David Lynch
David Lynch and his iconic PlayStation 2 ad: the surrealism that left gamers speechless 25 years ago
The acclaimed filmmaker surprised everyone with his approach to the possibilities of PS2.
Yesterday we received the sad news that David Lynch, one of the most influential filmmakers of recent decades, has passed away at the age of 78. His legacy, defined by a unique style that blends the surreal with the disturbing, has left an indelible mark on film and television. However, Lynch’s influence was not limited to these media, but extended to other media such as video games. A clear example of this can be found in his PlayStation 2 commercial, which is still remembered today for how strange it was.
In 2000, Lynch was chosen by Sony as the ideal person to direct a TV commercial that would end up being characterized by its “surreal” and “disturbing” atmosphere. Entitled 'The Third Place,' the spot featured a man in a strange and abstract space surrounded by all sorts of dreamlike elements. Along a dark corridor, the protagonist encounters alternate versions of himself, a female astronaut, esoteric voices, deformations of his body and smoke that blurs the entire scene. Finally, he meets a clone of herself, a mummy and a man with a duck’s head, who welcomes him to “The Third Space”.
A very original way to promote the launch of the PS2
On the occasion of the death of David Lynch, many gamers remember this advertisement from the PS2 era that left no one indifferent. The most common interpretation of what we see on the screen is that PlayStation 2 is a console that can make you feel everything, even abstracting you to the point that you feel like you are “inside a dream”. It is likely that the mind behind such award-winning films as ‘Mulholland Drive’ or ‘Blue Velvet’ had this idea in mind when promoting such a machine, because it is, after all, another medium that allows you to tell stories in a different way.
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