Abstract
Time travel, true love and information-seeking behaviour converge on televisual terrain in
this study of how a character on ‘Lost’ tries to make sense of his predicament in the season four
episode ‘The Constant.’ To devoted viewers, each chapter in the story is fraught with meaning -
screenshots were analyzed, sounds were played in reverse, names and numbers were treated as
potential clues to the show’s many mysteries. This paper focuses on a single hour in the labyrinth of
‘Lost’ and examines how memory, expertise, and trust are instrumental in bridging information gaps.
In addition, this foray into imaginary information spaces describes the mechanics of collecting data
from the fictional field and analyzing it within the context of sense-making theory.
Read "The Constant Search: A Study of Information Phenomena in ‘Lost’ by Andrea Lau"
The Constant Search: A Study of Information Phenomena in ‘Lost’ by Andrea Lau
View Comments
Lost: Sin and Misery – S1 E6 by Robert Lee
View Comments
And so we get to one of my favorite dysfunctional couples on TV, Jin and Sun. This episode continues the eye-opening Motif, but this time with Sun opening her eye in close up as she looks on at her husband fishing for their daily meal. But then, what’s that? She looks off to the right at Jack and Kate who are preparing to hike up to the caves…. Sun seems to understand them? But how is that possible, and why would she hide her English skills? This is a truly eye-opening moment for the audience.
I’d like to take a moment and point out that the production team (Writers, Directors, Producers) were extremely daring to have two characters like Jin and Sun as primary protagonists on a mainstream show, not because of their nationality, but because they spoke their characters’ native tongue on the show. American TV is too often close-minded to the fact that there are many nationalities besides Californian (Which is a tall, toned, tanned, US West Coast creature) and Lost strove to explore diversity even as it cut its characters off from the rest of the world. Bravo!
This was a transitional episode. A lot happens, but it is really sort of fragmented. We get a part of Michael’s NYC attitude, a splash of Jin’s frustration, some Jack and Kate flirtations, and a Charley revelation. While the Jin/ Sun flashback storyline is integral to their development, the on-island story was really just filling in a few blanks, wrapping up a few loose ends from the last few episodes, and planting a few new ideas.
