LOST and Found: An Analysis of the Show that Changed the Way We Watch T.V.
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
This J.R.R. Tolkien quote has been passed and strewn about social media for the past decade. I’m convinced that Tolkien had one specific meaning that he was trying to communicate with this phrase. But, in today’s age, I’ve seen it used for an almost infinite amount of ways. I’m not comfortable attributing my own interpretation of the phrase to what Tolkien originally meant. My best guess is that it has to do with the hand of Fate in each of our lives. Even though we feel like we are wandering through the chaos of life, there is a hidden guide at the helm who determines ours destiny. This is the approach that many fans of the familiar television show LOST will recognize.
Lost’s pilot aired on ABC on September 22, 2004.
LOST played a unique role in culture when it appeared on television in September of 2004. The striking difference immediately came from its narrative structure. The entire show is told in “flashes”. In the first season, flashbacks between life before the survivors crash on the island and their present life on the island establish the show’s main structure. This switching from flashback to current events creates a relationship between the two stories. It influences the audience’s idea of what the writers are trying to say. The events in the past of the main characters seem to be depraved and refer to the “lost” nature in the title of the series. Each character has their own “demons” that they face in the past. But, in the present, it seems like the characters are in the process of overcoming due to their experiences and relationships on the island. These two character stories juxtaposed next to each other in each episode provides insight to the audience that growth and change has taken place. Each character isn’t as lost as they were in their past.
Another significant element within the narrative structure is that it doesn’t merely focus on one character for the entirety of the series. It is truly an ensemble show. Each episode focuses on a different character’s story. This creates a fun element for the audience because each episode can act like a completely different type of genre. Some episodes can have a “hospital drama” aspect when focusing on the doctor character of the series. Other episodes may have a “war drama” element when focusing on a character involved in the Gulf War. Each character gets their light in the sun. Even though each of their stories takes place in very different circumstances, they each have flawed characteristics in common. They are each flawed in their own circumstances. Because of these choices, we begin to understand as an audience that the writers are saying that this “lost”-ness, the nature of being flawed, is a global condition. People from every walk of life have this in common. Their stories eliminate stereotypes the audience and the characters themselves make for each other.
Lost’s showrunners, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse
LOST has been accused of being very convoluted. Although my next assertion may come across as a stretch, I believe it as a writer’s intention. LOST is a dense mystery story designed to be told out of order. It is like putting a puzzle together with each new episode revealing a new piece. The structural nature of this show reveals that life is just as convoluted and mysterious. Relativity, in that we only see one angle at a time, comes into play a lot. The audience sees an event from one angle, then, some episodes later, see the same event from a different angle. Just like life, LOST takes interpretation.
In television, marking the broad strokes of the text at hand is what signifies the author’s big picture intent. The setting of the island acts as a character in the show. It pulls the characters into their full redemption and destiny. For a large portion of the show, we don’t know where the island is located. This provides an uncertainty and mystery within the storytelling. The story has less to do with a culture geographical and more to do with timeless character and philosophical themes.
Desmond Hume has set aside Dicken’s Our Mutual Friend in the final episode of season 2, “Live Together, Die Alone".
The subject of intertextuality is extremely significant when it comes to LOST, because it is almost as if the writers are inviting the audience to compare the show with other texts (sometimes literal texts). The creators and showrunners have communicated their intentionality of having characters being influenced and reading literature by Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Walker Percy, Lewis Carroll and even the Bible itself. Because of the show’s diverse cast, if there is some expected intertextuality on the part of the writers, it is because of the wide array of backstories where there needs to be some understanding on how people live. It is also important to note, the main intertextual application comes in understanding the characters as “lost”. The writers expect us to have lived enough of life to identity with the characters flaws. This allows us to understand each of them even past stereotypes.
For those unfamiliar, the text of the show LOST follows a group of plane crash survivors on a mysterious island. There are many unexplained phenomena taking place on the island that the audience discovers along with the survivors. Among these mysteries are the characters themselves. The audience enters the story with questions about these passengers. The show also explores themes on redemption, faith, good/evil, destiny and human nature. The perspective the writers take on these subjects is extremely objective. The honesty of the show is why I think the show is very powerful. The writers show events from different perspectives and lets the audience answer questions for themselves.
This doesn’t mean that the writers were not trying to say something within the fiction. There are not-so-subtle subtexts within dialogue and story within the grand mosaic that is LOST. The first of which I have already mentioned is the assertion that all of the characters are lost in their lives. People from all walks of life and different places on the globe all have this in common. We are all flawed and in need of redemption. The writers are recognizing within the story that there is a standard to life relating to good and evil. They recognize that we fall short of that standard and that we recognize it in ourselves.
“Lost” quickly became a subject of pop culture.
The ending of the series brings up a lot of questions, but directly addresses some of the show’s major positives and negatives. The ending consisted of the characters having a final moment before they are redeemed completely. They enter into the afterlife together after seasons of seeking redemption. This resolves the main theme within the show LOST. Perhaps the sentiments are edging toward cliché but the theme echoes the famous lyric: “I once was lost, but now I’m found”. The problem with many of the fans was the intense religious themes within the finale of the series. Many called it a “Christian” ending while others thought it was too universalist in its approach. There wasn’t a happy medium to tread. Even with the fan abuse, the ending still stands. It’s meaning is in the themes of redemption and faith that the show has explored since the very beginning.
Many fans also called the ending a “copout”. This is in relation to the lack of answers that the show is famous for. The ending provided an answer than many fans weren’t even asking. However, I would like to add, after multiple viewings, I find that the show answered almost every question except for a handful. The rest were at least referred to within the narrative. The convoluted nature of the show and lack of answer is and will always be part of the show’s legacy, even though the sentiment is extremely subjective.
I would venture to say there has not been another scripted show on television that has had more influence on the culture through social media than LOST. It was introduced as the internet was really blossoming into an online community. After an episode ended, people scurried to their computer monitors to write about their theories and opinions. Where a text meets the culture, this is social representation.
The Fuselage.com was the biggest online fan site at the time of the show, creating a fan community that went far beyond the weekly hour of television.
The first community that comes to mind surrounding LOST are the Jaters and Skaters. These are the groups that side with the characters Jack and Kate getting together romantically (Jater) versus Sawyer and Kate (Skater) getting together. This sounds like a rather simple debate, but one only has to glance over a LOST message board to see the struggle in between the two sides. It seems that the Jaters celebrated loyalty within the two characters while the Skaters celebrated compatibility between the two characters, even with their flaws.
Pearson Moore is a LOST blogger who has written sought after amateur articles on the show’s philosophical and theological bent. Due to the success of his blog, he compiled them into a book called LOST Thought. In it he discusses these main themes, but also how the social construct of the main characters creates a picture for a Utopian society. He explains that people depending on each other and carrying each other’s burdens is vital to this type of society. Chris Seay wrote an interesting elaboration on these themes in his book entitled The Gospel According to LOST. He is convinced that the show’s attraction and core themes are grounded in Christian truth. The role of community in the midst of flawed people is echoes at hints of the Gospel. He asserts that the series is a signpost pointing its viewers to the truest redemption found in Christianity.
LOST is a show that asks questions more than it gives answers, but perhaps it is right in doing this. So often, we wander around in a world that is busy and chaotic. We don’t see the meaning within a broken world. By asking questions, we challenge the status quo. We provide an opportunity to re-examine the facts. In a world that seems chaotic and meaningless (like LOST sometimes has), there could be a guiding hand edging us toward destiny. Questions provide insight to know that we are merely wanderers. We are not lost.