Alienation and Redemption in Eraserhead

The first 200 words of this essay...

Myo Kyaw Min

Surrealism and Film

12/6/2001

Alienation and Redemption in Eraserhead

David Lynch's Eraserhead can be seen as an expression of the pervading sense of alienation in modern society. Lynch's protagonist, Henry, lives in a bizarre and frightening industrial wasteland that is both a cause and a product of the alienation of its inhabitants. When exploring the alienating forces in Henry's world, the viewer gains a sense of disillusionment with modernity, and a hope that humanity will one day have the will to redeem itself.

A discerning viewer will notice two forms of alienation: external and internal. In the external world, the major alienating element is artificiality. The manmade wasteland drones intermittently, cold and unnerving. Large metal pipes congest the already narrow spaces, creating an even more ominous atmosphere. In a futile attempt to cloak the bleakness of Henry's world with false cheer, pleasant music sometimes plays in the background, distant and weak. In such an alienating environment, the inhabitants alienate each other even more through their insincere and superficial conventions. During Henry's dinner with the X's, Henry's dialogue with Mrs. X is strained and shallow; the two merely follow the conventions