Gee Whiz David Lynch
Remembering the great director through a wholesome expression of wide-eyed enthusiasm and wonder
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There will never be another director like David Lynch. But almost more to the point…there will never be another character like David Lynch. His comical voice, his wild white hair, his absurdist outbursts of rage, his recurring Friday weather updates (it’s Friday once again!)… Every detail of the man was captivating and ultra-endearing.
As the world mourned the loss of this national treasure, article after article took a moment to reflect on another quirk of his character: his use of the terms “gee,” “golly gee,” “gee willikers,” and “gee whiz.” Examining his use of these old-timey, naïve-maxing phrases offers a glimpse into Lynch’s personality, life story, and culture.
In a Rolling Stoned article, “David Lynch Was the Great, Golly-Gee Chronicler of American Darkness,” David Fear writes:
When people were asked to describe what it was like to collaborate with Lynch, the first thing they’d usually mention was how traditionally “nice” and “clean-cut” he was. The constant stream of “golly-gees” felt so antiquated, so dissonant when coming from the guy whose films were suffused with darkness and true deviancy, that they swore it was a put-on. This was really how he spoke. But he was also well versed in what kind of bugs were wriggling around underneath all that nicety, too.
In the New York Times reflection of Lynch’s life, J. Hoberman writes:
Distrustful of language, viewing it as a limitation or even a hindrance to his art, he often spoke in platitudes. Like those of Andy Warhol, Mr. Lynch’s interviews, at once laconic and gee-whiz, were blandly withholding. This baffling affect led Mel Brooks or his associate, Stuart Cornfeld, both of whom facilitated Mr. Lynch’s first Hollywood feature, “The Elephant Man” (1981), to label him “Jimmy Stewart from Mars.” Perhaps in response, Mr. Lynch chose to identify himself as “Eagle Scout, Missoula, Montana.”
Esquire author Chris Nashawaty writes:
In person, Lynch’s gee-whiz Midwestern squareness was never performative or a pose. He really was an aw-shucks character out of a Capra movie who delighted in the simple joys of a steaming hot cup of joe, preferably served alongside a plate of pie just like Kyle MacLachlan’s Special Agent Dale Cooper did in Twin Peaks.
The phrase “gee whiz” was first documented in 1872. According to Google Ngram, gee whiz is almost more popular than ever, and it continues to lead the pack in usage compared to its rivals golly gee and gee willikers.
Although it’s a euphemism for Jesus, the phrase communicates a cutesy wholesomeness all its own. Merriam Webster notes that the phrase transmits a sense of “wide-eyed enthusiasm, excitement, and wonder.”
None of the dictionary definitions quite capture the fact that, practically speaking, if you walk around saying “gee whiz” and you don’t live in the Midwest, you’re going to come off as quite a goofball. Either that, or a genius, idiosyncratic film director.
Peter Clarke is the editor-in-chief of Jokes Review and host of the podcast Team Futurism. Read his Substack newsletter The Decadence Project and follow him on Twitter @heypeterclarke.