Might as well jump in feet-first...

I've been thinking about the wordplay seen in some of the MD names (with Aunt Ruth = "a untruth" probably the clearest example), and wondered whether there might be a similar hidden meaning in Adam's name. With only one slight change (making the first 'e' in Kesher a long vowel sound instead of short), his name becomes a near-exact sound-alike for the phrase "A damn key's here."

ADAM KESHER

A DAMn KEy'S HERe

Lynch asks us to consider "Who gives a key, and why?" While Adam doesn't literally give a key, he does give roles in his movie (to various characters, depending on the dream/reality state), which could be described as "keys" in a way (keys to success in the movie biz, and so on).

I admit I don't have any really compelling suggestions for how to tie Adam to a key/keys, but keys and key imagery are so central to MD, that it seems possible the word similarity is intentional...

Another name play just occurred to me...

DIANE SELWYN = "Diane's hell we're in"

As with ADAM KESHER = "A damn key's here", you have to assume a mumbled or oddly-pronounced phrasing of the name to make it work, but I'm not sure that should disqualify the idea. After all, according to most interpretations, we are talking about a dreamer's perceptions for most or all of the film. It kind of puts me in mind of Finnegans Wake, where most of the multiple-meaning wordplay relies on a strange sort of garbled overhearing of words the way a sleeping or barely-awake person might experience...

this is sort of word play on Adam Kesher, just recently learned of this pun, probably intended given what we know about Lynch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akasha

His last name, "Kesher", is also Hebrew for "rainbow", which gives his whole name a sort of Biblical resonance. The symbol of the rainbow has several facets, but from Genesis, I think it connotes a covenant with God, which sort of brings to mind his agreement with the Cowboy.

ADAM KESHER

MA ASKED HER

These things are easy to do but rarely mean much. Should I build a story about Adam's Mother based on what happened at the MD Dinner scene? I think not.

Kesher is hebrew for linkage or connection, apparently.

ctyankee wrote:ADAM KESHER

MA ASKED HER

These things are easy to do but rarely mean much. Should I build a story about Adam's Mother based on what happened at the MD Dinner scene? I think not.

Sure, but we aren't talking about anagrams (or at least, I'm not). I'm not saying (for example) that you can rearrange the letters in "Diane Selwyn" to spell something different... I'm saying that the sound of "Diane Selwyn" itself can also sound like something else. A near-homophone rather than an anagram. :)

Kesher is hebrew for linkage or connection, apparently.

Oh right, I was thinking of keshet. Scratch the rainbow stuff obviously, linkage/connection is interesting, I'd like to think on what that suggests.

derekfnord wrote:

ctyankee wrote:ADAM KESHER

MA ASKED HER

These things are easy to do but rarely mean much. Should I build a story about Adam's Mother based on what happened at the MD Dinner scene? I think not.

Sure, but we aren't talking about anagrams (or at least, I'm not). I'm not saying (for example) that you can rearrange the letters in "Diane Selwyn" to spell something different... I'm saying that the sound of "Diane Selwyn" itself can also sound like something else. A near-homophone rather than an anagram. :)

Point taken. But "near-homphone" or the like is a slippery slope of imagination.

Rebekah del Rio becomes REBECCA RIOts with Lynch referencing the heart of Mulholland Dr. which is that Rita's/RIOTS is a Man. The Rebecca Riots is an infamous 19th century protest when men dressed as women an event that Lynch would certainly be familiar with. Rebecca Riots takes its name from the biblical book of Genesis (24:60) ... "And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, Thou art our sister." This brings up the secret of Club Silencio ... why the Magician tells us "it's all an illusion." It is Rita pretending to be a woman when she's really a man and reflects Rita's sadness when Betty turns her into a blonde as yet just another cosmetic change to hide who she really is. That's why Rita's body is hidden in shadows before the love scene and why Lynch blurred her crotch in the video release ... she's really a man. A pre-op she-male.

Now you know the truth ... if you can believe the crap I just typed built on a few facts.

That's actually a really interesting idea.

Adam Kesher = Adam cache her

Adam kissed her.

A

Dam

Cosher


The one who breaks the dam!