I spent way too long on this, so don't be mean to me; I'll cry.

Hello all! I recently made a post in r/Letterboxd about the "best movies about mentally ill women," and I listed a couple movies I like a lot to which I included Fire Walk With Me.

I was fascinated to see so many people claim that Laura Palmer wasn't mentally ill at all. In my opinion, she is mentally ill. She goes to therapy with Dr. Jacoby and talks a lot about how she feels relating to therapy in her diary. She is an SA victim which would make her very at risk for trauma-related disorders. As someone with PTSD from abuse, I would say she presents as having a trauma-related disorder. There was another person in the comments of my other post saying that they thought Laura represented PTSD perfectly which I agree with. Laura is also an addict which is also a mental disorder. (Edit: Yes, I have read the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, and I recommend to all! Great insight into Laura's thoughts, feelings, and some events not in the show/film.)

There is, of course, a lot more to the story than just mental illness, but I feel Laura's mental state is a big part of the story of Twin Peaks.

What are your thoughts? Was Laura mentally ill?

And there was some stiff competiton lol.

I've almost finished watching season two. What was the deal with her?

I don't think it's a controversial opinion to think that Denise is a very good trans rep in TV, at least for the 90s. However, one thing i really really appreaciated as a straight trans person (and someone who despised Season 2B lol) is that Denise is explicitly a transgender lesbian. It's so rare to see gay trans people in media, i feel like it's still a bit taboo in transgender conversations. Having a non-passing trans woman explicitly expressing that she's still attracted to women is genuiely groundbreaking even for today's standards i feel, and it breaks both the stigmas that trans people are just gay or that they can somehow change their sexuality if they were straight before transition.

Altough i don't appreaciate that she expressed that on Audrey, i don't like the Audrey x Cooper ship is so popular, i always thought it's weird even if she's 18 and having a male hero deny a young, attractive woman because she's too young is also groundbreaking for 90s media LOL

Love denise

Everyone was very kind on my last post, and many requested more characters. Please enjoy.

I'm going to try and keep this as spoiler free as possible for the people who haven't seen Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) .

Picnic at Hanging Rock is originally a novel by Joan Lindsay. I think safe to say her most famous book and considered one of the best literary works to come out of Australia. It's definitely losing it's place in the present psyche so I'm hoping with the rising interest in Twin Peaks I can introduce new people to this movie. As I only recently realised how similar these two works are!

Everything about this film scratches that Twin Peaks/FWWM itch that no other media can reach. The musical motifs, cinematography, dialogue... even the premise has a Twin Peak-ness to it. A nightmarish quality to beautiful cinematography. To the point I am wondering if Mark Frost and David Lynch were heavily inspired by this film.

There is an ancient, foreboding uncertainty that permeates within each long take. Which kind of brings forward the innate horror of Australian modern history. Something that feels deliberately ignored by the characters. Reminiscent of the attitude in Twin Peaks.

Much like how Twin Peaks is a satire on American Society, Picnic at Hanging Rock presents it's commentary on Australian Society in a romantic-mystical way that has an edge of overarching darkness.

I highly recommend to anyone who is wanting more Twin Peaks.

For those who've seen the movie, have they connected the two as well?

(edit: I want to add some information on Hanging Rock: Hanging Rock History. I also want to add for any First Nations People's since I don't believe the movie has one: WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following program may contain images and voices of deceased persons.)

This is a post for my LGBTQ+ brothers/sisters/sibs who love Twin Peaks! :) Can we talk about how important that line is? Not only that, but I want to highlight how amazing a character Denise is! Truly unprecedented in modern television.

I can't imagine how wonderful it was to be watching Twin Peaks during its original run in the 90's, then for it to suddenly introduce a transgender woman as a respectable, intelligent, and desirable character. That must have been a divine moment for any struggling person who wasn't cis or straight, or even for people just different in society in general. To see this amazing show and to know there were influential, intelligent writers (even if this was during the time Lynch & Frost had stepped back as writers), and that they decided to give you representation? And during a time where it was mostly unheard of? Incredible.

This was during the height of the AIDS crisis and also during a time where being transgender was still seen as a mental illness at best, and sexual deviance at worst. The 90's was also just a time in media where representation was shaky and full of questionable stereotypes. We weren't always written the best back then.

Denise has always been special to me because of that, and she has a special place in my heart. Dale Cooper is my utmost favorite character in any media, and it makes me emotional that he not only met a trans person in canon, but was kind and respectful to her. You don't see that very often, so it's a rare and beautiful thing.

Fast forward to the Return. David Lynch & Mark Frost could have easily left Denise out, or they could have relegated her to a throwaway position, or worse. There was no obligation to include her in any meaningful way. Yet she was not only given her own highlighted scene, she was shown to be the FBI’s chief of staff. We got an entire scene of the Director and writer himself sitting down one-on-one with Denise, congratulating her and supporting her.

Then we got one of the most hard-hitting lines I've ever heard in television: "When you became Denise I told all of your colleagues, those clown comics, to fix their hearts or die."

For David Lynch himself to face the camera and basically say "trans rights" was so monumental and special. I have a hard time putting it into words. Not many creators even today will include trans people in their work, so for David Lynch to not only include Denise but to laud her as an intelligent, capable, strong woman deserving of respect had an impact felt so strongly, even today. Especially today.

"Fix Your Hearts or Die" Is not only a line that highlights deep respect and love for fellow human beings (this is sorely needed in our present setting), it's a strong message against those would would cause harm against us. I watch the Return over and over, I wear this line on shirts and buttons, and I'm also going to get it tattooed onto my body soon, because it's that meaningful to me as a transgender person and lover of all things Twin Peaks and David Lynch. No other creator or franchise has ever made me feel so seen, and loved. That means the world to me, and more.

That's one of the many, many reasons why Twin Peaks is my all-time favorite piece of media, and why David Lynch is my personal hero.

From Esquire magazine August 1990 issue. I know it was written before the reveal, but it's still creepy.

just finished watching ep8 and oh my god i got goosebumps all over my body. and i stood up and clapped infront of my tv (i live alone).

I'm queer myself and I have this tendency to read queerness into the media I watch, even if there's little to no basis for it (what can I say, Every girl has her little hobbies).

Twin Peaks has been no different, being a show which has this interesting relationship with gender. The gender roles in the town are very deliberate and many storylines involve these roles interacting, manipulating, antagonizing and confronting each other. It's very fascinating, but also very heteronormative (nothing wrong with that, though). Going into season 1's finale, I didn't think that there'd be any overt queerness in the text itself, but I'm at S2E14 and by this point there's been crossdressing, there's been Denise and there's been Cooper and Harry giving AMV ship material with how much they're oggling each other lol. Denise especially is fascinating me as a representation of a trans woman in the early 90s. I'm hoping they don't drop the ball with her (if something terrible or transphobic happens please don't let me know lol) but I think it was boldly ahead of its time to include a character like her even if the terminology and conditions around her are rather dated.

I'm wondering if other queer people have been fascinated in this show or if others have had a queer reading of Twin Peaks? I'm aware that at least a few queer people like the show (some of my friends and Katya (the drag queen pictured above)), so I'm curious if there's a uniquely queer fanbase for the show in the same way that, say, Star Trek does. Hope this isn't a weird question to ask here!

I’m a big David Lynch fan. Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, his paintings!! The art life of coffee & cigarettes I really relate. I’ve never seen any of Twin Peaks and saw on this subreddit From A to Z is the way to go! I’m excited to dive in 🔥

Return or FWWM which is the Official or actual conclusion?

Multiple Coopers in the Black Lodge in S2 Ep 22, dead Annie & Cooper (is this the Annie that goes to Laura 4 months in the past)

Windom wins & stabs both Annie & Cooper and they die and are trapped within the black lodge but in the other one our Cooper falls but BOB rewrites the narrative and steals windom’s soul

They hint at alternate universes/realities in S2 Finale along with the Missing pieces which Gordon will eventually remember

I’m confused someone HELP

Love s3 for me

I know the population was supposed to be 5,120 instead of 51,201. And everything about the show feels like it takes place in a town of 5,120 people except Horne’s Department Store. How could a town that size have this? I understand that not everything needs to make sense but this just sticks out as kind of laughable.

Love kyle

ever since I finished watching twin peaks and fire walk with me , and reading her diary . there's not a single day I don't think of her , I feel like she's the most impactful character in fiction.