Twin Peaks Déjà Vu and the World Economy

Image Source: Daily Mail.

In November 2014, Brooke Shields released a memoir, in which she reminisced about a few dates she shared with George Michael in the 1980s. The iconic photo of them brought back a decade, filled with glitz, glamour, and the high price of both. It is a world away from today's tricky global economies and crumbling infrastructure, where everything is deadly serious. Nevertheless, it feels like something of the 80s is returning and that time is coming full circle. Sadly, Whitney Houston's daughter has reminded me of the 1980s; so does Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, in her breakout role in cinemas in Fifty Shades of Grey. There were many more nuances to that time, more profound than the ones selected here below the jump. But what is shown here was a major American theme: high living with beautiful people and smooth operators in the sunshine.

Dakota Johnson. Image Source: The Wrap.

One of the videos below the jump is from 1982: Eminence Front from The Who's studio album It's Hard:

In the song, Townshend sings about the delusions and drug use of the wealthy and hedonistic. The lyrics describe a party in which people hide from their problems behind a facade. Townshend has introduced the song in live performances with: "This song is about what happens when you take too much white powder; it's called 'Eminence Front.'"

The 80s promised wealth and all its sins to the masses of the United States (and to her allies who were invited to the party). Today, wealth is exclusive again in America. Capital as Power speaks of the 2010s' New Gilded Age for the Plutonomy. The United States sports a handful of home-grown billionaires. But riches are no longer promised democratically and freely to the general population of the country. That is what the exuberance, styles and expectations of the 1980s were about. The door to a big, prosperous middle class was wide open. An entire nation would become wealthy. No child left behind. Everyone would be wealthy. In 2015, Americans know better; they are abandoning the glossy, marbled shopping malls, the proletarian palaces of 80s' spending. Conspicuous consumption and money's excesses have moved on: in the late 90s, they finally arrived in London; then they flew to Dubai; to Hong Kong and Singapore; then Mumbai; by 2012, they roared through Seoul, Gangnam Style, and now, money is flooding the Asia-Pacific region, in cities like Jakarta. Don't believe the beautiful illusions, people. The crash always follows.

Some don't learn. Some surf the wave, moving from place to place, following the money, and never learning the full lesson. If you want to do that, pack your bags for sub-Saharan Africa, and get there before the 2030s. Or you can follow where the Internet of Things will take you, although according to CompTIA tech analyst Seth Robinson, "There's no map" for that.

Image Source: Hypable.

Some do learn. Sobered Americans, like the Japanese, Greeks and other peoples who blew all their money, are ahead of the curve, not behind it. They rose to the height of prosperity based on industry and trade. They shared the unambiguous virtues of engineers and builders of society. It's like that line in Citizen Kane: "It's not hard to make a lot of money, if all you want to do is make a lot of money." The real psychological and moral challenges come from squandered riches. As money trickles back to America and other once-ultra-prosperous nations, the cautionary tales which explored those challenges in the 1980s and 1990s return. This is because the challenges posed by spent money are fully digested in culture, not in the economy, politics or society. That is why Twin Peaks, David Lynch's perilous 1990-1991 journey into the American soul, is set to return in 2016:

In May 2013, cast member Ray Wise stated what Lynch had said to him regarding a possible reboot: "Well, Ray, you know, the town is still there. And I suppose it's possible that we could revisit it. Of course, you're already dead ... but we could maybe work around that."

Image Source: Before the Bombs Fall.

Tangerine Dream, James Caan, oxygen tanks and beaches: Thief (1981) beach scene in a neo-noir from Michael Mann (Hat tip: South Willard). Video Source: Youtube.

Thief soundtrack (1981) by Tangerine Dream. Video Source: Youtube.

The Chauffeur (Sleepdriver Remix) (1982) by Duran Duran. Video Source: Youtube.

Eminence Front (1982) by The Who/P. Townshend. Video Source: Youtube.

Michelle Pfeiffer in the elevator scene, Scarface (1983) © Universal Pictures. Compare this to her 1978 Miss California beauty pageant entry. Video Source: Youtube.

The Miami Vice episode, Little Miss Dangerous (Episode 15, Season 2; 31 January 1986), featured the song This is What You Want ... This is What You Get by Public Image Ltd. (1984). Video Source: Youtube.

Crockett's Theme (1987) by Jan Hammer. Video Source: Youtube.

The end of St. Elmo's Fire (1985): "This isn't real. It's St. Elmo's fire, electric flashes of light that appear in dark skies out of nowhere." Notice that this image and the one below from Fire Walk with Me are basically the same composition with the same symbols. Image Source: Waiting for Reality.

The unfixable enigma of Twin Peaks (1990-1991).  Image Source: The Dissolve.

Clip from Fire Walk with Me (1992). Laura Palmer: "I'll see you again in 25 years." Some commenters at the Twin Peaks Gazette think that Laura's 'meanwhile' sign (see it here) looks like a flame. Video Source: Youtube.