David Lynch’s Popularity Is a Judgment Against Us

David Lynch’s popularity is a sign of declining cultural standards and decaying values, says Frida Ghitis .

Ghitis: David Lynch's films are incomprehensible; he aimed to perturb (or, more often, shock), but never to elucidate.

Lynch presented the superficial order and courtesies of small-town America as a cover for the sordid and profane, Ghitis says.

Lynch 's many defenders will point to his facility with filmmaking technique, but he was not a natural or fluid filmmaker.

To become a fan of Lynch ’s movies meant becoming conversant with his entire shtick, including his straitlaced manner of dress, his ceaseless cigarette-smoking, and his hokey kernels of wisdom.

For years , the Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert was the most committed detractor of Lynch .

Ebert backed off his critical stance of Lynch when reviewing his best film, The Straight Story .