Just throwing water-based things at the wall to see what sticks:

In a spiritual, religious or philosophical context, water is -- often times -- associated with knowledge, truth and (of course) life and the subconscious as well. Drinking is also of considerable importance in many different rites (notably in those of the theophagical kind).

Yes, his chants succeed in making people fall asleep -- but doesn't that sounds like an invocation or calling of sorts (a là "Drink ye all of it") as well? It was so remindful of that sequence, in Eraserhead, with the weird man/God pulling levers and gears (although the whole episode was imbued in Lynch's nightmarish movie-world).

But I'm not even sure making this kind of connections, or looking particularly hard for meanings, are the right approach: most of this episode pushed so badly for the audience to relinquish any rational interaction with the show, to experience it sensiorially and on an emotional level. 

Posted by: Häxan L. MorningStar

Just throwing water-based things at the wall to see what sticks:

 

In a spiritual, religious or philosophical context, water is -- often times -- associated with knowledge, truth and (of course) life and the subconscious as well. Drinking is also of considerable importance in many different rites (notably in those of the theophagical kind).

Yes, his chants succeed in making people fall asleep -- but doesn't that sounds like an invocation or calling of sorts (a là "Drink ye all of it") as well? It was so remindful of that sequence, in Eraserhead, with the weird man/God pulling levers and gears (although the whole episode was imbued in Lynch's nightmarish movie-world).

 

But I'm not even sure making this kind of connections, or looking particularly hard for meanings, are the right approach: most of this episode pushed so badly for the audience to relinquish any rational interaction with the show, to experience it sensiorially and on an emotional level. 

I agree that retionalization seems less appropriate than ever. That said, "water" has also long been a symbol for sex in poetry. 

I argue it is related to sleeping and sleepwalking, sort of like giving an atom(laura, guaranteed goodness, etc.) to people by those who can split the atom; what is supposed to be good is evil, Laura.  It is definitely about evoking a terrifying meaninglessness, but here, doesnt the very meaninglessness and the terror it evokes necessarily provoke a reaction to try and make sense of it all, to deal with it in some way, solve the mystery?

But the people speaking the chant also treat 'black-void-nothing' as if it is a guaranteed atom, as if the power to destroy the atom-reality can guarantee their reign over the world, and since this is all that exists, it should be never-endingly chased (BOB chasing Laura, Dougie chasing Jade, etc.).  They believe void-nothing can be controlled and utilized for their gain, as if nothing is directly something, an atom(white-being, Laura as orb), but nothing is not something and something is not nothing.....Laura/Windom Earle tired to make void-nothing into an atom(the modus operandi of people like Laura and BOB) and were destroyed by it in the same old process of the sadomasochistic downfall of self pity, impotent rage, and self destruction. The woodsmen, BOB, etc. thus fall victim to the same trap as the 'good-white' people, which explains why they are effectively on the same side, drinking the guaranteed well of the atom while leaving the problem untouched and festering....the 'white' ignores the problem(that she laura is gone and woodsmen bob rule the world) and they enjoy the world created by people like BOB......(for example, wasnt the scene with the enjoyment of pie lady, Shelly, and Heidi bordering on the obscene, how to be so happy with such a screwed up world?)

The white and black here (being nothing, becoming) both affirm evil, thanks to the spirit of the radio and the convenience store, the only difference between them is the mode of dealing with it...Most people, like Shelly, pie lady, etc.  just ignore the problem, so their feelings arent hurt and slowly degrade into boring meaninglessness reinvented by a new perversion somewhere down the line; while others go to extremes (woodsmen, bob, laura) in order to ignore the problem, as if they could somehow grasp nothing as something, and this results in the violent ends of Laura, BOB, the junkie lady in Rancho Rosa, etc.....

Forcing people to drink from the well of laura/twin peaks, dark inside and white on outside; so that the atom bomb can even be seen as good news, the atom can be split....the thread can be torn Mr. Palmer, no need to use this power chasing after something that doesnt exist, but only affirms boring self destruction time and time again, making the world into 'a world of truck drivers'

Also, the theme of the apocalypse here(atomic explosions and the pale horse of the apocalypse): BOB and the woodsmen are basically permanently creating the apocalypse, making the pale horse of the apocalypse drink here and now, over and over.....time and time again BOB BOB BOB, nothing has changed in 25 years, no one solved Laura's mystery.....the apocalypse is always here and now, laura is ruined, evil, dead, and gone, and everyone continues to ignore it and enjoy it, hiding from the tough work of confronting the problem(bobby at the funeral did this, thats why he genuinely cries at her picture....)

My initial assumption was that this particular Woodsman or Dugpa or whatever it is was not only hypnotizing the audience of the radio station, but sending out a "signal" to the rest of the "evil" letting them know it was prime feeding time.  I don't know if we know why the signal went out in that year precisely.   Any ideas out there?  Maturation?  Something else in the time line?

Also the only other reference we have for "the horse" that I know of is the white horse Sarah Palmer sees, and the one we've seen in the lodge.  If the horse is the white of the eyes maybe it's a reference to things seen on the periphery of your vision? 

I vaguely recall reading a theory, somewhere in the dark recesses of the internet, that water has a repulsive power to Black Lodge beings (e.g., Leland's death scene when Bob left), much the same electricity being an attractive force.

And the water has to, has to, tie into coffee somehow.  

Posted by: mstokesmd

I vaguely recall reading a theory, somewhere in the dark recesses of the internet, that water has a repulsive power to Black Lodge beings (e.g., Leland's death scene when Bob left), much the same electricity being an attractive force.

 

And the water has to, has to, tie into coffee somehow.  

But the headcrushing dugpa/woodman on the radio seemed to be all pro-water and absolutely evil (thus Black Lodge related), no?

Indeed, but perhaps the poem he was reciting has a negative connotation, at least from the woodsman's perspective - water is bad, causing us [woodsmen] to descend.