Low Culture Podcast: Mulholland Drive

In the first pod of 2025, John Doran explains his theory of David Lynch’s masterpiece

Hay no banda! There is no band… just two fine looking gentlemen of a certain age resplendent in their seasonal knitwear. John and Luke start 2026 with a resolution to be optimistic and positive in outlook from this point onwards. And all things considered – given the spiritually crushing subject matter at hand – they are fairly good to their word on the first Low Culture Podcast of the year. Mulholland Drive is a David Lynch neo-noir/black-comedy horror take on a romantic tragedy, nestled inside a metaphysical satire of Hollywood, built from the wreckage of an abandoned TV show pilot. It was released in 2001 to mixed reviews and general bafflement; but perhaps more importantly, it was deemed a commercial misfire to the extent that the director only produced one more feature film before his death last year. But at some point since its release, Mulholland Drive has gone on to become widely considered one of the best films of the 21st century so far. The be-jumpered pair place the film on a continuum that includes The Day Of The Locust (1975) and The Substance (2024), and consider it, ultimately, as a genuinely spiritual film about the possibility of redemption. John attempts to explain his grand narrative of what the hell he thinks is going on in the film, but will Luke be satisfied? But also the pair ask, what does this have to do with William Blake, or with an American ranching dynasty of the late 19th century, or in fact with Lynch’s East/West syncretic belief system? Pull up a pouffe, open up a packet of gluten free Hobnobs, whisper to yourself, ‘This is the girl’ and settle in, because it’s going to be a deep dive. Thanks to Alannah Chance for producing, and all of your for funding this work.