(5/3/07)
DHARMA & GAIA
Who is the "Man Behind The Curtain" in the upcoming 5/9 Lost episode? We know that the DHARMA Initiative and Ben will be the focus of that episode. And we know that Jack will be the focus of the season finale, with hints of a Jack-Locke showdown of sorts.... What grand finale do they have in store for us, setting us up for a summer of speculation and a rip-roaring Season 4?
Closing Credits Are Debits In Theory Heaven-
What a fun and enticing series of images presented to us in the closing credits of "The Brig"! Like you, I spent some time going through those images, frame by frame. Of course, in the 5/9 episode we will see what really happened to Roger Work Man, on his ill-fated beer run. More importantly, however, as I predicted in my "Lost Legacy Theory" page, we finally will see the island's history show up as flashbacks, perhaps framed as Ben-centric views of Dharma's arrival on the island. Witness the fleeting shots of the sub, the workers standing near pallets stacked with boxes of DHARMA supplies, and the shot with Dr. Candle/Wickmund in the foreground, and other DHARMANs in the background. (More on this below, in connection with Ben....)
In the closing credits of "The Brig", we also see more recent fleeting images of Richard Alpert (in close-up) and Juliet (farther away), bathed in a weirdly supernatural bright white light, reminiscent in some ways of the appearances of Bob in the classic show, Twin Peaks. Moreover, we see Locke's face lit with the same bright white light, and are presented with the implication that Ben will finally be showing Locke some grand island secret, perhaps even the identity of the "Man Behind The Curtain." In summary, the closing credits of "The Brig" provided us with a truly intriguing set of ideas, grist for our theory-making mills....
Bright Lights, Big Theory: Who's 'The Man'?
Who is the Man Behind The Curtain? What's the source of that bright white light? For some time now, Ben has been alluding to a 'great man' who as yet remains unseen. Some have surmised this is another BenCon, and 'Jacob' (or whomever) is really a fiction helping Ben retain control, leveraging classic psychological dynamics. I'll go out on a limb and propose that there really is another 'great man,' and we will see this person in an upcoming episode, perhaps even bathed in the bright white light that Locke will see in the 5/9 episode.
Who might this person be? One viable candidate is Mr. Alvar Hanso, himself. While I'm not the first to propose this, I believe the island's power extends beyond promoting faster healing of wounds-- for example, Locke's Swan hatch blast-door-injured thigh, Mikhail's recovery from thermal cooking via electromagnetic force field-- to include a slowing of the aging process (life extension) and even the regeneration of life itself (as we will see in a future episode, in the case of Jack's father, echoing Star Trek III.)
On my "Wounds & Wombs" page, I outline how the island has distinct areas or "Hot Pockets" of positive and negative electromagnetic force (Energy nodes), which combine with a person's thoughts and feelings (Heuristics), to yield good and bad Material Applications (HEMA). This explains why some people on the island experience healing and other positive benefits of the island's energy, and others experience deleterious effects (e.g., Ben's cancer.)
Getting back to the Man Behind The Curtain, one likely candidate for this 'great man' is Alvar Hanso who, in seeming contradiction to claims that he was born in 1894, will be shown to us as in being far better physical shape, and appearing much younger, than his actual age. Why? Because Alvar has taken advantage of the island's healing 'vital' force over the years, leveraging the positive Hot Spots, through positive thoughts and feelings, not inconsistent at all with the "Be Here Now" approach of Richard Alpert/Ram Dass in particular, and the philosophy of Dharmic religions, in general (see Endnote 1).
So I would not be surprised if the man behind 'door #1' on the island is not Bob Barker, but instead is Alvar Hanso, still active and vital as a force on the island. Who else is a viable candidate for the Man Behind The Curtain? Certainly it could be Dr. Candle/Wickmund, the subject of intriguing speculation by others that his arm was regrown through leveraging the island's regenerative powers. I suspect the good(?) doctor is a less likely candidate than others, unless he turns out to be far more than he appears to be, on the surface....
One interesting line of thought is to consider whether or not Dr. Candle/Wickmund could be a 'materialized' or 'instantiated' entity that represents the island's own consciousness, a weird surmise, yet intriguing if one considers that Lindelof and Abrams acknowledged that they were able to flesh out and sell the show as a concept only after they developed the island as an integral character in the show. Although we may eventually find this is true merely on a figurative level, nonetheless it is a very intriguing proposition to consider the ways in which the island might be a literal, 'living' character in the show.... And what I am proposing in this specific instance is that IF the thoughts of Kate (horse), Hurley (Dave), and Sayid (cat) are able to materialize on the island (HEMA), it is certainly plausible to consider that other forms of consciousness (the island itself?) may also be able to project Material Applications.... Is Dr. Candle/Wickmund an intentionally-realized physical manifestation of the island's consciousness, serving as a corporeal liaison between the island and its inhabitants....? (More on this later.... In the "Gaia" discussion, below....)
A third candidate for the Man Behind The Curtain is Gerald de Groot, co-founder of the DHARMA Initiative. Ben may, quite literally, be referring to de Groot as the 'great man', particularly when we consider that the meaning of this Dutch surname is 'large' or 'corpulent' (see Endnote 2). Gerald certainly appears to have served several important roles, including bringing together a collection of world-class researchers to form the DHARMA Initiative, and helping establish the Initiative as a presence on the island.
A fourth candidate for the Man Behind The Curtain is Christian Shephard, whom we will likely see in regenerated form, in a later episode, perhaps even in the season 3 'Jack-centric' finale.... Although we will eventually discover Dr. Shephard's crucial role in the DHARMA Initiative-- quite possibly he was involved in a project aimed at leveraging the island's electromagnetic 'vital' force to extend lifespan, regenerate tissue and limbs, and even reanimate the dead-- he appears to be more of a 'lieutenant' than a 'general,' and is likely not the 'great man' behind the curtain. Another mitigating factor is that he appears to have spent much of his time on the mainland, not the island.... So my money's still on the following scenario, to play out in the coming weeks....
Season Three Denouement: Setting The Stage For Season Four-
5/9 Episode- "The Man Behind The Curtain." Some of the Ben-centric flashbacks will deal with the bright white light phenomenon we saw in fleeting images contained in the closing credits to the 5/2 "The Brig" episode. Per these images, we will see Richard Alpert's "initiation" to the island fraternity, achieved through seeing what lies behind the curtain.... Two things, in particular... A bright white light and the great man. Again, the great man may or may not be revealed in the 5/9 episode, but viable candidates include Alvar Hanso, Dr. Candle/Wickmund, and Gerald de Groot. (If the island is Hell, then I would add another candidate= Charles Widmore!)
What about the bright white light? I believe this will be shown to represent the island's 'good' or 'positive' electromagnetic energy field, perhaps at the source. This is the 'vital' force that enables speed-healing, lifespan extension, regeneration of limbs, and even reanimation of the dead (Christian Shepard). One possible scenario is that we will see the 'great man' behind the curtain revealed to Locke by Ben, with the great man bathed in the white light of the island's vital energy, helping the great man to remain active and extending his life....
So one possible explanation for the bright white light is that it is simply a concentrated form of the island's positive, vital electromagnetic energy. It may in fact turn out to be the primary source or node of this energy, on the island. If Lindelof, Cuse and crew have chosen a more literal course, envisioning the island as a real, living, conscious character on the show, we may find that the white light actually represents the veritable 'great woman' that lies behind all great men, this time writ large on a global scale, namely the earth-mother consciousness known as GAIA.... (More on this, later....)
In any event, Locke will marvel at the power of the bright white light, and we may also find that he is stunned to learn of the island's great power to extend the span of life, perhaps nearly indefinitely.... Wouldn't it be cool if the closing shot in the 5/9 episode showed Locke's wide-eyed awe, then a shot of the 'great man' bathed in the white light halo (insert obvious religious symbolism, here)... Alvar Hanso? Dr. Candle/Wickmund? Gerald de Groot? And/or....?
5/16 Episode: Charlie's An Angel- Another one bites the dust.... Charlie finally becomes an angel (or does he?) This episode will revisit and underscore important themes explored in the classic "Flashes Before Your Eyes" episode....
Season 3 Finale: Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now? Jack vs. Locke, pay-per-view fisticuffs?! Science vs. Faith grudge match?! Actually, while I fully expect to see the science vs. faith theme revisited here, my gut feeling is that the 'line in the sand' separating Jack and Locke, and the clans which align themselves with these leaders (in a 'Survivor' like manner), will be less along the science/faith faultline, and more along the lines of who wants to stay on the island, and who wants to leave. Jack will be the 'shepherd,' leading the flock of those who want to leave the island, including Juliet. Locke will be the 'messiah' leading the flock of believers who want to stay in the glow of the island's power, including Ben and many of the Others. (This would also include Rose and Bernard, if they ever return from their 'Quantum Leap-like' departure....)
After Locke rejoins the Others and proves he is special, by showing them the body of his undearly departed loooong conner-cum-faux-papa, Locke will go with the Others to the Flight 815 survivor's camp on the beach. Despite what he said to Sawyer, I suspect that deep down inside Locke still has feelings for his fellow survivors, and he may be harboring thoughts of thwarting Ben and the Others, in their attempt to kidnap the pregant survivors. At the same time, Locke will be struggling with feelings of being allied with the Others, feelings arising in part from his 'initiation' through exposure to the bright white light and its secrets, perhaps even through meeting the 'great man', himself....
Locke's warning to Sawyer in the 5/2 episode will enable the survivors to prepare for the arrival of the Others. So we will have a confrontation instead of a stealthy kidnapping. The line will be drawn in the sand. Jack and Locke will lock horns. Jack will represent the 'shepherd' who cares for the flock of those who want to leave the island, and those island inhabitants whose primary focus is on science and the secular (i.e., a 'mainland' perspective on the world.) So naturally, Juliet will want to side with Jack. We'll see if her alliance with Jack is real and deep enough to enable her to have played her way out of Ben's grip.
Locke will represent the 'Messiah' who cares for the flock of those who wish to remain on the island, those inhabitants whose primary focus is on faith and 'super-natural magic' (i.e., an 'island' perspective on the world, with science present but embedded as a subordinated tool, within a broader, more important emphasis on faith.) Locke and Jack will go back and forth, in verbal banter, preaching to their flocks on the beach.... Should we stay or should we go?
This will be all the more interesting if it turns out that the only option for leaving the island will seriously hamper or damage the island's positive effects and/or its connection to the outer world of 'mainland' existence.... What if it is possible for some to leave the island (led by Jack), but ONLY at the expense of those who wish to stay on the island? Will this, or some other form of a zero-sum game, be played out in the season 3 finale (or set up to be played out, in season 4)? In any event, here is my best guess for the upcoming season-ending shocker, the cliffhanger (or beachbanger?) that will keep us all speculating throughout the summer....
....While Jack and Locke are engaged in a verbal (and quite possibly a physical) battle on the beach, our attention will turn to the band of Others allied with Locke, and we will see this band begin to part in the middle, and a shrouded figure will move slowly forward.... This figure will dramatically throw back the shroud (we will see this shot from behind), and Jack's face will shift from anger to shock, as he calls out... "Dad?!" A regenerated Christian Shephard will smile and walk toward his son, demonstrating and symbolizing the power of FAITH.....
And all summer long we will be wondering... should they stay or should they go?
But What About Ben?
Since we know that the 5/9 episode will be Ben-centric, we would be remiss if we did not consider the kinds of insights we will gain about Ben. Was he really born on the island? Or are the flashbacks of DHARMA's arrival on the island experiences viewed by a young Ben, who was born on the mainland and subsequently taken to the island by his parents? Or? Given the timeline for the DHARMA arrival on the island, roughly 30 years ago in the early 1970s, Ben's claim to have been born on the island may be suspect, if one takes his word literally. (Of course, this is not a far stretch, given his proven track record of deceit.)
Here is my best take on Ben, given what we know to date. I have a sneaking suspicion that what he meant when he said that he was born on the island was that he was REBORN on the island (more on this, in a moment....) According to this view, Ben was literally born on the mainland and was taken along with his parents to the island. One interpretation is that his parents were DHARMANs, and in the 5/9 episode we will see him as a young boy in the flashbacks of DHARMA arriving at the island and setting up their operations. If this account turns out to be true, we should expect to find that the person he is NOW was 'born' (reborn) through some trial or tribulation that he went through as a youth on the island. Indeed, this may have involved exposure to a 'great man' who subsequently took him under his wing and counseled the young boy (Alvar Hanso? Dr. Candle/Wickmund? Gerald de Groot? Or?) Did he learn to deal with his past through harsh but 'effective' means? This is certainly consistent with the 'mythological' practices he encourages among the Others, especially the rite of passage he (Ben) imposed on Locke: Killing his father in order to be 'reborn' on the island....
Now it's noodle-cooking time, per Jeff Jensen's intriguing Entertainment Weekly columns.... What if Ben is really saying that he was REborn on the island, but instead of arriving there as a young boy in the early 1970s (with the DHARMA group), he landed on the island with his parents as a young boy IN THE 1940s!! Consider this possibility.... Ben was born on the mainlaind, and as a young boy he was stranded with his parents on the island, in the 1940s. After they became accustomed to the island, Ben was allowed to go off on his own, exploring for a while. During one of these excursions, the young Ben encountered a 'motliest' (mittelos) crew of ragged islanders, remnants of the crew from the "Black Rock," sent to establish mining operations on the island. (Some were still alive, due to the life-extending powers of the island....)
These 'Others' regaled Ben with colorful tales of intrigue and gain his confidence. After all, what young boy would not be captivated by tales of high seas and island-based adventures, told by these survivors.... Their friendship became so fast and furious that the Others decided to 'initiate' young Ben into their brotherhood, and they brought him to the place of the bright white light... and Ben experienced awestruck 'conversion' to the wonder and splendor of the island and its powers....
Ben kept his knowledge of, and ties to, these 'Others' a secret from his protective, nagging, doting parents.... But one day, his father followed him to the place of the Others, and a confrontation ensued. Ben and his father returned back home to their cozy cave by the waterfall and the shimmering pool where they bathed in cool, clear waters.... Ben's father forbid him from ever seeing his friends again....
Later that night, young Ben sat in nervous silence, pondering his options... He decided it was time to take action, to set aside the old and move on to a new life... to be reborn as a true islander... So he decided to... poison his parents with a concoction brewed from jungle flora, part of the survival lore revealed to him by the Others.... So the "Adam & Eve" skeletons found in the cave are........... Ben's parents....
If this scenario turns out to be true, Ben has been on the island, with the Others, since the 1940's.... The island's power has slowed his aging and extended his life span, but the cost of all of this extended exposure to the island's pronounced electromagnetic force, coupled with his deceitful nature and negative persona, has produced the teratological result of a cancer....
The GAIA Hypothesis: It's Alive!
I agree with Jeff Jensen that Naomi is likely a 'plant' by others, and I strongly suspect that her real role may be to introduce more stimuli in a psychological mode, viewing the island as a Skinner box and the Flight 815 survivors as the 'guinea pigs' in an ongoing experiment. Perhaps the most prominent example of introducing a new stimulus is her contention that the Flight 815 plane was actually found, with all the passengers aboard and dead. Still, I'm not sure if we should easily dismiss or discount all of what she has said..... In particular, I'm intrigued by her statements to the effect that they thought it was foolish to search coordinates in the open ocean, until the clouds parted and they saw... the island.....
Some of the more interesting and enduring puzzles on Lost have centered around the exact nature of the island and its relationship with the mainland and, for that matter, the rest of the world. Where is it located? Why does it appear to be so difficult to get away from? Why is it not on the map? Etc.
Speculation on the nature of the island has ranged broadly, from theories of the island as a giant, moving machine to multiverse quantum views, and beyond.... My best guess to date is as follows.... Hang onto your hat....
We know that the island is characterized by weird electromagnetic properties. This electromagnetism is a source of energy with multiple forms of effects-- biological, physical, etc.-- ranging from speed-healing to enhanced psi powers, and more. What if.... the island were a literal, living, 'conscious' character on the show?
My current thinking is that the island's weird electromagnetic properties are really the result of a giant 'brain' or consciousness, realized in and instantiated by the island, serving as the 'neural' center of the planet, all wrapped in the guise of a GAIA Hypothesis. According to the Gaia Hypothesis, the earth displays properties that closely mimic what one might expect of a conscious, self-regulating system.... Before you dismiss or reject this idea out of hand, consider the following:
"The Gaia hypothesis is an ecological hypothesis that proposes that living and nonliving parts of the earth are viewed as a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism." (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis)
"Gaia (Foundation universe), a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and where all animals, plants, and even inanimate matter are telepathically connected, forming a single sentient planet-wide entity." (Source: See the prior web link for this quote. For more information, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_%28Foundation_universe%29)
"Lovelock believes that it is too late to avoid significant global heating and significant climate change which will make large parts of the Earth's surface much less hospitable for humans. As a result, there will be an inevitable, major decline in the human population over the next hundred years.... He [Lovelock] believes that the time will come when the United States government takes global heating seriously and that they will respond with immense planet-scale engineering fixes, perhaps space based. While he indicates these may succeed, he is left despondent by the prospect that humans will have to deal with the extra costs of maintaining an inhabitable surface climate, a task formerly done for the human race by Gaia. Lovelock thinks the time is past for sustainable development, and that we have come to a time when development is no longer sustainable. He proposes that we need sustainable retreat from an impending Climate Storm -- that we must retreat in an orderly fashion from the coming threats to our global habitat, to mitigate adverse impacts on human health and happiness."
(Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revenge_of_Gaia)
So what Lovelock describes is not terribly dissimilar to the primary thrust of the DHARMA Initiative, namely identifying key environmental factors contributing to the demise of the species (and ultimately the planet), and considering steps we might take to delay or forestall this demise.... What I am proposing in this section is that one viable interpretation of the island is that it is the material and energetic manifestation of the 'neural center' of GAIA, i.e., the island is the conscious, electromagnetic 'brain center' of the living, interactive system regulating the planet earth.
More noodle-cooking time, and definitely NOT al dente.... My current view is that DHARMA may turn out to be a minor player in the larger global, historical drama being played out on Lost.... Building on my prior commentaries-- especially the 'temporal diaspora' section of the Lost Legacy Theory' page-- if the GAIA hypothesis turns out to be true, then the island really is a literal character in the show, and it is THE ISLAND that has been bringing groups of people to it, throughout human history. From this perspective, it is THE ISLAND that is in charge, and it is BRINGING US TO IT, to study us (Homo sapiens) as an integral part of the planet earth's dynamics, so it can help us to find ways to effect positive changes in the environment, in no small part through changing OUR OWN behavior (pollution, overpopulation, hatred and violence, etc.), and through developing new tools and techniques for diminishing negative global dynamics.
For example, researching new GENE THERAPY approaches:
* to influence climate tolerance (tropical polar bears!);
* to reduce population growth (selective sterilization?); and
* to promote positive feelings and relationships and reduce hatred, violence, and crime (targeted turning on and shutting off of selected gene sites... shades of Dr. Mittelwerk!)
And researching how to channel PSI POWERS to beneficial ends, leveraging electromagnetic energy fields (Walt, Desmond, etc.....]
Hmmmm.... Viewed from the above perspective, it's interesting to reconsider the dynamics and motivations underlying the island's security system, especially the 'black smoke' and the 'popping trees'.... revenge of Gaia, indeed.... Or, better yet, manipulation by Gaia....?!?!
And what a supreme noodle-cooker it would be, if Gaia Theory met the Great Man Theory.... Ben opens the door and shows Locke a bright white light-filled room, with Alvar Hanso (and more? Dr. Candle/Wickmund? de Grood, too?) all strapped into or integrated with the light-emitting Gaia brain, all Borg-like, leveraging this collective brain to change the Valenzetti Equation and thus save the fate of humankind (as well as the planet!)
Copyright 5/3/07
by Dr. Todd J. Hostager
ENDNOTES:
1. For more information on the Richard Alpert/Ram Dass book, "Be Here Now", please see:
2. Lostpedia contains a veritable wealth of information on Lost in general, and it is the source of this insight into the literal meaning of Gerald de Groot's surname:
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/The_DeGroots