Article Analysis Post

During my research and findings I had decided to find and read articles based upon the supernatural aspects of Twin Peaks due to the unusual nature and uneasy feeling the audience has during these scenes such as Agent Cooper’s dream.  The three articles are: The Allure of the Supernatural: Twin Peaks and the transformation of the detective story, The Supernatural Gothic, and Twin Peaks – box set review: a murdered beauty, a clean cut Fed and a screwball universe. 

                First, “The Allure of the Supernatural: Twin Peaks and the transformation of the detective story” is a scholarly article which can be accessed through Academia.edu.  Scholarly articles compared to a blog, or online news source is considered more formal in structure due to the writing style and could be due to the readership as well.  People do not read scholarly articles like this if they are looking for news about Twin Peaks or basic information.  The information is more elaborate and relates to other works and is not written based upon the opinion of the author.   The author, Marcel Hartwig, primarily talks about the causes and influences of the use of supernatural aspects on the show and the evolution of television based upon the Twin Peaks formula.  One example of this is when Hartwig is discussing the implications of the red room scene in Cooper’s dream.  Hartwig takes two different views of the scene saying that it can be perceived as a code needed to be deciphered in order to find Laura Palmer’s killer.  On the other hand, Hartwig relates this to other fields of study such as psychology and Freudian views of the mind, thoughts, and dreams.  Another aspect that is different between the scholarly article and the other articles is the way information is used in the article compared to a news site or a blog.  The information used is not based upon opinions but must be from other authors or researchers who have published works about specific elements, about the Twin Peaks show, or how Twin Peaks revolutionized television, Hartwig discusses throughout the article.  Overall Twin Peaks scholarly article may rely on scenes and analysis of the show but primarily focus on elaborating on research done previously and relating to the show using explanations and examples. 

                Second, “The Supernatural Gothic” by Andreas Blassmann discusses the supernatural elements of Twin Peaks and other plot elements as well different as compared to a scholarly article.  This paper/essay was submitted to the website http://www.thecityofabsurdity.com .  This website is a David Lynch fan website about movies, television shows, and his personal life.  If a person was to post to this website must mean that they identify with the others that they are hardcore David Lynch fans.  Therefore some point of views may be blinded due to the previously knowledge and liking of David Lynch movies and shows.  Also the writing style on fan sites like this are informal, such as using the work “I” to describes feelings or thoughts that a person has.  This paper only refers to article which it is talking about, which is Twin Peaks.  Because of this the paper has to only use elements of the television show to explain the actions, and thought processes of characters; Blassmann primarily focuses on the supernatural experiences Cooper has which include the scenes of Cooper’ Red Room dream, the character BOB, and the black lodge.  All these aspects have supernatural aspects to them and allow the viewer to make interpretations about Agent Cooper’s personality and his past as well.   When comparing a fan submitted paper to a review posted by a news source there are many differences.  However, one of the important aspects of these differences is based upon the author who posted on the website.  Authors on blogs and fan sites, such as this one, can fluctuate dependent on writing skills and the ability to express their ideas.  Websites similar to this one act as a middle ground between news sources and scholarly articles.  This paper seems to be closer to a scholarly article rather than a news review due to the writing style of the author and has similar aspects of scholarly articles such as citations, quotations, and some external information. 

                Lastly is the article, “Twin Peaks – box set review: a murdered beauty, a clean cut Fed and a screwball universe” by Phelim O’Neil posted on www.theguardian.com .  In the article by O’Neil it is as though O’Neil is trying to sell the show to viewers who have never watched by talking about specific details about the show such as the cultural impact it has and relating the impact of Twin Peaks to big name television shows as True Detective and Fargo, and mentioning Blue velvet, a film David Lynch has previously directed and relating certain aspects of the movie to the television show.  O’Neil then summarizes the story of the first season talking about the murder of Laura Palmer, the investigation that led Agent Cooper to arrive at Twin Peaks.  As well as introducing many other characters in the show such as Donna, James, and Ed’s wife.  When comparing this news article to the other two there are many differences that stick out between the two.  In the paper and scholarly articles, they refer to specific attributes of the show and information that can be used in comparison with it.  The news article does something similar but mentions shows, like previously stated, but it is in order to capture peoples’ attention since if they like that show then they will enjoy Twin Peaks as compared to an analysis between the shows.  This article is trying to sell the show to readers on The Guardian website to watch the show while the others articles elaborate on specific aspects of the show and try to understand and comprehend Twin Peaks with a deeper meaning.  It was difficult finding a specific article about supernatural aspects of Twin Peaks on a major news website since it is a very specific topic as compared to just an overall review of the show which is why this one seems to sell the show more than the others.

                Overall these different types of websites produce different types of information but it is dependent on the author and what one may be looking for as well.