The Dark Side

Lost

May 24, 2010. Today, which at first glance seems like any other, but it is different; it is the first day in a post-Lost world. I have been asked by many people why Lost is such a big deal, and I will tell you what I always tell them, you really have to see it from the first episode to understand. Luckily for those of you who do not have this luxury, I will try to explain why it is so important to television and even life, without giving away any of its vital secrets.

So many shows dumb themselves down to reach a broader audience. Lost did the opposite, they asked their viewers to learn information so that they could better understand the show. We were asked to understand string theory, philosophy and different religious theories. We were driven to research the names of each of the characters, so that we could have that much more insight into the deeper philosophy of the show. In essence by watching the show, we learned.

While we learned so much, we also got to know the characters. Never have I seen a show that so explored the background of each character so deeply that it felt as if we almost knew them; Lost spent the better part of two seasons just introducing us to all aspects of these characters. We came to love Hurley’s “dude”, Sawyer’s nicknames, Jack’s out of breath talking, Sun and Jin’s complicated relationship, and even came to love a character that by all means should have been unlovable. It was these characters who kept us coming back week after week, and when one or more of these characters might perish, we felt it.

Most importantly though, Lost was a show that made us talk. We talked about philosophy, religion, love, hate, and most importantly, faith. We discussed what we thought things symbolized, what we thought was going to happen, all the while not realizing that we had opened up lines of communications with friends that had been down for awhile. Through our discussions of what we thought the show was trying to say, we each learned a bit more about how we see the world.

Now, I know that many people will disagree with the way that the show ended because the writers didn’t answer everything, but we have to remember, that’s what made the Lost great in the first place. The show let the viewer analyze what was happening, so each viewer received a different experience. If the writers told us everything definitively, we would have lost our lunchtime, or nighttime discussions. What made this show so great was the same thing that makes great literature timeless: it’s open to discussion.

Namaste

Fire escapes…

Can someone explain to me what the deal with fire escapes is? Ok, how many of us out there have used one, or even know someone who has used one? My guess is not many of you. So why is it that half of the movie characters that we see end up using one? Look, I’m not a genius in math, but I think that the ratio of movie characters to real people using fire escapes is a bit off.

Let’s explore why this phenomenon occurs. One, movie characters have a disproportionate ratio when it comes to the number of times they have to flee an apartment or risk death versus the average person. Because of this factor, they tend to have to use the fire escape so they do not perish.

Secondly, most movie characters who end up being chased are not rich, thus meaning that they will end up living in an apartment, and running down the fire escape in a frantic manner so they can escape whatever danger is behind them.

Thirdly, and probably most importantly, it simply just looks cooler if someone is being chased down a fire escape. Sure, we could watch Joe Blow running through a field with someone chasing behind them; but where is the suspense there? We would rather watch him run down stairs, turn, then run down more stairs, while the enemy (or killer) chasing them, is doing the exact same thing.

Now keep in mind, if a good guy is chasing a bad guy down the fire escape, most of the time, they will have anticipated the escape, and have their partner waiting at the bottom. By contrast, it seems as if bad guys don’t seem to anticipate the same; if they don’t catch their prey by the bottom of the fire escape, our hero is free to run off unscathed.

So what have we learned here? That fire escapes are unnecessary? Maybe. That if you are in danger, all you have to do is stay two flights below of your pursuer, hit the ground first and you will be safe? Possibly. Or maybe, just maybe that the reason that we enjoy the movies so much is because they do not remind us of reality, because, let’s face it, we get far too much “reality” in our day to day lives.