You Musn’t Kill Time, Son
June 11, 2007 – 3:28 pm
Well, thanks to the patience of my fellow bloggers (Steve), I am embarking upon my first post. Looking down the barrel of a 250 day shotgun, I find myself desperate to find a way to fill this time; while staying within the Lost Universe… it’s not like I want to tackle any major life issues or improve myself in any way. Ah, but that’s where this fine show has proved itself to be a cut above, my friends. Due to this show’s mythological tie-ins and multimedia treasure hunts, I have found myself actually researching topics for this show; heck, I’ve even joined a blogging site to discuss my wild theories and feed on everyone elses’ thoughts like some kind of voracious Technological Dinosaur, savoring his first bytes (you see why no one has let me do this before). Yes, Lost has made me a more complete TV viewer and a better person! It has awakened a thirst for knowledge and a desire to communicate with my contemporaries. Why, when I go to the watercooler now, I blow all of that Idol talk out of the water by discussing the parallels between the Island and Pandora’s Box (which I could now do a very respectable high school level report on). Now, granted, I realize myself to be a wee eccentric, but I wonder if I can’t convince anyone else out there to join this revoultion. Let me break it down for you….
For 2 years now(yes, I joined in after the release of the first season and I know I’ll never be a pure-blood), I have spent my dayjob hours cruising fan sites in search of screen capture wizards and learned bloggers. I caught the first sub-lymonal ads and called the Hanso Foundation. Somewhere along the way, I stumbled upon a theory about the Trials of Hercules and their relation to the Dharma Stations. I knew nothing of the Trials of Hercules (I had seen the Disney film, but I didn’t think that counted) and was anxious to see just how much of it matched up. Turns out there were some interesting correlations; I could mention them but it would defeat the purpose of this post (for credit’s sake, thanks GreyBishop). What dumbfounded me was the fact that I had just spent several hours voluntarily learning in the hopes of not debunking his point, but helping to prove it. As time went on, and more questions came sans answers, I found that the thing that kept me a loyal viewer was this desire to “use” the show to learn. Everytime we didn’t get an answer, I logged on and read as one or more fans advanced their own multi-layered theories; often steeped in another civilization’s mythology or a work of classical literature. Before I knew it, I had learned more about Greek Mythology than I ever did in college, I read a few books not written by Gary Troup and I began Googling Monoclonal research. I eagerly applied what I learned to support or advance, I even began sending myself out on my own information hunts (ever read Carrol’s …Through the Looking Glass?) in the hopes of finding my own parallels. After all of that schooling, I have only now discovered a desire to learn for learning’s sake and I credit Lost and its fans for that gift. Yes, this is the revolution I speak of; taking a love of television beyond the couch and into the libraries, adding it to your morning coffee and making use of that degree in whatever. In short, bringing the brain back to TV. I hope some of you out there agree with me. It’s fine to get all caught up in Sanjaya’s hair or get truly anxious to see if that girl with the prosthetic arm is going to be dancing next week… but I am looking for more. When was the last time a TV show made you anxious to talk and learn? I am off to learn more about Pandora’s Box and to search for references to clairaudience ( I had never even heard of that term before Walt). What have you learned in relation to or because of Lost? Let us know, I would love to see where this goes. The revolution has begun and I believe it can teach us much! - Thanks everyone -
6 Responses to “You Musn’t Kill Time, Son”
Welcome aboard Jared! I’m sure your perspective on our favorite show will add a unique flavor to the blogging team of Lost4815162342.
By Steve on Jun 11, 2007
Welcome to the blogging team Jared! I hope that you, Steve, Bas and I can continue to provide LOST fans with this fantastic site for a long time to come.
If anyone else would be interested in joining the team, send an email to mail@lost4815162342.com !
By Rob on Jun 12, 2007
You know, this is what I feared: several days have passed and yet there are no new insights, opinions or theories; it seems that most fans are going to wait this one out on their own. As a co-dependant, this makes me sad. With any luck, we’ll get you back!
So, I’ve been looking into energy centers of the body and extra sensory perception in its numerous forms and it makes me wonder. We have heard it said by the Faith Healer in Austrailia that there are “energy hotspots” on the Earth and we have seen examples of this energy on the Island; be it the electromagnetism in the Swan or the many miracle healings that have happened while on the Island. What if this energy not only manifests in these ways but also by awakening long dormant abilities in man; abilities that either don’t exsist off of the Island or are more focused here. It would explain Locke and Charlie’s prophetic dreams, Walt’s Astral projection and Desmond’s clarivoyance. Perhaps that is what the “Others” are fighting so hard to protect…. and why they and Dharma could not co-exsist. After The Lost Experience, those connected with the show kept saying that these major relevations answered by The Experience were related to but not connected with the show. Maybe Dharma’s original mission is incidental; maybe the Intiative was tainted by the discovery of a way to channel or awaken extra human abilities . What if Ben and his crew are trying to protect the Island and its “magic” from a captialist corporation who may in turn rape and pillage this precious land. I am sorry to make this connection, but it illustrates well: In Cocoon, when too many elderly men and women got into the pool, the rejuvinating effects of the water wore off. Maybe this is the end Ben feared when the rest of the world discovers the Island. I also wonder if this isn’t the leverage that Ben uses to control the “Others;” I am not sure that I believe Ben has EVER spoken to or heard from Jacob. You’re good Emerson, but I didn’t buy that scenework you two did in the cabin.
By Jared on Jun 15, 2007
If Ben could hear and see Jacob, why was he asking Locke what Jacob said?
By Anonymous on Jun 16, 2007
I personally believe that Ben’s interactions with Jacob are exaggerated… if not an all out lie. I believe that the “Others” know of Jacob and have witnessed his actions but none of them (Ben included) has seen or spoken to him. In “The Man Behind the Curtain,” Ben specifically says that no one else has ever talked to Jacob. I believe that the reason that Ben is so afraid of Locke is that he fears Locke may be the “emissary” that the “Others” have been waiting for; a title Ben has claimed for himself without ever really backing it up. Whoever the genius was who noted that Voodoo rituals use ash to “contain” a spirit was really on to something. What if Jacob is being “held captive” by Ben through this method? I don’t know how he would have found this out, but I have to think that this is the reason Ben was caught in Season 2; he was coming to “size up” his competitor, Locke. Also, what if the “ghosts” we’ve seen on the Island were not Smokey/Cerebus but a manifestation of Jacob? In the same episode as mentioned above, we see Ben’s mom within the Dharma compound… a place that we know Smokey/Cerebus cannot go. Plus, these “manifestations” have always been benevolent (we never saw Yemi kill Eko, we saw Smokey/Cerebus do it); Jack’s Dad inadvertantly lead him to fresh water and the caves, Nadia the cat “pointed out” the door in the floor, Ben’s mother kept Ben from crossing between the pylons and (for the most part) Yemi kept Locke and Eko pushing the button (which turned out to be a pretty good thing). I would love to hear what other people think about the relationship between Jacob and Ben, the Black Smoke and any number of other things… that includes fellow posters!
By Jop on Jun 21, 2007
Hello fellow lost-addicts! I am sure I am not the first to agree with Jared in stating that LOST is far from anything that has ever been put on television. I am a 17 year old, just finishing high school in Australia, and have had quite a bit of experience with popular culture, including television. Through the years I have enjoyed fictional shows like The Unit, Law and Order etc., and watch the predictable plots unfold before me, struggling to hold my attention. Even when Season One of Lost first hit our screens, although I enjoyed it, I found the early plot lines uninteresting and predictable, even though the flashbacks worked well as a story telling device. I’ll admit, however, that I did lose interest in the show after a few episodes, and stopped watching for a while. However, weeks later I was flicking channels and it came back on, and after rediscovering LOST, I realised that it possessed a quality that no other show on television did… a sort of ‘mythology’ that grabbed my interests. The idea of the island as a character was mind blowing, and as soon as I started to see the science-fictional side of the show, I was instantly hooked.
So I started watching, and researching, and developing theories, that like Jared said, made me think, and learn, and communicate will my equals over the internet. Like all of you, my mind blew along with the door of the hatch and the raft in the season finale, and was stuck in suspense for, like, five or six months. Then season two came back, and I was drawn in once again.
My heart broke with the introduction of the Lost Experience, as my slow dial-up internet connection basically side-lined me for all the events. However, I watched intently at the discoveries, and researched even more, with Google in one browser window, Lostpedia in another, and season 2 on DVD playing in the background. Season 3 brought even more questions, and the biggest cliffhanger I’ve ever seen on a television show. I determined that LOST was a new breed of television show- a thinking show, as Jared says. Well, not a breed as such… currently it is the only one of its kind. There have been imitations however… remember Jericho? Torchwood? These shows tried to match the mysterious suspense which characterises LOST…. but unfortunately failed miserably.
So about Jacob…. the voodoo ’smoke fence’ idea is extremely intriguing. Personally, “the man behind the curtain” cam to me as a horror episode in that shack… that was freaky! So, can someone please tell me, is it established (a.k.a. confirmed by producers/writers in podcasts, comicon, etc.) that Jacob is the Smoke Monster? I guess that if so there would have to be a break in this ’smoke fence’ that the others (or at least Ben) don’t know about. The monster, with the ability to turn into people from other’s memories (e.g. jack and his father, ecko and yemi), is obviously intelligent, and can manipulate people. I would like some more information on what Rousseau knows about the Monster… in season 3 she says it is a ’security mechanism’, but the scene cuts after she says it is there to protect the island. I think she knows what it is… along with Alpert and Ben… but whether these last two know that it is out terrorising the survivors is questionable.
I’ll admit, before it was officially shut down I was a total believer of the ‘purgatory’ theory… it just all made sense! But Jared, your theory on energy ‘hotspots’ sounds interesting… do you have any more information or links you could post?
Jop- what do you mean by benevolent? Are you proposing that the manifestations are possibly not the same (or unrelated) to the monster? Maybe they are hallucinations of some kind, which are somehow evoked by the heightened electromagnetic energy levels when ol’ smokey is around possibly…
It was surprising that jack and Claire are related… the fact that they were both involved in the crash cannot be coincidence, like many other things in the show. I wonder if they will find out? About character connections, (you may already know this, but I just found it) go to Lostpedia, and type in “Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon” in the search… this theory is quite interesting. Speaking of which, in The Lost Connections, the special feature on the Season 2 DVD Box Set, does anyone have any information on the identity of the shadowy waving figure connected to jack and Christian?
“Through the looking glass” was crazy… I wonder if it is possible that they have actually made it off the island? Personally, I believe that jack’s reference to his father as alive is unimportant- I think it was drug-induced rambling. However, if they have made it off the island, it will be interesting to see what has become of the island itself and the others. Finally, I have heard through several sources that there is a special feature on the LOST season 3 DVD box set that confirms that the man in the coffin is Locke. Is this correct (the DVD set has not yet been released in Australia….)?
Finally…. three things:
Firstly, 1-18-08/Cloverfield/Slusho/The Parasite/Monstrous just looks absolutely awesome doesn’t it? I cannot wait… apparently there will be a second trailer released with advanced screenings of Resident Evil 3 to give us some more much needed clues… also the site slusho.jp is EXTREMELY useful (checkout the customer appraisals especially; interestingly, it makes reference to Bloop! I’ll let you google that one… ;).) Remember… the guy in the trailer who stupidly suggests going onto the roof is wearing a slusho T-shirt.
Secondly, the LOST game also looks just amazingly good. I will pre-order that one, for sure. However, if you download the official trailer, at about 0:52, in a scene where Locke is typing at the swan’s computer, for 1 single frame, a computer screen comes up, like that on the DHARMA computer, saying “Find us, and we will show you the way”. If this was meant to be an inconspicuous part of the trailer, why is it only shown for one frame, where you can only see it if you are running it on a fast computer and media player, only when you are watching with great attention? Trust me it is there…. go through frame by frame… I swear it’s an easter egg.
Third and last but not least, I’d really like to know any theories about 2 things…. who actually is Naomi (and the ship), and what is the polar listening station shown at the end of season 2?
Anyway…. I am sure I have bored you with my rambling nonesense long enough…. happy hunting, fellow lostaways!
Sincerely,
Colby
By Colby on Sep 13, 2007