There is a faction of Lynch fans and critics that argue that attempts to locate genuine narrative meaning in several of his more experimental films is in fact missing the point. This is partially linked to Lynch's "cinema of attractions", and the idea that he is most interested in creating exciting sequences and bizarre images than actually generating a cohesive story. While it is clear that Lynch certainly doesn't reject all forms of narrative structure (even his most abstract films have some form of story), the argument is that he includes many scenes primarily for their emotional resonance rather than to achieve narrative closure - often, perhaps, deliberately to tease his audience and remind them that they are watching a film. There are, of course, the famous performance scenes littered throughout his films. The Club Silencio sequence in Mulholland Drive, Julee Cruise's songs in Twin Peaks, Sailor's Elvis impersonations in Wild At Heart, The Rabbits in their sitcom... Scenes that throb with genuine emotionality, beauty and darkness, but often seem to lack little narrative purpose. Even in the case of Club Silencio, which is a scene that has been interpreted narratively in numerous ways, the ambiguities and stunning power of the sequence appear far more important than what Lynch is actually trying to tell the audience. The most crucial clue that drives this perspective that Lynch is deliberately avoiding meaning and teasing audience expectations is located in his frequent use of enigmatic shots that never reveal anything and inclusion of seemingly central characters and bizarre non-sequiturs that don't seem to add much to the central narrative. There is the infuriating blue box in Mulholland Drive, which seems set to provide the answers before its absolute emptiness is ultimately revealed. See also the ominous shots of roads that appear in each of his films, all of which look set to lead the viewer to the answers that they desire but ultimately go nowhere. There's the unexplained side stories and characters in Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire that never seem to lead anywhere. The mocking take on Sherlock-style detective stories found in Agent Cooper's deductive techniques in Twin Peaks. The looping narrative of Lost Highway, with its unexplainable "Dick Laurent is dead" paradox. The Bum in Mulholland Drive - the character supposedly in control of everything - whose narrative role effectively appears unresolved and meaningless. Lynch wants everyone to remember that film is not purely about mysteries and stories. It is also about experiencing images and sounds that cannot be experienced elsewhere. The audience's search for meaning in Lynch's films is constantly undermined, because - this theory goes - seeking meaning in his work misses the point. As he himself as stated, "A film should stand on its own... People have a yearning to make intellectual sense of cinema. And when they can't do that, it feels frustrating."
