Lost: A Show About Science or A Show About Faith? – Thoughts on the END of Lost’s Series Finale “The End”

Last night, I wrote a blog entry, in which I discussed some of the lighter aspects of Lost‘s generally feel-good Series Finale, “The End.”  In it, I, more or less, completely refrained from discussing the show’s controversial ending, and promised to tackle that issue exclusively in another post.  Well, I’M BAAACK . . .

One Man of Science.  One Man of Faith.  The Island wasn’t big enough for both of them . . .  or was it?

In the last season of Lost, there was much talk and broohaha about this image, and all the ideas it represents . . .

Light versus Dark.  Black versus White.  Good versus Evil.  Heaven versus Hell.  And while that dichotomy was certainly central to the battle between Jacob and the Man in Black . . .

 . . . our Losties, for the most part, resided somewhere in between.  Much like the rest of us non-television characters, their morality was covered in shades of grey.   For them (and for us), the REAL battle for control of Lost island was one that was a lot less clear cut, making it a lot less certain who we should root for.  And, ultimately,  it was this battle, that took center stage during the final half of the Season finale. (After they, you know, got rid of that pesky Black Smoke thing  . . .)

Jack v. Locke – The Man of Science versus The Man of Faith

Although Lost undoubtedly featured many characters and their respective stories of redemption, at its core were the journeys of two men.  When we first meet Jack Shepard, he is the quintessential Man of Science.  He’s a surgeon, and about as left-brained as a person can get.  There is not a creative or artistic bone in this man’s body.  So, understandably, when it comes to matters of faith or destiny, he’s a complete Doubting Thomas.  For him, if an explanation doesn’t appear in a medical reference book, it just plain doesn’t exist.

John Locke, on the other hand, is a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, Man of Faith, guy.  He’s Mister “Nobody tells me what I can and can’t do.”  A guy who sees absolutely nothing wrong with signing up for a “walkabout,” despite being completely incapable of “walking about.”  Upon crashing on the island, he suddenly regains use of his legs, and, thereafter, becomes convinced that the Island is his Destiny.  He is absolutely certain that some higher power has brought him to the Island; and that he is, therefore, meant to remain and do great things there . . .

For the first Four Seasons of Lost, pretty much up until Locke’s “death,” we watched these two men battle it out with one another, arguing for the righteousness of their respective ideologies.  Neither man would budge an inch with respect to his position.  However, upon REAL Locke’s death, at the end of Season 4, things change for Jack Shepard.  During the last two seasons of the show,  Jack slowly evolved from a Man of Science into a Man of Faith. 

First, after escaping the Island as part of the Oceanic Six, he returns to it, believing he is meant to rescue the others who remained thereon.  In Season 6, when the Losties are once again ready to escape the island, this time on a boat, Jack jumps ship, convinced that the island “isn’t done with [him] yet.  Then, in the penultimate episode of the show, Jack LITERALLY drinks Jacob’s Kool Aid, and agrees to remain on the island, throwing away his promising surgical career in order to “protect” what, for all intents and purposes, was a Giant Lightbulb . . .

Scientific Answers versus Mystical Answers  – The SHOW About Science versus The SHOW About Faith

When it really came down to it, I think Lost‘s journey as a show, was similar to Jack’s journey, as a character.  Lost started out as a Show About Science (Science Fiction, perhaps, but, science, nonetheless).  In the show’s early seasons, many of the Island’s mysteries were explained through quasi-scientific means.  Flight 815 was initially thought to have been brought down, as a result of the Island’s unique electromagnetic properties, which were inherent to the Island’s location, but were also exacerbated by a Hydrogen Bomb buried beneath its surface . . .  These electromagnetic qualities also allowed the Island itself, and its inhabitants, to move freely through the time/space barrier and . . .  basically . . . time travel.

Those all important numbers, which Hurley chose in order to win the lottery, and which Desmond was forced to repeatedly punch into a computer screen to prevent the Island’s destruction . . .

Were part of the Valenzetti Equation, derived by members of the Dharma Initiative, to determine the exact point in time at which all human life would cease to exist.  The Dharma initiative itself was, more or less, a scientific research group, which took advanage of the island’s unique electromagnetic properties in order to experiment with various facets of human life, from a woman’s ability to give birth . . .

 . . . to psychology, subliminal messaging, and mind control . . .

Then, Season 6 came around, and like Jack Shepard, Lost had to go and get all “Faith-y” on us.  Island mysteries, like “why the plane crashed,” which had once been explained by science, were now explained as being part of the “Master Plan,” in a battle between the God-like Jacob . . .

 . . . and the Devil-like Man in Black . . .

 . . . for control of the Island, and, by extension, the souls of its inhabitants . . .

Supernatural, and biblical-type reasoning was now used to explain Island mysteries such as why MIB couldn’t escape the Island, why Richard Alpert wouldn’t age . . .

 . . . why Jacob and MIB couldn’t kill one another, how Locke became Flocke . . .

 . . . and who Adam and Eve were . . .

The Last Ten Minutes of the Finale Episode of Lost – Flash Sideways of Science (Time Travel) versus Flash Sideways of Faith (Purgatory)

So, I guess, it shouldn’t really have surprised me (but it DID!), that the final Lost mystery, the reason behind the Flash Sideways, ended up being a faith-based reason (preparation for the afterlife / purgatory) . . .

 . . . as opposed to a science-based reason (an alternate universe created as a result of Juliet’s detonation of the hydrogen bomb at the end of Season 5).

And, I have to say, that the fact that this promo picture, released just before Season 6 began, didn’t give the religious implications of the finale away to me, makes me more than a bit mad at myself . . .

I guess, when it really comes down to it, how you felt about Lost’s final moments (MULTITUDE of unanswered questions notwithstanding), really comes down to which side of the Man of Science / Man of Faith debate YOU fall under.  Me, personally?  I’m a bit more of a “science” girl.  So, I was a little disappointed that the Flash Sideways World did not, in fact, end up being the hydrogen bomb-created alternate universe I had initially envisioned. 

Plus, Flash Sideways World just seemed so PERFECT!   And because I’d truly grown to love these characters, having spent six years with them, I really wanted this world to exist FOR THEM!  Because, without it . . .

Ji Yeon would REALLY be an orphan . . .

David Shepard would COMPLETELY cease to exist . . . Oh, and most of the Losties would already be DEAD!

 . . . including THIS GUY!

But, putting my personal feelings aside, the fact that the Flash Sideways World ended up being purgatory makes sense, BECAUSE everything was so perfect there.  In essence, Flash Sideways World gave our main Losties the oppportunity to redeem themselves from wrongs they felt they had committed during their actual lifetimes .  . .

Jack Shepard had a bad relationship with his father, who degraded his worth constantly, and always chose his work over him, so in Flash Sideways World Purgatory he was a supportive and understanding father to his son . . .

During his lifetime, Sawyer was a con artist, who shunned justice.  So, in purgatory, he was a detective, who fought hard to protect it.

Sorry! I know technically I should have found a “cop uniform” pic of Sawyer, but I just couldn’t help myself . . .

On the island, Kate unknowingly abandoned Claire, and ended up raising her child, Aaron.  But in Purgatory, she guides Claire through the birthing process, and allows her to raise her own baby . . . And, as for Claire, she gets to keep her kid, and not become a skanky haired wackadoo.  YAY!

In the real world, Sayid’s murderous lifestyle resulted in the death of the love of his life, Nadia.

In Purgatory, he lets his brother marry Nadia instead, and, in doing so, probably spares her life.

In the real world, Desmond loved Penny Widmore, but her father’s disapproval of him kept the two of them apart.  In Purgatory, Desmond works for Charles Widmore, and has gained his utmost trust and respect . . .

In Purgatory, Hurley isn’t a loveable loser who won the lottery and STILL can’t accomplish anything.  He’s a loveable WINNER, who get’s the girl and is rich enough to employ the ENTIRE CAST OF LOST!

Purgatory Ben is a kindly history teacher who saves Alex’s future, by sacrificing his own personal success to ensure her entrance into an Ivy League college, instead of . . . you know . . . GETTING HER KILLED!  And Purgatory Locke is a pretty nice guy too, and Ben’s BFF to boot!

And, as I mentioned before, Jin and Sun, actually get to raise their kid Purgatory World.  Plus, they successfully ditch Sun’s Asshat Dad.

Matthew Fox probably explained the whole “purgatory thing”  best, in his post-finale interview with Jimmy Kimmel, when he said something to the effect of: “There’s a school of thought that, after you die, you go to a sort of ‘waiting place’ in which you encounter everyone who was important in your life.  Once you have reunited with, and reconciled with, these people, you can truly accept your own mortality and . . . move on.”  (And you just KNOW Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse fed him those words, because Matthew Fox may be smart, but not THAT smart!)

I’ll have to admit that when Christian Shepard (and if THAT’S not a “Man of Faith” name, I don’t know what is) . . .

 . . . . appeared in that Non-Denominational (or, rather, ALL Denominational) Church / Temple, OUTSIDE of his own coffin, and replied to Jack’s question of “How did you get here?  Aren’t you dead?” with . . .

 “How did YOU get here?”  . . .

I screamed at the television . . .

“YOU PROMISED THEY WEREN’T DEAD THIS WHOLE TIME, J.J. ABRAMS!  YOU LIAR!  I JUST WASTED SIX YEARS OF MY LIFE FOR YOU!”

But then, when Christian explained that, “Everything that happened on the Island was real . . . Everyone dies eventually . . . Some of these people died before you, some long after you .  . .” I calmed down a bit . . .

And in the penultimate scene of the show, when Jack stumbles out from the cave, lays down on the ground next to doggie Vincent, watches his fellow Losties successfully escape the Island on a plane, and, subsequently, CLOSES his eyes in death, just as he had opened them so many times during the LIFE of the show, I thought to myself, “What an appropriate ending . . .”

But then they HAD to show me this . . .

While the producers didn’t go as far as I feared they would, by showing me a heap of dead bodies lying amongst the wreckage, they showed me enough to make me wonder if I was being f**ked with.  And I couldn’t help but be reminded of ANOTHER intriguing, but unnerving, Open-Ended Series Finale that left me with more questions than answers . . .

(Special thanks to njean666 for this fabulous clip)

They never make it easy for us, do they?

Anatomy of a Trailer – Super 8

Say what you will about J.J. Abrams, but the man is a Viral Marketing Genius!  Back in 2007, he orchestrated a very effective “candy for nerds” series of trailers, videos, and websites for his “Aliens Attack NYC” film, Cloverfield.  Talk of the film spread through the country, like a virus; even though, at the time, the film wasn’t due out for another YEAR! 

The movie itself received mixed reviews.  But even its detractors would give the marketing campaign for it a solid A+.  For a trip down memory lane, check out its website, which features the corresponding trailer for the film, here. 

That same summer, Abrams promoted the upcoming season of his hit series Lost, by using an online “game” of sorts.  The “game” was indirectly advertised through television commercials airing throughout the summer.  It promised to give fans who played an inside scoop into the mysteries of the island.  It didn’t.  But the concept was interesting, in a sort-of geektastic way . . .

 Plus, the “game” rewarded players with a lot of tangential island-related information that they could brag about to their friends.  ABC has since disabled most of the sites related to the game, but you can get the Cliff Notes version here.

Well, it appears that Abrams and Co. are at it again.  Any of you out there who have seen Iron Man 2 in theaters, have probably already seen the trailer, which airs directly before it. The film is being directed by J.J. Abrams (duh) . . .

 . . and produced by . . . get this . . . STEVEN SPIELBERG! 

But even if you’ve seen it already, it’s worth watching again . . . . (and again, again . . .)

(Special thanks to MyIdealsPrecious, for the HD version of the trailer, and the ability to embed it in this post.)

Now, I may be going out on a limb here.  But something tells me that those “materials” they are referring to, never made it to that “secure facility” in Ohio.  Just a hunch . . . 😉

Of course, even before the trailer ran in theaters, it was leaked online.   And, inevitably, the speculation ball got rolling.  Regarding the “plot” of the film, there were three main schools of thought, which were not necessarily contradictory to one another.

1) The movie is intended to be a homage to popular Spielberg films of the ’70s, most notably, Alien and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

2) The movie is meant to be some sort of Cloverfield 2 or prequel to Cloverfield.

3) The movie involves a group of midwestern kids, growing up in the 1970’s, who are playing around with an old school Super 8 video camera, when they accidentally catch on film some disturbing alien footage.  (Hence, the film’s title, Super 8.  This would also sort of explain the old school rapid- display video camera sequences that are shown, toward the end of the trailer.)

J.J. Abrams quickly stepped in and debunked “school of thought #2,” claiming that this film was in no way related to Cloverfield.  (Smart man.)

A picture of what J.J. Abrams might look like in about 20 years . . .

What initially struck me about the trailer (mindblowing special effects aside) was how few “words” were in it.  Aside from some garbled “walkie talkie” talk at the 18, 27, and 37 – second marks, respectively, and the terrified “Oh my god,” at :42, the almost two-minute long trailer was essentially void of human language.  (Note, I said “human.”)

Fans have already begun to break the trailer down frame by frame.  And, for those of you who are into this sort of thing, apparently, the real “goodies” can be found during the last 20 or so seconds of the trailer.  That time frame is more or less comprised of the footage from the Super 8 camera. 

 On first view, I actually got very little from this footage.  This is most likely because the strobe light effect on that part of the trailer, made me a little nauseous.  (I was sitting in the third row of the theater, after all.)  However, apparently, there is A LOT there.  And thanks to some intrepid computer geeks, we can see it all.  Over on the message boards down at IMDB, someone was clever (and generous) enough to provide us with frame-by-frame screen shots of this portion of the film.  You can find them all here.  I was particularly creeped out by this one . . .

 . . . which appears in the trailer around 1:24, and pretty clearly shows a child’s face.  The rest of the shots were a bit less clear, to me, anyway. 

The other major little goody provided by the trailer, came at around 1:26 on the clock, when words appeared across the Super 8 screen.

(Thanks Super8News.com for posting this . . .)

Well, I still couldn’t read it, but apparently it says “scariest thing I ever saw.”  And lo and behold, there is now a website called www.scariestthingIeversaw.com.  Much like the site for the original Lost game when it first appeared on the web, this site, at first blush, features little more than an old fashioned computer screen, and a lot of techno jargon.  I played with it for a while, but didn’t get very far.  Plus, with all those “download” screens running in sequence, without prompts by me, I kept worrying that it was somehow installing a virus on my computer.  It wasn’t.  (At least, I don’t think it was.) 

Anyway, given my own ineptitude and impatience, it was nice of the folks over at Super 8 Film News, to do the heavy lifting for me, by walking me through the site and its purported “easter eggs.” 

To be honest, there’s really not much there . . . yet.  But, I am willing to bet that the site will continue to be updated, as the time clock ticks closer to the film’s release date.  Until that time, us nerds will just have to continue to speculate . . .

Super 8 invades theaters Summer 2011.  Will YOU see it?