colin Earner, sense is made of what some might dismiss as nonsensical voyeurism. With “Eraserhead,” Lynch creates a world that is both familiar and foreign. This idea of world-building is most adapted in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. Citing “The Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars” as examples of worlds we can access that in turn demonstrate subtleties in connection with our own reality. Lynch uses this model to manifest a world that is viscerally like ours yet complicated by oddities made uncanny when compared to our cinematic expectations. Lynch creates a “nowhere place,” seemingly American setting we don’t pay attention to.

Beyond it’s aesthetics, the creepy, phenomenal sound design of “Eraserhead” mixes familiar resonances of gas pipes, electricity, and music to procure a auditory experience that is other worldly. His most personal and spiritual film, Lynch is cited as utilizing the medium to convey his own paranoia of young parenthood. Beyond the guise of symbols and myths, Lynch is translating ideas and sympathies that are familiar on a subconscious level, making the material more relatable once understood. Lynch asks us to participate in the contradiction of his film. Living in this contradiction is what philosopher Michel Foucault describes as ‘heterotopias,’ neither all good nor all bad, but lying in between.

Lynch uses the juxtapositions and contradictions of life to show in “Eraserhead” what it is like to be alive in America. Sometimes we can be at odds with our own positionality within our own lives. Lynch peals back these layers to reveal commonalities and understandings in a world where we ought to feel welcome, but we don’t feel at all at home.