Twin Peaks and Philosophy

Twin Peaks is, on the surface, a 90s crime tv show that follows Special Agent Dale Cooper during his investigation of the murder of teenage-girl Laura Palmer that took place in the small, remote town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The show soon shifts its focus from the murder to the mystic experiences that Cooper faces while attempting to unravel the mysteries of the town itself. Cooper is visited by supernatural entities in his dreams and in random visions who give him hints about how to get closer to solving the murder. A mysterious place named the Black Lodge is continually mentioned as a source of great information. The Black Lodge is the part of the show I will focus on from this point on, but I will link a video down below that will give more backstory on the show. The Black Lodge is a concept that apparently originated in legends passed down from the Nez Perce tribes who at one time inhabited the Twin Peaks area. “In the stories, the Black Lodge was the ‘shadow self’ of the White, a place of pure evil through which all souls passed on the way to perfection,”. The Black Lodge is an extradimensional place that holds the darkest secrets which will, if accessed properly, aid Cooper in discovering the reasons behind the murder of Laura Palmer. An evil antagonist to Cooper is Windom Earle who initially characterizes the power of the Black Lodge as “a power that can be harnessed and explored for one’s own purposes,” (Carvalho). Special Agent Dale Cooper believes that knowing more about himself and his thoughts and the meaning of his dreams will give him the answer to the murder case. This pursuit for self-knowledge in the show parallels the goals of both Buddhism and Vendata. In ancient Vendata texts, the first-born lord of the Universe says that coming to know oneself will allow one to fulfill all desires and become master of all worlds and the heavens. To be successful in achieving full self-knowledge by way of the Black Lodge, you must be pure of heart and sure in yourself for your greatest fears will be pinned against you once you reach the Black Lodge. The Vendata texts also discuss the importance of purity when on journey to self-knowledge, because the power gained from reaching such a state of mind can be used malevolently when without pure intentions. Cooper eventually reaches the “waiting room” of the Black Lodge which is best described as idyllic. Red drapes adorn the walls (there are no windows) and the floor is a black and white checkerboard pattern-the setting is made to be disorienting to the senses. While there, Cooper meets strange entities, both good and evil and is challenged to remain calm while facing his greatest fears. His experience compares to the journey detailed in the Tibetan Book of the Dead which is a sort of guide for the deceased souls after the death of the physical body. The book details the types of beings that will be met on the soul’s journey through the afterlife: some of them will be friendly and others will be evil. The pernicious monsters which represent his fears eventually cause Cooper to go crazy and become further disoriented which is what the Tibetan Book of the Dead warns against. Being sure in yourself and unaffected by your fears is the only way to truly reach self-knowledge. Cooper ends up becoming stuck in the Black Lodge for 25 years due to his inability to be one with his fears. This mirrors the Buddhist principle that warns against being controlled by your fears in the afterlife because you will lose control and be “scared” into being born again instead of realizing yourself to be pure, timeless, and infinite.

If you want a full overview of the show in a short amount of time, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_64-4c_E3o

 Quiz:
 1.) What is the place that Cooper hopes to reach in order to gain information on Laura’s murder?

 2.) To be successful in coming to know oneself by way of the Black Lodge, you must be pure of what and sure in who?

 3.) In what text does it say that coming to know oneself will allow one to fulfill all desires?

 4.) What book is a guide for souls in the afterlife?

 Discussion Questions:
 1.) Do you believe that all the answers to life’s questions will be presented to you after death (assuming you believe in an afterlife)?

 2.) What is your biggest fear and do you think you would be able to make peace with it if it meant you were to be trapped somewhere for 25 years if you didn’t?

 3.) If you made it through to the Black Lodge successfully and returned to everyday life knowing the answers to life’s questions, what would you do with that knowledge?