Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Jonathan Monovich: Knowing David Lynch’s background as an Eagle Scout, my article, “The ‘Eagle Scout Film’: David Lynch as Auteur and Genre Filmmaker” explores how many of Lynch’s films and their protagonists, particularly Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) in Blue Velvet (1986), embody Eagle Scout-like heroes and serve as genre-like “Eagle Scout films.” After conducting the necessary research, I recognized that Lynch’s films and their protagonists have many similarities with the film noir and western genres and their detective/cowboy heroes through their dealings with ethics, morality, and justice in sadistic worlds. Ultimately, in Lynch’s genre-hybrid films, he acts as an auteur by using recurring thematic preoccupations/stylistic tendencies, while exemplifying hostile environments offset by a central protagonist with an Eagle Scout-like set of morals (i.e., trustworthiness, kindness, bravery). Throughout my essay, I investigate David Lynch’s background as an Eagle Scout, how his experience as an Eagle Scout likely influences his films, and how his films have Eagle Scout-like protagonists that offset the cruel worlds they live in, helping classify a genre for his films that I define as the “Eagle Scout film.” Being a cinephile with an immense appreciation and admiration for French cinema and some of the most accomplished pioneers of film theory including André Bazin and Francois Truffaut, I strove to write my essay in a similar fashion to some of my idols.
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
JM: This essay is personal to me as I am an Eagle Scout and a huge David Lynch fan. The inspiration for this essay comes from an article I read in the official Eagle Scout magazine, Eagle’s Call, titled “Inside the Weird, Wild Mind of David Lynch.” From reading this article, I learned that David Lynch is an Eagle Scout who is immensely proud of his accomplishment as he still includes the award in his résumé to this day. I knew that this would make for a fantastic film studies essay as it is a subject matter that has largely been neglected. In preparing to write my essay, I used theoretical film studies literature from my Film Theory course at DePauw, supplementary film studies literature largely from academic databases, Lynch’s autobiography Room to Dream, the documentary David Lynch: The Art Life (2016), and the films of Lynch’s oeuvre. In choosing my topic for my essay, I relied primarily on analysis of the auteur and genre theories in articulating my overall argument.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
JM: I originally wrote this essay for a final research paper assignment for Professor Seth Friedman’s Film Theory course while a senior at DePauw University. The purpose of the assignment was to write a 10-15-page essay, constructing an argument that makes an original contribution to film studies, relying on film theory and scholarly literature for support. The overall focus of the course was to examine the question “what is the essence of cinema” from a theoretical lens. In exploring a critical examination of the essence of cinema, we examined the history and evolution of the film medium, cinema’s cultural/societal role during key junctures and transitionary phases in history, the discursive nature of film genres and genre theory’s reliance on film criticism, the significance and origin of the auteur theory, the classical Hollywood narrative structure vs. independent cinema/arthouse cinema, postmodern filmmaking, and many other subjects.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
JM: After learning about Film Matters magazine from my Writing About Film and Independent Cinema Professor, Angela Flury, I decided to submit my essay for publication after graduation. Overall, DePauw was a phenomenal university in helping me improve my writing and critical thinking skills. With a liberal arts education, I was able to double major in Film Studies and Economics. The Film Studies Department was extremely supportive throughout my academic career and greatly aided in my development as a writer through a writing-intensive curriculum. With a combination of film history, theory, criticism, screenwriting, and production courses, DePauw provided me with a multifaceted, diverse film studies education that helped me to expand upon my foundation as a film scholar.
FM: How has your faculty mentor fostered your advancement as a film scholar?
JM: My mentor for this essay, Professor Seth Friedman, was a great asset to my advancement as a film scholar. Professor Friedman was an integral part of my education at DePauw as he helped me to view films through different lenses. As a result of taking his Film Theory and International Media courses, I gained a fascination for film theory and now frequently read film theory essays on a regular basis. I enjoyed attending Professor Friedman’s classes as they were always very informative and his passion for the subject matter was always very evident. I am greatly appreciative that Professor Friedman’s courses were reading and writing intensive and heavily reliant on class discussion, as the material and assignments for his courses helped me to learn a tremendous amount about film studies. Additionally, I am immensely appreciative for all of Professor Friedman’s advice, mentorship, and support in the process of writing this essay.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
JM: Film Matters provided valuable feedback and commentary on my essay. As this is my first publication, it was a very exciting and rewarding process. I am very grateful for this opportunity, and I am incredibly thankful for the editors’ constructive criticism, encouragement, and overall feedback.
FM: What audience do you hope to reach with your Film Matters article and/or what impact do you hope it has on the field of film studies?
JM: I hope that my article will excite David Lynch fans and encourage his viewers to see his films in a new light. More broadly, I hope that readers of my article will see my writing as a valuable contribution to the overall study of David Lynch and the film theory facet of film studies literature. Through watching Lynch’s films, I believe that we can all learn to improve ourselves as individuals, while trying to make the world a better place for all in trying to offset the troubles that we face, just as Lynch’s protagonists do in his films. Through examining David Lynch’s oeuvre, I hope that readers of my essay will see the power of the film medium’s ability to offer escapist qualities and serve a social-problem-solving function. Lastly, I hope that my essay reaches David Lynch from one Eagle Scout to another, as his films and wisdom about art have had a great impact on my life.
FM: What are your future plans?
JM: I plan to continue my endeavors as a film scholar. On a weekly basis, I strive to read a great deal of film-related literature and to watch multiple highly regarded, culturally/historically significant films to help increase my knowledge of film studies and to increase my credibility as a film scholar. In the near future, I plan on submitting more of my writing for publication in different film journals. I am also working on writing a book.
Author Biography
Jonathan Monovich graduated with honors in Film Studies and Economics from DePauw University. His writing centers on film analysis, history, and theory. He enjoys reading Cahiers du Cinéma, collecting Criterion Collection films, and watching 35mm and 70mm film prints at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.
