Call for papers

The Artistry and Legacy of David Lynch

The death of David Lynch in January 2025 is an immense loss for cinema, television and art and media at large. Lynch is regarded as a ‘maverick’ and one of the greatest directors of all time, as reflected by two of his films being included on the 100 Greatest Films of All Time list, published by Sight and Sound in 2022. As well as directing ten full-length fiction films and television series, most importantly Twin Peaks, Lynch left many other works, such as short films, paintings and compositions, music videos, commercials and weather reports, and many unrealised projects. He also appeared as an actor, in his own productions and Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, where he  played John Ford. The originality, uniqueness and influence of Lynch on the work of other artists is best reflected by the term ‘Lynchian’, used to describe his own productions, as well as those of other filmmakers, trying to emulate the style or mood of Lynch’s films.

This special issue of Panoptikum, guest-edited by Ewa Mazierska and published in English, would like to honour Lynch, through examining his works, as well as his influence on other artists and different types of media.

Possible topics include:

The evolution of Lynch’s aesthetics 

Lynch and Hollywood  

Lynch’s contribution to genre cinema, particularly horror, fantasy and road cinema

Lynch films as puzzle films

Music and sound in Lynch’s films and television productions

Hapticity in Lynch’s productions

Acting in Lynch’s films and television series

Lynch’s ‘ephemeral projects’ 

Lynch’s on and off-screen persona

Lynch as a painter, musician and designer

The place of Lynch in the global film canon

Lynch’s influence on contemporary film and television

Polyglot Lynch

Lynch’s fandom

 

Please send a 200-word article proposal, together with a short bio, to Panoptikum (https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/panoptikum/about/submissions) and Ewa Mazierska (EHMazierska@uclan.ac.uk) by 20th April 2025. The deadline for completed articles is 30 November 2025.