“Keep your eye on the donut, not the hole” has been oft repeated in order to call on us to look beyond tragedy and see the true beauty in things; it’s an optimistic sentiment that’s been evoked to pay tribute to legendary director David Lynch, who passed away last week just days before his 79th birthday. 

The internet has been aflame with fans of Lynch’s work giving deeply personal accounts of the impact he’s had on their lives. “The Guardian” heard from people of all backgrounds described him as “a unique and uncompromising artist” whose “creation opened up the world”. One fan said, “He spoke about creativity, spirituality, meditation, and staying true to who you are.”

The outpouring of appreciation from fans and colleagues of Lynch is multi-dimensional. You’ll find lovers of cinema attributing his filmography to their relationship with the craft and you’ll see passersbys who absorbed interviews where Lynch spoke with unapologetic positivity and vulnerability, in a time of media where snark seems to be evergrowing.

Though Lynch famously responded to philosophical inquiries about his movies with, “the film is the ‘talking’”, those friends and colleagues he left behind have spent the past week reminiscing on the sheer breadth of wisdom that he spouted in even the most casual circumstances.

“Blue Velvet” actor and friend to Lynch, Laura Dern, shared a heartfelt letter expressing both her shock at this loss, and a tribute to the generosity of a profoundly decent man, “Your deep inclusion of us as partners and peers profoundly shaped us both. You believed in the ritual of art and the grace that deserves to be given to it.”

“Blue Velvet”, “Mulholland Drive”, and “Eraserhead” offered no desire to achieve a ‘big studio’ spectacle feel; each work of art that Lynch put his soul into was wholly and entirely stitched together with his trademark mix of surrealism and love of life. The embrace of his work also spans across a myriad of communities.

Outpourings of appreciation and reverence for Lynch flowed in from members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who cite Denise Bryson, a transgender character on “Twin Peaks” as a cultural triumph. Bryson, played by David Duchovny in the early ‘90s, was shown to the public at a time in American media when the ball was frequently dropped in regard to appropriately representing members of the queer community. 

It was not merely the existence of Bryson that made such a difference, but it was also how she was handled. Lynch used his platform to make her a three dimensional character while also casting himself as FBI Chief Gordon Cole where he recited the prescient dialogue, “When you became Denise, I told all of your colleagues, those clown comics to fix their hearts or die.”

In a time where sitcoms in the ‘90s would rarely tell stories of the queer community, or would relegate those characters as jokes or punchlines, Lynch used his medium to take characters like Denise Bryson seriously.

Artistic integrity and decency to others has proven legacy for Lynch, and the tragic news of his passing made way for hundreds of individual tributes and heartwarming stories from people whose lives have been enriched by both his movies and his eclectic, ethereal nature.

Poet and writer Lauren Milici penned a tribute to her relationship to Lynch’s art, describing a short-lived crush on someone leading her to investigate his work, then evolving into a full blown obsession that, through films like “Wild at Heart” and “Inland Empire”, changed her life. In fact, the total number of film and media icons who had incredible things to say about the late director’s impact is too numerous to count.

Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, and Kyle MacLachlan, who all played key roles in the most revered of Lynch’s filmography, have shared personal tales and heartwrenching goodbyes to the director, spawning comments and replies from fans and actors alike who not only respected his filmography, but benefitted from his approach to kindness and humanity.

MacLachlan, who worked with Lynch for 40 years spanning multiple projects punctuated his memorial post, “I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.”

A common thread you’ll find while looking through the countless posts online is that Lynch’s kindness, optimism, and love of others stretched beyond traditional art. Thankfully, you can still see his hope and genius in conversations, like this 2020 conversation with “GQ”.

As the “GQ” interviewer asked how important happiness was, the director responded succinctly:

“I think it’s extremely important,” said Lynch. “You know they say, human beings are not made to be suffering. Bliss is our nature.We’re supposed to be happy. We’re not supposed to be sad. We’re not supposed to be suffering. We’re supposed to be happy campers enjoying life. And, you know, being kind to one another, and getting along, making sure that we’re all happy and we’re all together on this trip. Beautiful trip.”

For the past week, more of the world has been looking past the hole of the donut and seeing life for its beauty and substance, and we have David Lynch to thank for that.

*Cam Lyons has been an editor for the Thunderword since 2023. Their blog, “Loser Pulp“, is released twice a month.