Sunday, September 26, 2010

some thoughts on LOST finale

Ok, let me just say right now that if you have not seen the series finale then stop reading now.

I've decided to take the time to write up a few thoughts on LOST. I know, this is more than likely the nerdiest thing I've ever done but who cares.
I've been meaning to post this for a VERY long time. If some of this is something you already know, then great... here's my translation anyway.

Here's the deal... if you're an extreme left brained person (like our beloved Jack) then you're probably not getting the whole picture. If you're an extreme right brained person then I'm guessing you might also be a bit LOST. To my Jack-like friends who are focusing and zeroing in on things of no consequence, I'm just going to say it... like Jack was told, you're going to have to "let go". This show is a sci-fi show. It should be understood that not ALL of your questions are going to be answered. It's a story about a strange mystical island... so things are going to be strange & mystical... period.

If you have a chance to watch the "Enhanced" version of the show, I recommend it. It may explain some things for you. I was happy to see that it confirmed many of my thoughts and theories.

I want to briefly talk about the show's pilot, with the backgammon reference. John tells Walt: "Two players. Two sides. One is light- one is dark." The entire show was about the light vs dark or the good vs the evil. Backgammon is a game of not only luck, tactics, strategy... but also of choices. Kind of like the saying "You have to play the cards you're dealt" in the game of backgammon you have to choose wisely how to play according to the roll of the dice. I believe the writers were giving us the main idea of the show with the backgammon reference. Life for our characters (and dare I say us) is about light vs dark and about how we choose to live our lives according to the hand were dealt. Do I think the writers knew what they were going to do or how they were going to end the entire show at the very beginning? Yes, I think they did to a certain extent... hence the backgammon reference in the pilot. Did all the story lines in every single episode line up with this main theme? No, not every episode... does any sci-fi show? So what was the point of Dharma? Dharma was simply a group assigned to study the island and all the crazy, mystical things that go on there such as the electro-magnetic anomalies and other strange happenings like the smoke monster, etc. Think Bermuda-Triangle weird. There's no explaining that kind of weirdness. Seriously, not even Ben(who lived there the majority of his life) knew what was going on with the island. And unfortunately, the "Man in black" used Ben's confusion and frustration to get him to kill Jacob.

Watch the Jimmy Kimmel's LOST after-show... or at least first part with Matthew Fox. Within the first segment, Kimmel chatted with Fox about his theory. Matthew confirmed Jimmy's thoughts/ideas and added a bit more explanation. Jimmy suggested the the "sideways" life that we have been seeing in this 6th season is actually an "after-life". Now, here's where a lot of people get confused based on whatever their religious beliefs are. Here's the deal, it's not just one religious/spiritual road that they have taken! They actually took the beliefs of a handful of different religions and tried to morph them into one ending. Matthew Fox attempted to explain some of this to Jimmy on the after-show. For example, some religions believe that you have to remember your previous life in your after-life before you can "move on" to the next place or life. This "after-life" that we have been watching all of them go through is a sort of purgatory type place where they live until they realize their pasts and are ready to move on. Not all of our characters are ready to move on... for example, Eloise Hawking, Daniel Faraday, Charlotte, Ben. Also, did you notice that their "after-life" is slightly different than their real life? If you examine the afterlife of each character, in most cases you will find that they chose the better road... or the things they always wanted in real life but never had. Hurley has good luck instead of bad. John is still in a relationship with his girlfriend/fiance(in real life they broke up). Jack has the son he always wanted but didn't have in real life. Kate was innocent and not guilty. Sun & Jin are able to conceive a child. Eloise didn't kill her son. Daniel is the musician he always wanted to be. Charlie quits the band(Hurley has to kidnap him to get him to the concert). Sawyer is a cop instead of a con-artist. Ben is kind, is looked up to and admired and makes the right decisions (including not killing his father). Desmond is loved by Penny's father and not hated. Claire decides to keep her baby. It goes on and on. In other words, our characters have chosen different paths in this afterlife... they attempt to right their wrongs in a way or they have the things they always wanted but could never have in their real lives. In the case of Eloise, she has time to spend with her son because she didn't kill him... remember what she asked Desmond? Eloise understands what is going on, and isn't ready to move on yet. She is enjoying a life she didn't have before and tries to keep Desmond from revealing their pasts to people because she fears this will cause her & Daniel to be forced to move on. She asks Desmond if he's going to take Daniel along... to which Desmond replies "Not with me, no." It appears that our characters who aren't willing and ready to "move on" don't go to the church. Eloise isn't ready to move on because of the aforementioned, Daniel & Charlotte just met at the concert so they're not ready, Ben is finally admired and has a healthy relationship with Alex.... so you see the pattern?

Obviously, there were a lot of clearly defined "Christian" references throughout the course of the show. But as I've already mentioned, the finale is not to be translated strictly from a "christian" point-of-view and cannot be. They try to clue us in on this by using symbolism in the last scene with Jack & Christian in the church. The window in the background had not only the christian cross to represent Christianity, but it also included symbols of a handful other religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Side note: Funny the show is called "LOST" because that's what usually happens to people when they try to live life according to more than one true belief system at a time.

There has been some discussion on whether or not their lives on the island were real or were they all dead? They were not dead in the island life... they were alive. There were hints/clues & symbolism throughout this season to explain that... but for sake of time, I'll just give you a couple... the conversation between Richard & Jacob when they meet for the first time and another example was the conversation Jack has with Christian Shephard in the church.

Also, an important key to understand is that this "after-life" does not coincide or line-up on the same time-line with their real lives on the island. This is explained during Christian & Jack's conversation at the end. Jack asks, So we're all dead? And Christian tells him yes, but some have died before you and others died LONG AFTER you. Also, when Kate approaches Jack after the concert, she says, "I've missed you SO much waited for so long". If you remember, on the island life, Kate left the island on the plane... and it is assumed that she then went on to lead a long life off the island. Also, Hurley & Ben at the end when Hurley tells Ben he made a good #2 and Ben telling Hurley he made a good number #1.... this also insinuates that they lived & stayed on the island for quite awhile.

I'll close this with a video clip from IGN. If you are still looking for answers... maybe this can help... and if it can't then I charge $20/hour if you want to discuss LOST theories with me. Ok, just kidding about the $20/hour thing.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

2,977 lives lost

2,977 victims.
Some went down with the towers.
Some were firefighters.
Some were paramedics.
Some were police officers.

Everyday people who went to work but never came home.

2,977 lives lost.
2,977 families affected.
2,977 souls.
2,977 laughs no longer heard.

2,977 people died... but here's a few who didn't.

I wrote some about my memories of 9/11 last year. I hope you will always remember that terrible day and never forget the 2,977 lives lost.