First off, I’m not good with theory titles. However, in following with the spirit of LOST, the title does mean something (in this case, it's rather blatant!).
On Being ‘Lost’…
For the purposes of this theory, the title refers to the idea of not being able to restore oneself to a former “state of being”. In many ways, this simple concept can be applied to any character (or doppelganger, apparition, ghost, ect.) dead or alive. Juliet makes a brief reference to this idea in "A Tale of Two Cities" when she tells Jack rather bluntly, "It doesn't matter who we were... it only matters who we are." Clearly, however, Jack is not the same person he was prior to crash – Jack gradually changes from a staunch man of science to a reluctant man of faith (or supernatural, perhaps). A clear example of this when Jack’s acknowledges that he can see his father in “White Rabbit” and hear his voice in the future in “Something Nice Back Home”. Notice that the transition begins IMMEDIATLEY when Jack is on the island (i.e. the writers knew what they were doing!). Regardless of the typical anti-mystical, anti-spiritual attitude Jack has towards the island, ! the proverbial seed was planted firmly in his mind. Maybe this place is special? Maybe everything wasn’t just an accident? As we already know, Locke is Jack’s opposite; his yin to Jack’s yang; the black stone to Jack’s white stone. Similarly, we know that Locke is no longer paralyzed, not just physically of course, but also emotionally and spiritually. Locke is “free” from his father, his injury, and his disbelief in miracles and fate. But, as Season 2 proved, and as Ben said it in “Cabin Fever”, “Destiny is a fickle bitch.” (awesome line.) We know that for Locke to “find his way” again, the island “demanded a sacrifice” – the first of Locke’s proverbial “lambs” was Boone, the second was Eko, the third was arguably Naomi. Locke’s struggle in the hatch was the island’s proverbial “test”, not just of faith, used to “course correct” Locke’s destiny. Locke really was wrong about the “nothing will happen when its pushed” idea! – there is ALWAYS a consequence to one’s actions on LOST.! Consequ ently, this put Desmond in the position to turn the failsafe key (i.e. the act of course correction). Desmond now can see the future and Locke seeks the island’s mystical properties and is more than ever committed to his destiny. Locke’s death in the future is not entirely problematic, again the “state of Locke’s being” has changed – he has either “evolved” or truly “does not exist” in his former physical and/or spiritual form. The question now becomes one of body and/or soul versus dead or alive, and ultimately, it leads to a BIG QUESTION: What is ‘existence’?
In the Beginning…
In the beginning, there was darkness: a blank black screen. Suddenly, a swift SWOOSH! sound effect followed by a harrowing wide open eye revealed to be that of a man named Jack Shepard. There are three important ideas encapsulated in that opening sequencing (literally!): Perspective, Awareness, Consciousness. The perspective is that of a man who was on Flight 815 to bury his alcoholic, commanding father who made Jack WHO HE IS. I am reminded of the title of a famous war novel, The Things They Carried. Jack literally is carrying his father’s body to the island. Secondly, Jack becomes aware of his physical existence via his senses: the very fact that he now “sees” the island (or eyeland!) around him proves this. Jack is aware of his place, his body, and of Vincent. Thirdly, Jack’s transition from unconsciousness to consciousness is very important! I argue that the ultimate “clue” one can draw from the “Pilot” is the notion of mankind “awakening” to the “! world” or ‘existence’, for that matter. Thus, Jack awakens to the ‘island’ (a Form of existence) but possess the condition of being, oh, how do you say… LOST! How is Jack LOST? Well, it’s the same reason how all the other characters are LOST – because they exist in a perceived version of reality inconsistent with the Ultimate Truth (i.e. true reality). Buddhists call it Nirvana, Christians call it God, and the island’s inhabitants (Others/ Hostiles) calls it Jacob. Let’s assume that the island has ALWAYS called this Truth by the name of Jacob (both everywhere and everywhen the island has been!) Now here’s where it gets tricky: what about the smoke monster? The monster, like every other mystery, has a complicated answer so bear with this next idea – the monster is like a door. The door to a very large house (the island), which is home to a man (Jacob) and his many children (the Others). The function of a door is arguably a very simple version of what! Rousseau called a “security system” – to protect not ju! st the i sland, but also to protect those INSIDE the large house and those OUTSIDE it (everywhere and everywhen!). The arbiter of who stays alive and who goes is ultimately Jacob. Jacob in some sense is the proverbial God. The monster is the proverbial Holy Spirit. But this Holy Spirit has another, more important, function – the monster is the figurative purgatory between consciousness and unconsciousness. I am reminded of the “?” episode, where the girl in Eko’s flashback said that “I saw your brother, Yemi, when I was between places.” It can “flash” its knowledge about one’s life from any point in space-time – essentially, the monster “feeds” on memory, on the survivor’s constants, of their former state of being. Look at the paradoxical features of the monster: it acts like a machine, but sounds like an animal; it can move freely, is barricaded by a sonic fence and can be summoned by humans; it’s a shapeshifter/ vision-maker; it goes underground. It is ! strange to see a security system constantly secure itself from the island – as if it doesn’t want to be “revealed”. Is the monster more powerful than Jacob? No. The monster is apart of the Trinity – a component that makes up God – just as if we supposed that Christian was a component of Jacob. Will we ever see the monster’s true form? Yes and No. Just like the form of Jacob, the monster’s configuration will probably depend on whose perspective we’re seeing it from.
Well, I’ve run out of steam for now. Seeing as how this is a piece of my collective theory on LOST. I’ll write another one as soon as I make more connections.
Theory by ChrisisLOST
On Being ‘Lost’…
For the purposes of this theory, the title refers to the idea of not being able to restore oneself to a former “state of being”. In many ways, this simple concept can be applied to any character (or doppelganger, apparition, ghost, ect.) dead or alive. Juliet makes a brief reference to this idea in "A Tale of Two Cities" when she tells Jack rather bluntly, "It doesn't matter who we were... it only matters who we are." Clearly, however, Jack is not the same person he was prior to crash – Jack gradually changes from a staunch man of science to a reluctant man of faith (or supernatural, perhaps). A clear example of this when Jack’s acknowledges that he can see his father in “White Rabbit” and hear his voice in the future in “Something Nice Back Home”. Notice that the transition begins IMMEDIATLEY when Jack is on the island (i.e. the writers knew what they were doing!). Regardless of the typical anti-mystical, anti-spiritual attitude Jack has towards the island, ! the proverbial seed was planted firmly in his mind. Maybe this place is special? Maybe everything wasn’t just an accident? As we already know, Locke is Jack’s opposite; his yin to Jack’s yang; the black stone to Jack’s white stone. Similarly, we know that Locke is no longer paralyzed, not just physically of course, but also emotionally and spiritually. Locke is “free” from his father, his injury, and his disbelief in miracles and fate. But, as Season 2 proved, and as Ben said it in “Cabin Fever”, “Destiny is a fickle bitch.” (awesome line.) We know that for Locke to “find his way” again, the island “demanded a sacrifice” – the first of Locke’s proverbial “lambs” was Boone, the second was Eko, the third was arguably Naomi. Locke’s struggle in the hatch was the island’s proverbial “test”, not just of faith, used to “course correct” Locke’s destiny. Locke really was wrong about the “nothing will happen when its pushed” idea! – there is ALWAYS a consequence to one’s actions on LOST.! Consequ ently, this put Desmond in the position to turn the failsafe key (i.e. the act of course correction). Desmond now can see the future and Locke seeks the island’s mystical properties and is more than ever committed to his destiny. Locke’s death in the future is not entirely problematic, again the “state of Locke’s being” has changed – he has either “evolved” or truly “does not exist” in his former physical and/or spiritual form. The question now becomes one of body and/or soul versus dead or alive, and ultimately, it leads to a BIG QUESTION: What is ‘existence’?
In the Beginning…
In the beginning, there was darkness: a blank black screen. Suddenly, a swift SWOOSH! sound effect followed by a harrowing wide open eye revealed to be that of a man named Jack Shepard. There are three important ideas encapsulated in that opening sequencing (literally!): Perspective, Awareness, Consciousness. The perspective is that of a man who was on Flight 815 to bury his alcoholic, commanding father who made Jack WHO HE IS. I am reminded of the title of a famous war novel, The Things They Carried. Jack literally is carrying his father’s body to the island. Secondly, Jack becomes aware of his physical existence via his senses: the very fact that he now “sees” the island (or eyeland!) around him proves this. Jack is aware of his place, his body, and of Vincent. Thirdly, Jack’s transition from unconsciousness to consciousness is very important! I argue that the ultimate “clue” one can draw from the “Pilot” is the notion of mankind “awakening” to the “! world” or ‘existence’, for that matter. Thus, Jack awakens to the ‘island’ (a Form of existence) but possess the condition of being, oh, how do you say… LOST! How is Jack LOST? Well, it’s the same reason how all the other characters are LOST – because they exist in a perceived version of reality inconsistent with the Ultimate Truth (i.e. true reality). Buddhists call it Nirvana, Christians call it God, and the island’s inhabitants (Others/ Hostiles) calls it Jacob. Let’s assume that the island has ALWAYS called this Truth by the name of Jacob (both everywhere and everywhen the island has been!) Now here’s where it gets tricky: what about the smoke monster? The monster, like every other mystery, has a complicated answer so bear with this next idea – the monster is like a door. The door to a very large house (the island), which is home to a man (Jacob) and his many children (the Others). The function of a door is arguably a very simple version of what! Rousseau called a “security system” – to protect not ju! st the i sland, but also to protect those INSIDE the large house and those OUTSIDE it (everywhere and everywhen!). The arbiter of who stays alive and who goes is ultimately Jacob. Jacob in some sense is the proverbial God. The monster is the proverbial Holy Spirit. But this Holy Spirit has another, more important, function – the monster is the figurative purgatory between consciousness and unconsciousness. I am reminded of the “?” episode, where the girl in Eko’s flashback said that “I saw your brother, Yemi, when I was between places.” It can “flash” its knowledge about one’s life from any point in space-time – essentially, the monster “feeds” on memory, on the survivor’s constants, of their former state of being. Look at the paradoxical features of the monster: it acts like a machine, but sounds like an animal; it can move freely, is barricaded by a sonic fence and can be summoned by humans; it’s a shapeshifter/ vision-maker; it goes underground. It is ! strange to see a security system constantly secure itself from the island – as if it doesn’t want to be “revealed”. Is the monster more powerful than Jacob? No. The monster is apart of the Trinity – a component that makes up God – just as if we supposed that Christian was a component of Jacob. Will we ever see the monster’s true form? Yes and No. Just like the form of Jacob, the monster’s configuration will probably depend on whose perspective we’re seeing it from.
Well, I’ve run out of steam for now. Seeing as how this is a piece of my collective theory on LOST. I’ll write another one as soon as I make more connections.
Theory by ChrisisLOST
