Back to School Blogathon: David Lynch Edition

I've done two interesting classes for Wendell Ottley's Back to School Blogathon but now, because I'm completely insane, I've decided to do a special edition. I'm going to be breaking the rules a bit for this one, since I'm not going to be sticking strictly to people who are students or staff in films that prominently featured schools. I've also tried to have each archetype be played by a character from a different film of his, which was tricky. Nonetheless, I think this will be an enjoyable little activity so let's begin.

Faculty

Duke Leto Atreides (Dune, 1984)- Headmaster

This is the kind of man you want overseeing things. He has plenty of money, power, and influence, but he also knows how to handle it all responsibly and puts the good of his people at the forefront. He will certainly know how to distribute the school's funding, and how to organize everything to create the best learning experience for his students. Unfortunately, he might not be prepared to deal with this group of students just yet.

Frederick Treves (The Elephant Man, 1980)- Professor

Treves is very much the sort of gentleman with the perfect balance of qualities for his job. He is calm, professional, and always tries to think through things rationally. However he is not above showing compassion when he needs to and, being a doctor, he is more than capable of caring for his students and helping them with their personal problems. I will, however, stick purely to Lynch's filmography, and will not be touching on his television work.

Students

Pete Dayton (Lost Highway, 1997)- Popular Guy

Pete's a guy that everybody loves. He is cool, he is a good mechanic, and he seems to be popular with the girls. Unfortunately, underneath all that Pete has a few problems of his own, namely his connections to shady mobsters. Long story short, if you need someone to look at your car he's your guy, but as appealing as he is it's best to avoid getting mixed up in his personal life.

Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, 1992)- Star Student

Cooper's a bit of an eccentric, but he is probably the smartest in the class in just how easily he picks up strange concepts. He's usually a few steps ahead of everyone else and they have no idea what he's doing, but whatever it is, it is working. In addition to that, he's also just a really great guy to be around most of the time.

Frank Booth (Blue Velvet, 1986)- Class Bully

How is this guy a bully? It would be much more difficult to explain in what way he isn't a bully. He beats people up, forces them to have sex with him, shouts at everyone, likes to taunt people, and has a tendency to use lots and lots of swear words. If you thought that one kid on the playground who liked to scare you into handing over your lunch money was bad you don't know the meaning of suffering. 

Sailor Ripley (Wild At Heart, 1990)- Class Clown

Well, how could this guy be anything else with his crazy over-the-top personality. True, he is a bit of a womanizer, but he is a guy who has a tendency to get into all kinds of strange situations and likes to bring his friends along for the ride. If there's anyone whose mere presence automatically guarantees weird things to happen (besides David Lynch), it's this guy.

Nicki Grace (Inland Empire, 2005)- Invisible Girl

Nicki has a lot going on with herself. She is a capable actress and has shown that talent but there is a limit to how demanding a role she can take, even if she gives it her all anyway. She doesn't seem to get much of the recognition she deserves for her hard work and talent, but perhaps a good director and a school play could turn things around for her.

Betty Elms/Diane Selwin (Mulholland Drive, 2002)- Troubled Youth

Which one is she really? Nobody seems to be entirely certain, but the one thing that is certain is that Betty/Diane isn't all there in the head. She can jump from being a perky young actress with a lot of talent one moment to a psychological wreck in the next. Nobody is quite sure what caused her to be like this, but all she really wants is to find a woman that loves her for who she is.