(4/5 and 4/6- This page is dedicated to my father, Roger Hostager, who recently passed away following a courageous battle with cancer.) LOST LEGACY THEORY Lost writers/producers have admitted they do not want the show to drag on beyond its expiration date, citing 100 episodes as a reasonable upper limit. If this turns out to be true, Season 4 may be the final 'home stretch' for the series. Even if this is not true, with each and every new episode, we are undeniably moving closer to the inevitable series finale. As we approach the finale, we should not be surprised to find that the processes and the contents of our Lost theorizing will expand beyond (1) a primarily prospective, forward-thinking approach, aimed at figuring out the deeper 'answers' to what has been happening on the show, to (2) a prospective and RETROSPECTIVE approach, incorporating our thoughts, our hopes, and our fears, regarding the legacy of the show, for future generations. Moreover, as we move inexorably toward the finale of our cherished show, our Lost theories will increasingly take into account the legacy we believe the Lost producers/writers hope to leave.... We have been told that the series will not conclude with a 'cheat', so we know that the story is not merely playing out as a fantasy inside someone's head. In addition, we know that: "Several of the more common fan theories have been discussed and rejected by the show's creators, the most common being that the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are dead or in purgatory. This was specifically denied by J.J. Abrams and was also proven to be wrong by the second season's finale. Damon Lindelof also discredited the theory that the survivors will experience, or have experienced time travel, although has since allowed for the possibility in regards to Desmond Hume. Furthermore, Lindelof has rejected speculation that spaceships or aliens influence the events on the island, or that everything seen is a fictional reality taking place in someone's mind. Carlton Cuse dismissed the theory that the island is a reality TV show and the castaways unwitting housemates and Damon Lindelof, many times, discredited the theory that the 'monster' is a nanobot cloud similar to the one featured in Michael Crichton's novel Prey." LOST LEGACY THEORY CONSIDERATIONS: 1. Inherent Incompleteness- Like "The Prisoner", Lost producers/writers recognize the need to entertain us, while simultaneously stimulating our questioning and inquiry. So if Lost producers/writers wish to leverage the legacy of The Prisoner, they will be mindful of providing enough story/denouement that the finale is entertaining, but must guard against providing too many substantive details-- answers-- which would delimit the interpretive space available to current and future viewers, and diminish the potential legacy of Lost as a source of renewed and renewable insights: "I suppose that [The Prisoner] is the sort of thing where a thousand people might have a different interpretation of it, which I think is very gratifying. I am glad that's the way it was, because that was the intention." Patrick McGoohan, quoted in The Official Prisoner Companion, by Matthew White and Jaffer Ali, 1988, Sidgwick & Jackson, page 1. Accordingly, we should expect the finale to leave key aspects unanswered, and open to multiple future interpretations, following the precedent of The Prisoner, helping fuel ongoing debates, inquiry (etc.) and ensuring an enduring legacy for Lost. (See Endnote 1.) 2. (Wednesday) Night of the Living Dead?- I'm so very grateful to Lost producers/writers for having the courage to introduce Nikki and Paulo in the first place, for their openness and responsiveness to the reception of these characters by Lost fans (or lack thereof!), and for the witty and symbolic manner in which these characters were dispatched.... Like "The Prisoner", Lost involves and examines a myriad of themes, issues, archetypes, and dilemmas characterizing our collective existence on this planet. I'm sure I'm not alone in noting the richly poetic imagery invoked when Nikki and Paulo-- so vividly alive on the surface through the pursuit of materialistic, sensual, and selfish gratifications-- were revealed for their true zombified selves, as the sting of the spider symbolically penetrated through their surface vitalities, immobilizing their physical forms, thereby literally and figuratively displaying the deadness of what lies below.... We must all guard against becoming 'prisoners' to the shallow and spiritually deadening encroachment of surface-level functioning and gratification. Look in the mirror, and look around you as you go through the motions of your everyday routines.... How many of us are running the risk of becoming Nikki's or Paulo's, ironically zombified through the very surface gratifications which so potently appear to reassure us that we are alive.... Thankfully, as Jeff Jensen, J. Woods and others have so eloquently noted, we are periodically privileged to experience shows like Lost, which simultaneously intrigue, frustrate, stimulate, infuriate, and invigorate us (See Endnote 2.) While some will invariably point to the Nikki and Paulo episodes as filler (or worse!), I found them to be refreshingly "Prisoner-like" in their effects on the viewership: Frustration, outrage, confusion, questioning, debate, etc. Patrick McGoohan would be proud. We were shaken, and stirred. Indeed, one true litmus test of Lost's impact, on a deeper "Prisoner" level, is the degree to which it helps us avoid becoming consumptive zombies, watching each Wednesday for our weekly fix, conditioned by past episodes to expect particular kinds of plot twists, thematic expositions, structural progressions, and 'easter eggs,' succumbing each week to deeper deadening through cerebral sclerosis, or the 'hardening of the arteries in the head,' associated with ingrained and entrained patterns of thought. Accordingly, as we move closer to the inevitable denouement of the series, I would not be surprised to find that Lost producers/writers will throw additional 'conceptual wrenches' into the works, presenting us with new characters, themes, structural progressions, etc., in order to help guard against an encroaching cerebral sclerosis in the viewership. Like Nikki and Paulo, we are not fully aware of the true extent of the deadening process which is encroaching on our minds, with each new weekly viewing, as our expectations and interpretations imperceptibly ossify, further restricting the range of our vital thought movements (ideas), further reducing our creative vitality, with profoundly necrotic implications.... Has the 'Lost' storytelling structure become a bit too predictable and stale? Here's hoping that Lost producers/writers mix things up a bit, with periodic and unexpected deviations from the now predictable and somewhat numbing structure. Here are some examples of new structures that could be used in some future episodes, inserting some structural freshness to the series as it heads toward the finale: * An entire episode without flashbacks. Scene changes could alternate between three or four subplots occurring at the same time, on different parts of the island, even with one of the subplots happening on the mainland. For example, what if an event on the island plays a role in creating a killer tsunami (hint-hint).... * An episode with flashbacks showing the island's past history and 'motivations', instead of human character-driven flashbacks. If the island is, indeed, a primary character on the show, why not drop in some intriguing backstory on this character? This could most definitely be done in a manner that simultaneously ramps up our intrigue, but leaves some central mysteries intact (inherent incompleteness!) For example, I would be surprised if Lindelof, Cuse, and crew are not seriously considering using flashbacks showing Dharma arriving on the island, setting up facilities, conducting experiments, etc. And Magnus Hanso arriving on the island, via the "Black Rock", encountering.... heh-heh....! (See how intriguing this can/would/will be?) And if my 'temporal diaspora' concept has some truth to it (see below), wouldn't it be intriguing to see the islanders discover some 'lost' relics/artifacts and, through flashbacks, observe how people have encountered and interacted with the island during many different time periods, throughout history (from the Atlanteans, forward.) These are just two examples of how an unexpected change in storytelling structure can help achieve transcendent revivification through shifting viewers from chronos/clock time, to kairos time. Along those lines, one of the more profoundly moving television experiences I can remember is the night I first saw the Millennium episode "The Time Is Now" (aired 5/15/98 on Fox TV) involving the mental breakdown of Lara Means. The scene depicting her breakdown played as a weirdly fascinating extended music video, with Patti Smith's "Horses" serving as the soundtrack.... I can still remember how unexpected and invigorating this scene was, how it broke through the plane of my numbed, zombified expectations regarding storytelling structure, and how it shifted my senses out of conventional chronos time, to kairos time.... Here's hoping that Lost producers/writers consider employing a similarly unexpected, engaging, and revivifying change in storytelling structure, in a future Lost episode..... This reviewer's comments closely capture what I experienced: "For me, Lara Means earned her role in television history during 'The Time Is Now,' the season's final episode, in one of the most daring and unconventional sequences of the past decade; it is easily the equivalent of anything David Lynch did with Twin Peaks, and it runs for nearly nine minutes. If you've seen it you know what I'm talking about, and if you haven't it makes this season two set a mandatory rental, if nothing else. The emotional impact of Patti Smith's 'Horses' will take on an entirely new meaning afterwards." —Rich Rosell, Digitally Obsessed. (Cited in: 3. Pick Your Prison- Ultimately, like "The Prisoner," Lost will also remembered less for the 'answers' it reveals to us, and more for the debates and inquiries it has stimulated to date, and will stimulate for years to come.... And like The Prisoner, Lost is another example of the heights to which even the most mundane medium (TV) can and should aspire.
Per my commentary on "What It's About," while our personal and social inquiries into the meaning of the show are in no small measure driven by a desire to find "the answer", at the same time many of us are keenly aware that on some deep and important levels, the "answer" is really the "carrot" in the shadows (please, no James Arness as The Thing jokes....), that unseen object fueling our creative, collaborative, and engaging questioning.... "Questions are a burden to others. Answers are a prison for oneself." Sign on a wall in the Village, Episode #1 of The Prisoner: "Arrival."
Contrary to this saying-- but consistent with four decades of discourse and sensemaking among thousands of fans of The Prisoner, around the globe-- fans of Lost have found that our questions are NOT a burden to others, but serve instead as a vital and vibrant stimulus for collectively connecting, sharing, debating, and exploring our place on this planet and in the universe, the meaning in our lives, our nature as material, biological, social, psychological, economic, political, scientific, religious, and philosophical beings, and more....
Consistent with this saying-- and with some interpretations of The Prisoner (see Endnote 3)-- it is interesting to consider how our answers are a prison for ourselves, insofar as our cherished theories about Lost constrain and delimit our understanding. But that's an unavoidable part of the point, in our existence as creatures blessed (and cursed) with fallible, flawed, efficient cognitive abilities.
My own approach is to continually attempt to acknowledge the stimulating yet constraining force provided through our shared imperative to divine "the answer". As Patrick McGoohan once observed, we are all prisoners, even at the most basic levels, of things like food and sleep. So if we remember to embrace the multiple levels and meanings of our 'prisonerhood', and remain mindful of the enabling and disabling aspects of our imprisonment, we can delight in building myriad new 'prisons' of meaning, or remodeling and expanding our existing 'prisons', with each new Lost episode.... What's my 'prison'? I must admit that I remain intrigued by, and my focus and thoughts remain 'bound' to, a pronounced fascination with exploring potential connections among thought, energy, and material applications (HEMA). Among all of the available and yet-to-be discovered hooks, angles, points of insertion, perspectives (etc.) connecting us to Lost, the thing that still grabs me most is learning more about how seemingly 'magical' occurrences on the island (Kate's horse, Sayid's cat, Charlie's 'Rock God' cave-in, etc.) may be understood in part through insights regarding the interconnectedness of thought, energy, and the physical world. Granted, this focus binds or 'imprisons' my view by delimiting both the range and the types of observations/insights I generate here on this web site but, at the same time, the delimited focus serves a crucial role in opening our minds to seeing and appreciating new patterns/insights. (Huge nod to A. Korzybski, here! The map is indeed not the territory.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Korzybski)
Answers are a prison to the extent that they comprise positive (and negative) statements regarding what is happening on the island. Questions are a liberating freedom from shackled, bound, sclerotic thinking, through engaging our individual and collective faculties in ongoing, creative explorations of what may and can be happening on the island....
I really resonate with Jeff Jensen's recent Entertainment Weekly columns in which he responds to queries regarding what he REALLY thinks is going on..... Jeff has done an admirable job as a thought leader, week in and week out, helping spur and contribute to the ongoing community of debate and critical inquiry, surrounding the show. And so I heartily applaud Jeff stating what he really thinks is going on, AND when he revises his position, based on insights gleaned from new episodes and through careful, considered discourse with others, championing their own, competing views....
Per my commentary on what Lost is all about, while the pursuit of "the answer" is undeniably invigorating on multiple levels, it is a bit scary on other levels, for if all there is to the show is divining what the real answer is, we run the risk of overlooking or devaluing all of the high quality research, deliberations, introspections, theorizing, applications, (etc.) conducted by a myriad of individuals but also shared and socially constructed.... Here's hoping that Jeff Jensen and/or other Lost commentators will join forces at some later date, to publish a compendium (1) capturing a representative sample of the breadth and depth of these insights, and (2) documenting the social and cultural impacts of the show.
Ultimately, like The Prisoner, Twin Peaks, and other similarly engaging series, Lost will be remembered as a show which catalyzed the creative, critical, and questioning faculties of some of the masses, a feat not easy to accomplish. And with time, Lost fanaticism will inevitably fade, but pockets of fans will still flock to web sites and conventions.... Let us hope that we do not have to wait too long for another engaging show to appear, once they wrap Lost! 4. Diaspora Variants of Lost Legacy Theory- One interpretation of what is happening on the island is that while the Flight 815 survivors may be the subjects of experimental manipulation and observation by others, the survivors are also learning some important lessons, through these trials and tribulations. In brief, the learning works both ways. From this perspective, it is interesting to consider how the island may be serving as a literal (and figurative/ allegorical) mechanism for bringing together a group of people for an intense collective learning experience and subsequently 'seeding' these people back into the world, in a dispersed pattern, a form of mental, 'memetic' (see Endnote 4) diaspora aimed at effecting changes in the broader world: "diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά – "a scattering or sowing of seeds") is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora) Through their trials and tribulations on the island, Flight 815 survivors on the island are engaged in a shared learning experience that is opening new paths of positive and mutual transcendence, enabling them to begin to move beyond their past sins, deeds, and estrangement (nod to J. Woods). Even Sawyer is beginning to see that there is another way (see the 4/4/07 Lost episode). **** On an important and fundamental level, then, Lost is is showing us how it is possible for even the most diverse groups of people, drawn from profoundly disparate backgrounds, to learn to embrace and transcend the 'baggage' they've been carrying throughout their lives, to join together to create a new community of friendship, meaning, and purpose. While this is not an easily established or maintained phenomenon (witness the continuing trials and conflicts, even among the Flight 815 survivors), Lost shows us that there still is hope that we can make it through the hard times, that we can learn to like and love each other, and that there still is hope we can make it, as a species, in this increasingly crowded and contentious world. **** The 'diaspora' I refer to in the following sections is the dispersion of insights and ideas learned on the island, back to the broader world, achieved when island inhabitants are rescued or are reinserted into the 'mainlands' of their (our!) everyday lives.... (Of course, Lost is catalyzing a 'virtual' form of this memetic 'diaspora,' through stimulating the development of an ongoing, collective learning experience among Lost viewers, enabled through the internet and other new technologies, ultimately resulting in a dispersion or diffusion of ideas from the virtual community of Lost fans, outward to the broader 'mainland' of the world, as the lessons learned from the show and from other Lost fans affect how we think, feel, and interact with others.... the ripples in the big pond, as it were....) SPATIAL DIASPORA- Lost is teaching us viewers about a myriad of important, universal, and timeless themes (good/evil, faith/science, individual/society, free will/determinism, ingroup/outgroup, etc.) One possible underlying form for the finale may be a spatial diaspora, in which the Flight 815 survivors are reinserted back into the world, after their island experience, 'seeding' the larger world with insights they have gained through this experience. Of course, this would mirror some aspects of The Prisoner and would afford the Lost producers/writers with an opportunity to showcase how, like the Flight 815 survivors, we are all equally "lost' in some of the same fundamental ways, in the course of our everyday lives, but through thoughtful, critical learning, we can become more aware of how we and others are lost, thereby transcending this state and 'finding' more productive and positive paths, perhaps even forestalling one or more cases of impending, potentially world-ending, disasters.... Hmmmm.... Will the series conclude with the Flight 815 survivors being reinserted back into the outside world, and a new set of people becoming stranded on the island, to prepare a new set of 'seeds' for another round of planting (ideas, perspectives, etc.) on the mainland of our everyday lives? TEMPORAL DIASPORA- In a different but related sense, the Lost producers/writers have an opportunity to go beyond a Prisoner/Spatial Diaspora denouement by invoking a temporal dimension. No, this would not necessarily require time travel by Flight 815 persons, violating what Lindelof has told us about the show. What I mean here is that if we broaden the temporal context for considering the show, even the island itself and its functioning on and in the world, would it not be so surprising to learn/see/discover that the island has been with us since time immemorial? And that throughout the ages, from the dawn of early humankind, to the days of Atlantis, through all ages of humankind, to the present, that different individuals and groups have been exposed to the island and its powers, shaping their thoughts, their hopes, their dreams? While on a level this may appear to be tautological or even autopoetic, maybe the island has been in operation for hundreds, even thousands (millions?) of years, as a unique source of energy and experience on the planet. Each and every occasion of contact between the island and humankind afforded an opportunity for effects, both ways. Did some Atlanteans happen upon the island, thousands of years ago, and leverage its powers to generate new knowledge and devices? In the 1700's, did someone possessing prior experience on the island subsequently interact with David Hume, to help spur his unique and insightful views of causation? Has the island both affected, and been affected by, the people who have found themselves on its shores? (By the latter, I mean the evolution of devices and technologies to leverage the island's unique energy....) What if Nikola Tesla were to visit the island? Did Tesla visit the island? Was Tesla's worldview influenced by someone who had experienced the island? These kinds of interesting questions arise when we consider the potentially huge role the island may have played, in shaping the course of human history, and in being shaped by the very humans whose history it has helped to shape, in a recursive and mutually reinforcing manner.... Karma, rebirth, reconnection.... (What are the functional equivalents of the 'island' operating in our world, today, helping us to grow and expand beyond the confines of our current, mundane understandings of the world, including the material, biological, social, psychological, economic, political, spiritual, and other aspects/realms...? How can we build 'island' equivalents into our lives, opening ourselves and others to increased knowledge and understanding, applied to the 'mainlands' of our everyday lives...?) Putting the VALEN in the VALENZETTI EQUATION- Fans of Babylon 5 know and cherish the classic two-parter, "War Without End," which dramatically reveals in the closing moments how Jeffrey Sinclair transforms into "Valen", traveling back a thousand years with the Babylon 4 station, to help the Minbari fight the Shadows. Has the Lost island functioned throughout human history as a place for 'souls' to be renewed and redispersed, helping stave off the destruction of the species? Is Jeff Jensen's theory correct, and the island is connected to other minds on the planet? Does the island continue to play a crucial role in human history, in ensuring the continuation (and the spatial and temporal dispersion/diaspora) of important perspectives, from Humean causation to Teslan electromagnetic 'magic', from quantum interconnectedness to faith as a force in the universe, from black and white senses of good and evil to karmic recursion and beyond....? Copyright 4/6/07 by Dr. Todd J. Hostager ------------------------------------------------ ENDNOTES: 1. Please see my commentary on the "Lost: What's It About" page, on this web site, for some thoughts on the different roles and impacts of Lost. 2. Please see "Doc" Jensen's excellent columns on Lost, at the Entertainment Weekly website. Two recent examples include: For other excellent, top-quality commentaries on Lost, please see the work of J. Woods: 3. Consider this intriguing and relevant question: "Could it be that the true prisoners are those who really believe they have the answers to questions?" (Source: White, M., & Ali, J. 1988. The Official Prisoner Companion (Page 14). London: Sidgwick & Jackson.) 4. For more information on these fascinating concepts-- 'memetic' and 'memes'-- please see: |