Lost Revisited
I know I’m probably two decades late but my partner and I have been binge watching LOST for the last few weeks and I feel inspired to comment.
Plus, I know there’s a whole lot of websites out there dedicated to the many complexities of the LOST plot but I can’t resist weighing in for myself on some of the issues that this classic TV show made me consider.
Especially the first three seasons.
Now, you have to understand that the show was largely written on the fly.
The first six episodes were executed roughly to plan but after that, the show was written with lots of writers putting their own ideas into the ring. That’s why the backstories of the various characters are so vast and complex, contradictory sometimes, even illogical.
My main interest is in the sweep of the original premise. Because to me, LOST is about humanity and how we survive on this Earth. Its many stories represent a microcosm of all of us. After all, Charlie, the ex-popstar’s hit song featured in the show was appropriately called, We Are Everybody.
Okay, with that in mind, what do we do to survive on this planet?
First, we make sure we can eat and that our health is okay. We take comfort in each other, we share our stories as we try to find the best and safest way to live. Then we may give ourselves over to a vague sense of hope that we may be somehow “saved” but when that fails to create a solution, we take ever more comfort in each other. Because we are basically gregarious and need each other. But there are always outsiders too, who prefer to live and make it on their own. Hence some characters choose solitude.
As we progress, we become more interested in the spiritual, mysterious side of life, because we’re looking for more meaning than mere survival. Just like Maslow’s Pyramid. That’s what drives us as humans. We want to make sense of who we are, why we are here and how we fit in to the great scheme of things. That’s why everyone - mostly Locke - is fascinated by the ‘bunker’ at the end of Season One. If there’s an answer, it’s down there.
Season Two provides more confusion than answers but the truth is unfolding slowly. The Dharma Initiative represents humanity finding religion as they progress towards enlightenment, which, coincidentally, is exactly what humans did over 3000 years ago. During the late Bronze Age, we began to attach supernatural agency to the unexplained and in doing so, brought religion into our society to act as a focus, a motivator, and a reason to be.
But the more we find out about The Dharma Initiative the more we discover it’s just a set of rituals based on ideas passed down by long dead people that have no real bearing on the lives of any of the island’s current inhabitants. But against logic, they hold on to these old beliefs because their rituals bind them and give them a sense of identity and purpose, just as religion does in real life, for better or worse.
This apparently helpful aspect of communication and control quickly descends into a war of distrust between the two sets of people on the island, each of whom claim that their god is the true one. The Others are led by Ben who takes orders from an invisible man (God?) in the forest. Jack, aptly named Shephard, is compelled to look after his flock - but by the end of Season Three we see that he is literally LOST when he has no purpose, nobody to help or save.
John Locke was always the strongest of the characters because his quest is based on experience and faith. Just like his philosopher namesake, he believes what he sees and learns. He was miraculously cured by the island and knows that there is no reason to leave because he realizes that everybody is ALREADY HOME. Coincidentally, this is actually the same message Jesus tried to teach us a couple of thousand years ago but one which the Christian Church has conveniently sidelined or forgotten.
The leader of the Others, Ben Linus feels the same way though for different reasons. He is mildly psychotic and his faith is far more trenchant and dangerous. However, in his favor, he’s charismatic and pulls his followers along with secrets and lies.
Sounds like the Church and State to me.
Sawyer and Kate represent normality. They’re out for themselves, sometimes in a bad way, but mostly just to protect their sanity and their need for security.
Each of the other characters represent the many types of people on the planet and the myriad of ways we make sense of our time here on this island Earth.
To me, the ultimate power and message of LOST is that, whatever happens, we’re better off sharing our experience of the world, because the search for meaning, though it may seem compelling and frustrating, is really just leading us into more mystery and confusion.
Ironically the quest for meaning will always elude us because we can’t accept the obvious answer. Fact is, the true meaning of life is simple and straightforward: we’re here to love and to help each other. That’s it.
There’s no mystery. No greater purpose. We’re here - so we’d better make the most of it.
Basically, we’re all LOST but at least we FOUND each other.
Keep Writing!
Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy
P.S. I should add that I believe the true purpose of life is to experience and co-create the universe. Hence my dedication to writing, art, making music, and helping others to achieve their dreams.
Plus, I know there’s a whole lot of websites out there dedicated to the many complexities of the LOST plot but I can’t resist weighing in for myself on some of the issues that this classic TV show made me consider.
Especially the first three seasons.
Now, you have to understand that the show was largely written on the fly.
The first six episodes were executed roughly to plan but after that, the show was written with lots of writers putting their own ideas into the ring. That’s why the backstories of the various characters are so vast and complex, contradictory sometimes, even illogical.
My main interest is in the sweep of the original premise. Because to me, LOST is about humanity and how we survive on this Earth. Its many stories represent a microcosm of all of us. After all, Charlie, the ex-popstar’s hit song featured in the show was appropriately called, We Are Everybody.
Okay, with that in mind, what do we do to survive on this planet?
First, we make sure we can eat and that our health is okay. We take comfort in each other, we share our stories as we try to find the best and safest way to live. Then we may give ourselves over to a vague sense of hope that we may be somehow “saved” but when that fails to create a solution, we take ever more comfort in each other. Because we are basically gregarious and need each other. But there are always outsiders too, who prefer to live and make it on their own. Hence some characters choose solitude.
As we progress, we become more interested in the spiritual, mysterious side of life, because we’re looking for more meaning than mere survival. Just like Maslow’s Pyramid. That’s what drives us as humans. We want to make sense of who we are, why we are here and how we fit in to the great scheme of things. That’s why everyone - mostly Locke - is fascinated by the ‘bunker’ at the end of Season One. If there’s an answer, it’s down there.
Season Two provides more confusion than answers but the truth is unfolding slowly. The Dharma Initiative represents humanity finding religion as they progress towards enlightenment, which, coincidentally, is exactly what humans did over 3000 years ago. During the late Bronze Age, we began to attach supernatural agency to the unexplained and in doing so, brought religion into our society to act as a focus, a motivator, and a reason to be.
But the more we find out about The Dharma Initiative the more we discover it’s just a set of rituals based on ideas passed down by long dead people that have no real bearing on the lives of any of the island’s current inhabitants. But against logic, they hold on to these old beliefs because their rituals bind them and give them a sense of identity and purpose, just as religion does in real life, for better or worse.
This apparently helpful aspect of communication and control quickly descends into a war of distrust between the two sets of people on the island, each of whom claim that their god is the true one. The Others are led by Ben who takes orders from an invisible man (God?) in the forest. Jack, aptly named Shephard, is compelled to look after his flock - but by the end of Season Three we see that he is literally LOST when he has no purpose, nobody to help or save.
John Locke was always the strongest of the characters because his quest is based on experience and faith. Just like his philosopher namesake, he believes what he sees and learns. He was miraculously cured by the island and knows that there is no reason to leave because he realizes that everybody is ALREADY HOME. Coincidentally, this is actually the same message Jesus tried to teach us a couple of thousand years ago but one which the Christian Church has conveniently sidelined or forgotten.
The leader of the Others, Ben Linus feels the same way though for different reasons. He is mildly psychotic and his faith is far more trenchant and dangerous. However, in his favor, he’s charismatic and pulls his followers along with secrets and lies.
Sounds like the Church and State to me.
Sawyer and Kate represent normality. They’re out for themselves, sometimes in a bad way, but mostly just to protect their sanity and their need for security.
Each of the other characters represent the many types of people on the planet and the myriad of ways we make sense of our time here on this island Earth.
To me, the ultimate power and message of LOST is that, whatever happens, we’re better off sharing our experience of the world, because the search for meaning, though it may seem compelling and frustrating, is really just leading us into more mystery and confusion.
Ironically the quest for meaning will always elude us because we can’t accept the obvious answer. Fact is, the true meaning of life is simple and straightforward: we’re here to love and to help each other. That’s it.
There’s no mystery. No greater purpose. We’re here - so we’d better make the most of it.
Basically, we’re all LOST but at least we FOUND each other.
Keep Writing!
Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy
P.S. I should add that I believe the true purpose of life is to experience and co-create the universe. Hence my dedication to writing, art, making music, and helping others to achieve their dreams.
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