The lights being on or off to signify 'life' has me thinking...

When Adam enters the corral, the light is off. We see some flashes and hear electrical sounds. The light doesn't come on until the Cowboy arrives. Does this signify that Adam is 'not alive' and that Cowboy is 'alive'?

I understand that electrical flashes and sounds (the dzzzzt sound) supposedly signify the 'supernatural'. These are present as well as the light. But are these different than the light coming on? I think so. So, I think the flashes and the sound are indicative of something supernatural happening (the Cowboy is coming). The light coming on is indicative of something (Cowboy) being alive.

Is Cowboy's arrival supernatural? Is Cowboy's resurrection supernatural? After all, isn't a corral where a Cowboy would be found? Maybe the Cowboy is 'inert', a ghost, or a corpse (something 'not alive') until something supernatural brings him back to life.

Maybe when something is 'not alive' it resides someplace, some special place, where other 'not alive' things are. Think of 2 planes of existence. Not heaven and hell, just 'alive' and 'not alive'. Or 'infused with life' and 'void of life'. You exist in one plane if you are alive. You exist in the other when you are 'not alive'. You can travel between the two by supernatural means. A 'higher power' supernatural being resides over both. There are 2 'lesser power' supernatural beings: one resides over the 'infused with life' (alive) plane and the other resides over the 'void of life' (not alive) plane. There is a gateway between the two planes.

If you travel to 'alive' from 'not alive' (or vice versa), it has to be with a purpose, it is temporary and requires permission. If permission is granted, you are given a key and are allowed to pass through the gateway. The key doesn't actually open the gateway, it just serves as a symbol of permission to be where you do not belong. When the lesser beings notice you in their plane (and you don't belong there) you need to provide the symbol as evidence that you are allowed. Like showing a passport. The symbol expires. Like a passport. Travel to the other plane is temporary and when the timer runs out you are to return to your plane.

I'm going to leave it here for now. I want to think about this more. BUT...I think someone cheated (or there was an accident) and someone isn't in the right place.

There is something, dealing with lights, that I want everyone to look at if they can. Something that I noticed from the first viewing, and, after reading some MD 'making of' material, gives me reason to believe that where Laura and Naomi stood after reaching the top of the path was of great importance. Camilla and Diane walk up the path to the pool and they stand side by side. Take a good look at what you see behind Diane's head (it might be after Adam comes out...it's been a while since I've seen it). Also, notice the color 'playing' on Camilla's face.

Maybe the blue box is a 'cheater' gateway. A 'rogue' gateway that has been constructed.
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There is another shot that always intrigued me. Right after Rita 'collapses' in the bush, DL shows us the gate of Havenhurst. Just inside the gate we see 2 potted flowers. One is baby blue and the other is pink. There's meaning in this...not just showing us that she has arrived at Havenhurst. We'd figure that out with the 'Aunt Ruth' scenes.
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Something else. Maybe there is more than one plane for people who are 'not alive'. Which 'not alive' plane they belong in depends on the attitude they had while in 'alive'. This would be more like 'heaven and hell', but there would be only one 'heaven', where there would be many 'hells'.

Or, there could be 2 planes, 'alive' and 'not alive', but 'not alive' has many levels. 17 to be exact. The top level, the penthouse level, is a sort of 'heaven'. There are 16 levels of 'hell'. The farther down you go, the more intense the 'hell' effect is. The top level, 'heaven' is numbered 1. The worst 'hell', the lowest level, is numbered 17.

I'm still not sure who cheated, or even if someone cheated...it could have been an accident. And Dan, Adam and Diane seem to be the only ones who see supernatural beings. The blue-haired Lady sits up high...she watches all from her perch and cannot easily be (if at all) touched.

Maybe instead of there being 16 levels of 'hell' there are as many levels as there are colors in the rainbow. And maybe each color represents a level, or an attitude. Maybe these same levels apply to 'heaven' as well. Again, determined by your attitude. But if there are two sets, then is there a 'gray area' between them?

There are 7 colors in a rainbow. Then we have white, black and gray.

White could represent 'heaven' and black 'hell'.

Just food for thought.

I need to clarify that light bulbs that are on or off signal 'alive' or 'not alive'. I'm playing with the idea that light or dark, white or black are an indication of good or bad.

Dan has had two dreams that are exactly alike...except for the light.

'Heaven' and 'hell'? White and black? Good and bad? The dream represents how Dan lives his life...the light represents the attitude he has during his life. Now he plays it out. This is our witnessing the end of his life. (He will then go to the 'not alive' plane of existence.) But, where he resides there is based on his attitude. In the diner he reveals that he is a very frightened soul. We witness him facing it by walking the walk to the back of the diner. He faced his fear...which is considered a good quality. He redeemed himself by facing the fear and therefore, I believe, he gets to go to 'heaven' or the 'good' place within the plane of 'not alive'.

Another way of putting it is that Dan faced his demon. His demon is represented by the bum.

I posed a question before...and for some reason I feel compelled to repeat it. Somehow, somewhere, down my road of thought, I think it might apply. Lol!

If the Wicked Witch of the West was in an accident and lost her memory, would she remember that she was wicked?

When I posed the question, I had Laura Harring in mind because she is the one we see in an accident. But Diane could be seen as a 'witch' figure, also, if she did indeed have Camilla killed. And there is a second wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz.

BTW - I found that you can read Baum's 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' online, at the Library of Congress, here:
http://read.gov/books/pageturner/2006ge ... 1/mode/1up

The story differs greatly from the film. In the story, Oz is a real place that Dorothy goes. There is no dream. Dorothy had silver shoes, but she still had to click them three times to get home. Because the story does not place Dorothy in a dream world, she physically goes home after clicking her heels. Yellow winkies were enslaved by the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda is adorned with rubies and the color red. The Emerald City was not really green. Everyone wore glasses with green lenses which made everything look green. There is a magic cap one wears which commands the assistance of the flying monkeys when they are called. You can use this cap three times. I didn't read the whole story, just flipped through some of it. This is the version of the book I had as a small child, like 6 or 7. I recognize the illustrations. Wow! Lol!

The mention of yellow winkies reminded me of one other sighting that always gave me wonder. During the scene with Dan and Herb, you see people walking by outside. At one point, you see someone dressed head-to-toe in yellow walk by (they have a normal-looking companion). Even their shoes were yellow. A little later, you see a person (also with, and somewhat obscured by, a companion) dressed head-to-toe in baby blue. They walk in the opposite direction that the 'yellow' person walked. I think these figures are cameos of the winkies in TWoO. And we're at Winkie's. I bet that when I read the entire story, I find that there are several different colored winkies.

'A shortcut' would describe this 'rogue' gateway perfectly. But I don't think it's the box.

"A shortcut. It's beautiful."
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One thing I want to point out about the box is that the hole in it changes places with each glimpse of it. People have mentioned that the hole movement reminds them of a clock. I think that this blue box is a symbol (of permission to be where you don't belong) that has a timer (like I mentioned before about symbols ['passports'] expiring).

Also, regarding the box, I think that Betty had this box the whole time. She just didn't discover it until she was at Club Silencio. Much like Dorothy had the ability to go home the whole time, but didn't know it. Club Silencio gave her the ability to see the box (ie., it removed the illusion that was keeping Betty from seeing it). Club Silencio may be a place that removes all illusions that are being used against you.

This would explain why Rita would want to go there right now. The situation she is in, where Betty loves her and is taking good care of her, must be an illusion...right? Too good to be true? Let's go to Club Silencio and find out...and find out now.
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[Take a good look at what you see behind Diane's head (it might be after Adam comes out...it's been a while since I've seen it).]
The distant LA city lights?

Yes. They surround her head like an 'aura', sorta like we see in many paintings of saints and Mary in christian belief. And, to me, they indicate that she is from the 'alive' place.

[Also, notice the color 'playing' on Camilla's face.]
Swirling blue from the pool?

Yes. I think this is an indication that Camilla is in (or is from) the 'blue place' that is part of the 'not alive' plane (see my post above regarding levels). I haven't developed a theory on what the 'blue' is yet in this new idea I've posed. Lol! But my wheels are turning. I believe this, though: Diane and Camilla are not from the same place.

Here's an idea. It has to do with the box being invisible, which I talked about previously. While reading the story of The Wizard of Oz, I came upon a part that intrigued me.

In order to trick Dorothy into giving her the magical silver shoes, the Wicked Witch of the West placed a heavy, metal bar in the middle of a room. She then made it invisible so that Dorothy would trip over it. Dorothy did trip over it and this caused one of her shoes to fly off.

I concluded that it's possible that Betty had the blue box in her possession the whole time. She didn't know it because she didn't see it...it was invisible. Maybe the missing bowl of peppers on Aunt Ruth's table was a 'test' of this trick.

But now I'm thinking...
After the key and money were removed from Rita's bag, Betty asked Rita if they made her remember anything. Rita: "There's...something...there." Is this a clue? A clue that there was something else there? The box? Did Betty make it invisible? So that she could steal it later and hide it?

It's possible that Rita was supposed to go into the box. Going into the box takes Rita to where she belongs. Betty knows this, but Betty didn't want her to go just yet (or even at all). She wanted to do a few things first (or keep her here with her forever). So she made it invisible. But when they went to Club Silencio, the box was made visible. Betty had no knowledge of this place, Club Silencio, and its abilities to remove illusions. When Betty opened her bag to get a tissue, she saw the box. It shocked her so much, that the box was visible, that she took it out without thinking...and Rita saw it.

("Now you've done it!" "Just pretend you didn't see it. It's better that way.")

It's obvious that Rita sees the box, knows she has a matching key and she's gonna use it. Rita is going to leave now and go where she belongs. How will she stay with Rita now?

I'll tell you how she stays with Rita. She makes herself invisible (we see Betty disappear) and, with Rita unaware, she goes into the box with her.

The Witch of the North tells Dorothy that witches do not exist in the civilized world.

A civilized world and a magical world.

If what I posed in the post above is true, then it is Diane who is someplace that she doesn't belong. She now finds herself in the civilized world. Witches can't exist here. Maybe the slow decline we see in Diane is her version of 'melting'. She looks more and more disheveled and her robe fades. She is slowly fading away.
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Maybe the LA lights behind her, when she and Camilla are poolside at Adam's, are indicative of her being from the magical place.

Wow lot's of ideas vicster, not sure what to make of it all... but then you seem to be doing just fine chatting it through amoungst yourself - have you consider having a second account with a pink/blonde avatar so you can conduct these inner dialogues in a more cinematic fashion? lol

Thanks for the observation of the pink and blue flower. I'm sure you've noticed the pink and blue chairs next to the pool as Adam arrives home? I tend to think that blue represents truth or transcendence, so pink and blue = transcendence of innocence, which makes sense in connection with Adam's discovery of the inappropriate sexual relations and subsequent eviction from his home, but I don't see what this is pointing to at Havenhurst?

It makes sense that Camilla is bathed in blue light i.e. from the dead place becase it's a flashback; when Diane is remembering the walk up the hill Camilla is already dead.

If Diane is sporting a halo of electric lights from distant LA maybe this connects to the supernatural electricity that moves her from the living to the dead, foreshadowing her eventual demise and simultaneously deifying her.

BTW Dan doesn't have the same dream twice but with different light, he says he's had the same dream twice only "they're both the same... it's like this (Winkie's).. except for the light. It's kinda half light."

Vicster, this is more terrific stuff from you. I haven't posted for a good while because my ideas are so established (in my own mind) that I seem to have no further place to go with them, without returning to my original template, and this has become an obstacle for my thought process and imagination. But you keep moving on with these new ideas. I love the idea that Mulholland Drive is a sort of Wizard of Oz for grown ups. I will go to the link, that you put above, and read Frank Baum's book. I was about 7, when the book was read to us at school, but I have an idea that to fit it all in we were read either an abridged version or just extracts or we just never got to the end before the term finished. I can't really remember which, because it was a long time ago.