Representations of queer identity in David Lynch's film Mulholland Drive

Abstract

The purpose of the article. This essay considers the queer identity as a modern tragic figure through a reading of David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive. Methodology. The article uses a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach using the methodological tools of cultural studies and queer theory based on structural-functional, semiotic-hermeneutic analysis, as well as Lacan's psychoanalytic concept of the subject. The scientific novelty. Within the framework of the humanities, in particular cultural studies, the analysis of the film by David Lynch "Mulholland Drive" in the context of queer theory is carried out for the first time. Conclusions. Since cinematography is a synthesis of various types of art, it embodies cultural phenomena and reproduces realities of life. Analysis of the peculiarities of the representation of queer identity in David Lynch's film Mulholland Drive through the prism of queer theory, in which identity is nothing more than a phenomenon that forms under the pressure of the dominant discourse and social order gives it the status of a cultural illusion or myth, demonstrates existing ideals. Cinema in the context of queer theory is self-reflective, autocratic, not indifferent. It can create a safe space - and at the same time be a protest action. The means by which the representation of a queer identity takes the place can be traced at all symbolic levels (material, index, iconic). At the material level, the grand plan is used as a sign in which all the characters in the film are related, without separating homosexual women visually. At the level of index status, the creation of the image of a homosexual couple is due to their profession. The heroines belong to the creative environment, in their relationship the dominant role is played by Diane. At the iconic level, images are constructed through their relationship with society. The heroines experience internal contradictions between their psychological state, natural nature, and social norms. The sexuality that is represented in the film contains a confrontation between the individual and the social. There is a tendency to normalize the image of queer identity in cinema, due to changes in the public consciousness. Based on the analysis, it was found that the film David Lynch reflects homosexuality as such, and not in the canonical models of traditional relationships.