TresSugar

Are You a Fan of the Surreal? It May Make You Smarter

TresSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Franz Kafka, David Lynch, and Rene Magritte were my Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas as a teenager. (Yeah, I was a weirdo.) So imagine my delight when I read a study that claims that surrealism may be good for the brain.

Research psychologists at UC Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia concluded that exposure to surrealist art, film or literature, because it puts you in worlds whose elements don't make sense, drives you to look for structure and sense elsewhere, hence raising "the cognitive mechanisms that oversee implicit learning functions." Want to hear the details of this study? Then read more.

To reach this finding, they had two groups of people read Kafka. One group was given Kafka's story "The Country Doctor," which in typical Kafkaesque fashion, goes from normal to weird in no time at all. The other group was given a rewritten version so that nothing was odd about the plot or narrative. After they finished their respective Kafkas, they were asked to find patterns hidden in strings of letters. Those who read the original Kafka stories were both more motivated to find patterns and more accurate in their findings than those who read the normalized Kafka.

It's their second experiment that is almost more interesting to me - they divided groups between those who felt alienated by things they'd done in the past and those who didn't. "You get the same pattern of effects whether you're reading Kafka or experiencing a breakdown in your sense of identity," said Travis Proulx, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB and co-author of the article. "People feel uncomfortable when their expected associations are violated, and that creates an unconscious desire to make sense of their surroundings. That feeling of discomfort may come from a surreal story, or from contemplating their own contradictory behaviors, but either way, people want to get rid of it. So they're motivated to learn new patterns."

So, basically, feeling alienated and consuming alienating art and literature drives you to make sense of things, giving your brain a workout. That would finally explain my motivation to find meaning in the world after watching The Hills, a surrealist masterpiece if I ever saw one!

Source

David Lynch's Interview Project: On the Road With Questions

TresSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:05:00 -0700

"Interview Project is a road trip where people have been found and interviewed . . . it's a 20,000 mile road trip over 70 days across and back the United States. The team found the people driving along the roads, going into bars and different locations. The people told their stories . . . It’s something that’s human and you can’t stay away from it."

- Filmmaker David Lynch about Interview Project, his collection of interviews available online. He and his team, while traversing the United States on a road trip, stopped and asked ordinary people questions like, "What are you most proud of?" "How would you like to be remembered?" "When did you first experience death?" Like photographer Walker Evans's photography project Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Lynch seems to want to capture the spirit of America through its people. I agree with him - it's human, and I won't be able to stay away from it!

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David Lynch and Crispin Glover = BFFs

GiggleSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:00:00 -0800

If you hang around GiggleSugar long enough, you'll figure out that David Lynch and Crispin Glover are two freaks I love. I guess I'm not the only one. Watch as these two hilarious guys do pretty spot-on impressions of them - especially Crispin Glover dude. Who even has the time for such randomness? Oh, I guess I do.

David Lynch Shoves Panties in His Mouth

GiggleSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:00:00 -0700

David Lynch was the unconventional mastermind behind the freakish television series Twin Peaks. He's also received Oscar nominations for directing the dark masterpieces Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. So how does this accomplished Hollywood bigwig show a fan his utmost gratitude? He duplicates (well, almost) a notorious scene from Blue Velvet and shoves the fan's panties in his mouth. I'm sure an autographed head shot or a hug would've sufficed just fine, but . . .

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David Lynch On Product Placement In Films

GiggleSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 04:00:00 -0700

David Lynch's films may be long and inscrutable (Inland Empire was over three hours long) but his answers to obvious questions are short and sweet. (Well, not so sweet here.)

Flashback: Fiddlin' Around With the Tobuchis

TresSugar — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:00:00 -0700

David Lynch, are you responsible for this? At first I wanted to say that this variety show that centers around the Tobuchi family and their singin' and dancin' ways is funny because of the way it was edited and spliced, but on second viewing, I think it might just be straight up weird. If anyone can explain what it is I just watched, it would be much appreciated.

David Lynch Cat

GiggleSugar — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0700

Yesterday was Happy Caturday and today is not-so-happy Caturday. (Purrrhaps I've lost my marbles, but I find this video hilarious.) Zoe, however, is not amused.

Très Bizarre: Absolutely the Most Random Video Ever

TresSugar — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:00:00 -0700

That is not hyperbole, my friends, it's the truth. This is indeed absolutely the most random video ever. (David Lynch, did you have a hand in this?)

What Is the Lamest Way Someone Broke Up With You?

TresSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:00 -0700

It sucks when someone breaks up with you, but the mode in which they do it can ease the blow and at least show you that person cared - or wasn't a total chode who wasted your time.

Alas, some people are too chicken to do it in a respectful manner, so they slip out the back, Jack, make a new plan, Stan . . . by texting, emailing, or just up and disappearing. Gorgeous Isabella Rossellini recounted once the way eccentric filmmaker David Lynch broke up with her - by calling her and saying, after years together, "I don't love you anymore." Whoa!

What's the lamest way someone broke up with you?

Source

Flashback: Crispin Glover in The Beaver Trilogy

GiggleSugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0800

I remember catching this on cable one late night (it's not on DVD) and feeling like I'd fallen into another dimension. Directed by Trent Harris, The Beaver Trilogy is supposed to be a documentary, but let's just say it's loosely a documentary. It's about oddballs Trent met while on his travels, as well as Sean Penn and Crispin Glover acting like those oddballs. It just gives me a headache thinking about it, but this clip of Crispin as an obsessed Olivia Newton-John impersonator (that's right - he's impersonating an impersonator) singing "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting" is like the best of David Lynch. Spooky.