A few minutes from the beginning of Eraserhead is a single image which unlocks the whole film - a nearly abstract shot from above the radiator, with a sock drying between the third and fourth coils. The first two radiator coils form an `H'. The sock's placement suggests the letter `O', and the remaining verticals complete a jolting likeness of the famous sign in the Hollywood hills. Henry's walk home, the puddle, and the wet sock are simply a `deus ex machina' leading to this shot.
It turns out that the radiator plays a major role it is home to the only semblance of entertainment in the whole movie. (In a way it takes the place of a television set in the apartment.) In its next appearance the radiator opens onto a stage, and later a dolled-up girl comes onstage to sing and dance. The song is a caricature of Hollywood: `In Heaven, everything is fine!/You've got your good things, and I've got mine.' Eventually this becomes `...you've got mine,' pointing to Hollywood's seductive use of glamour.
The indication is that Eraserhead is about Lynch's struggle with Hollywood. Like Henry, the director is an outsider (with respect to Hollywood at this point in his career), and the baby seems to represent his movie.
It turns out that the radiator plays a major role it is home to the only semblance of entertainment in the whole movie. (In a way it takes the place of a television set in the apartment.) In its next appearance the radiator opens onto a stage, and later a dolled-up girl comes onstage to sing and dance. The song is a caricature of Hollywood: `In Heaven, everything is fine!/You've got your good things, and I've got mine.' Eventually this becomes `...you've got mine,' pointing to Hollywood's seductive use of glamour.
The indication is that Eraserhead is about Lynch's struggle with Hollywood. Like Henry, the director is an outsider (with respect to Hollywood at this point in his career), and the baby seems to represent his movie.
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