If we didn’t want to upset anyone, we would make films about sewing, but even that could be dangerous. But I think finally, in a film, it is how the balance is and the feelings are. But I think there has to be those contrasts and strong things within a film for the total experience.

Lynch argues that art—especially cinema—cannot aim primarily at avoiding offense. Even seemingly innocuous subjects (“sewing”) can provoke, because audiences bring their own sensitivities and because any honest depiction of life contains friction. For Lynch, the real criterion is the film’s overall emotional “balance”: how contrasting tones, images, and intensities combine into a unified experience. The quote reflects his broader aesthetic of juxtaposition—beauty with menace, humor with dread—suggesting that strong contrasts are not gratuitous but essential to create a full, resonant cinematic world. In short, meaningful films risk discomfort in order to achieve a richer total feeling.