I really was intrigued by the names 'White Lodge' and 'Black
Lodge'. It only makes sense that some sort of building (or
organization?) be called a 'lodge' in the northwest. The ancient
Greeks figured their 'gods' lived up in the mountains (Mount
Olympus); the Dakota Sioux thought their spirits lived in the Black
Hills (hence their dismay when we went digging for gold there).
Every society has some religious system (EVERY society!) and there is
almost always a division between 'good' and 'evil'; even polytheistic
faiths (voodoo) divide their pantheon into the 'good' and 'bad'.
Christianity teaches that God has a throne and a sort of reception
area in heaven (see the book of Job), and satan presumably has his
version (a common theological misperception is that satan is in hell
now; he most cerainly is NOT in hell, and certainly does NOT want to
be there). So people in the Pacific Northwest would presumably
believe in competing good-and-evil spirits, and it only makes sense
to put them in lodges.
I personally think that Gerard was a subject of 'Bob's', but had a
Divine encounter and threw him out, and now is (occasionally?)
posessed by a good spirit, 'Mike' (note how different Gerard the shoe
salesman was, from the Mike we saw in the pilot). New Testament
theology suggests that evil spirits wander and take people, and
apparently leave them only to return later, hence the sporadic nature
of such unpleasant affairs.
as for the Angels in FWWM; I got the impression that Laura was
torn between the good and bad (as we all are!) and sort of worried
that she would give in to the bad, hence be ignored by the angels; in
a way her death was a mercy, as we see her angelic at the end, which
tells her friend Donna (and us) that it turned out all right for
her.
Interesting how TP characters seem to line up in 'good' (HST,
Cooper, the Haywards, the Hurleys) and 'bad' (Bobby Briggs, Leo and
Shelly, Ben Horne, Leland, Catherine); hardly anyone is in the
middle. Laura was sort of the only person who, you might say, walked
on both sides of the street; best friends with Donna, meals-on-wheels
with Norma, but also drugging with BB and working at 1EJ, etc.






---
In twinpeaks@yahoogroups.com, "hermitage171" <hermitage171@y...>
wrote:
> There are lots of things to love about Twin Peaks, but I think that
> one of the things that really distinguishes it is its supernatural
> side. I think that it's rather rare for a show to develop its own
ad
> hoc theology, and to do so in a way that is mysterious and
> intriguing rather than starkly expository.
>
> Of course, the theology is probably not intended to be taken
> seriously, but is nevertheless pretty fascinating.
>
> Twin Peaks is a detective story in which dreams and visions play a
> large role, and are often a source of vital information. Inhabiting
> spirits also come into play with the introduction of Mike and Bob.
> Also, notice that Mike says that he was changed when he saw the
face
> of God, which suggests that these spirits are potentially in
contact
> with a higher power. There are other beings which have magical
> powers, such as Ms. Tremond and her grandson.
>
> Different times are often connected in paradoxical ways. For
> example, Laura and Dale entered a dream of the Red Room together,
> and conversed, but Laura had the dream before she died, and Dale
> after.
>
> The theological/metaphysical nature of the show is taken to the
next
> level with the introduction of the black and white lodges. In the
> end, this provides fodder for many happy wonderings and
> imaginings... probably far more than the writers could have
> intended.
>
> We are confronted with various supernatural beings, such as the
> Giant, the Dwarf, Mike, Bob, Ms. Tremond, and her Grandson. We are
> not sure how these beings relate to either of the two lodges, with
> the exception of Bob, who seems rather clearly related to the Black
> Lodge. We also see two angels in FWWM who seem to be unambiguously
> good.
>
> We are also left to wonder about how the Red Room relates to the
> Lodges, and how the Red Room "works". It seems to have its own
> strange set of laws, but those are quite beyond us. If you step out
> of a room and then back in again, you are likely to find something
> quite different. Windom Earle seems to make a fatal error by
> accepting Dale's soul as a ransom, and as a result opens the way
for
> Bob to take his soul. Why is this "illegal"? Was there something
> else he should have done instead? Why did he even want Dale's soul
> anyway; what was he trying to achieve? Is it possible to be killed
> by simply physical violence in the Red Room, or does combat occur
on
> a sheerly spiritual / psychological level, such that defeat is
> caused by lack of courage, or perhaps lack of knowledge?
>
> How many people are in the Red Room at once? Is there only one Red
> Room, in Twin Peaks, or are there equivalents around the world? How
> do the supernatural beings and places in Twin Peaks relate to
others
> in different places? Is Twin Peaks unique in terms of its
> supernatural activity?
>
> We are given the notion that everyone has a shadow self, a
> doppelganger. Does everyone need to confront their shadow self, or
> only those who aspire to enter the White Lodge? What happens to
> those who are bested by their shadow selves? Are they damned?
> Trapped in limbo? Consigned to oblivion? What is required to best
> one's shadow self? Is it enough to simply not retreat?
>
> There are many more questions, of course, but I'll stop for now.
The
> point is, I think that this is part of the reason why Twin Peaks is
> fascinating: it offers a rather novel set of theological and
> metaphysical ideas.
>
> James