In the introduction Syska notes that in the reception of David Lynch's work the first thing viewers note is the deconstruction of film form, and especially the decomposition of Hollywood tradition of genre and narration. Lynch is able to hover between postmodern modality and the ambitions of a neo-modern artist, who is leaving the inter-textual puns behind, and wishes to reflect upon death and alternative forms of being. Syska argues that in order to analyse Lynch's film one should combine elements of cognitivism and deconstructionism. And it is in this spirit that he carries out a detailed analysis of the Inland Empire.