Much of David Lynch’s work contains an element of what I’ve come to think of as “trapped in a nightmare”. I understand it as his signature leitmotif, as so many of his scenes can be interpreted this way, including much of Twin Peaks. I’d even say that this is the key element of Twin Peaks; characters consistently enduring events so strange that they verge on the realization that they are actually trapped in a nightmare. Here is a textbook example. Listen to the music. Sound familiar? It’s Moonlight Sonata, slowed to a drugged crawl. Watch how Ray doesn’t seem to be able to escape, just like in a nightmare. The shadow men, the flashing lights, the animal screams, appear to depict the unraveling of the nightmare as the dreamer verges on lucidity.
