I think there’s this essential human desire to have a unified field theory. But there is no unified field theory for Lost, nor do we think there should be. Philosophically we don’t buy into that. The great mysteries of life fundamentally can’t be addressed. We just have to tell a good story and let the chips fall where they may. We don’t know whether the resolution between the two timelines is going to make people say, “Oh, that’s cool” or “Oh, fuck those guys, they belly-flopped at the end.” But the fact that we’re nervous about it and that we’re actually attempting it — that is what we had to do. We had to try to make the dive. - - - Carlton Cuse
Fans who support the final conclusion to the series have jumped on this philosophy. They claim that the producers having to provide a basis for every mystery is not only bad writing, it’s not true to life.
They believe that even though the mysteries shown in LOST should have a plausibility within the universe of the story, the mysteries do not need to be “tied together.” The concept is that there is no unified theory to anything. They think scientists will conclude that in life and our universe, there is no grand unified theory. It is futile to think otherwise.
If one accepts this philosophy that LOST mirrors life in that there is never going to be a unified theory to explain the mysteries of life (or the show), fans are only left with the vague, unfilled vision. The TPTB that hyped and worked on the story lines abandon the show's viewers to their own devices; to wonder and philosophize and speculate to what they had invested six years in watching the story when the show's creators tell us that mysteries, as in life, cannot be addressed.
I have to reject TPTB's premise. It is an excuse. It is a cover story. It is a con.
The art of writing a narrative or epic tale is based on a time-tested formula: a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the beginning, we have characters who are confronted with problematic situations (conflicts). In the middle, we have those characters trying to come to terms with those conflicts. In the end, we have those characters have those conflicts resolved, for good or ill.
In 1972, sociolinguist William Labov isolated the historical elements of storytelling that applied to all cultures throughout time:
1. Abstract - How does it begin?
2. Orientation - Who/what does it involve, and when/where?
3. Complicating Action - Then what happened?
4. Resolution - What finally happened?
5. Evaluation - So what?
6. Coda - What does it all mean?
The LOST's creators gave us a weak resolution, nothing to evaluate and no coded principles to find out what it all meant. In some respects, it would be like Jules Verne writing his novel, Around the World in 80 Days, in one sentence: After accepting the wager that he could not make it around the world in 80 days time, Phineas Fogg left for the train station to begin his journey. The End.
LOST began with the riveting tale of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. A diverse group of people would need to band together in order to survive and to be rescued. The complication was that they were not alone - - - people were spying on them, kidnapping some of the survivors, played mind games, and killed many people. The survivors had to confront the hostiles in order to live, but many died in the process. The initial story could have concluded whether any of the survivors were rescued in a Robinson Caruso way. But instead, in order to pad the story line, TPTB added layer upon layer of secondary backstories and more conflicts (Others v. Dharma; Ben v. Widmore; Jacob v. MIB). TPTB also brought in not only the big question of "where was the island?" but "what is the island?" If you are going to add smoke monsters, Egyptian temples, reincarnation, and time travel, people will want a reasonable explanation for those elements in the conclusion of the story.
TPTB wanted to make LOST a grand, epic, "different" adventure story. But to believe at the beginning they needed no unified theory to any of the story elements that they would film defies common sense in the writing craft or common courtesy to the viewers. They were more engrossed in wild plot twists than the actual premise of the show. The sideways world was just another twist they used as an escape hatch to give viewers a "happy" ending with no answers. It is like a child going out Trick or Treating to be given instead of candy, a travel bottle of mouth wash. Yes, it could be worse: a razor blade in an apple. It is all a matter of perspective, which itself was lost at the end of the series (apparently by design).
May 25, 2010
From a fascinating discussion between LOST producers Cuse and Lindelof and theoretical physicist Sean Carroll, author of From Eternity to Here:Carlton Cuse: I think there’s this essential human desire to have a unified field theory. But there is no unified field theory for Lost, nor do we think there should be. Philosophically we don’t buy into that. The great mysteries of life fundamentally can’t be addressed. We just have to tell a good story and let the chips fall where they may. We don’t know whether the resolution between the two timelines is going to make people say, “Oh, that’s cool” or “Oh, fuck those guys, they belly-flopped at the end.” But the fact that we’re nervous about it and that we’re actually attempting it — that is what we had to do. We had to try to make the dive.This is similar to the point I was trying to make in my pre-finale essay “Why LOST Doesn’t Need to Answer Every Question.” To provide a basis for every mystery is not only bad writing, it’s not true to life. The mysteries should have a plausibility within the universe of the story, but they do not need to all “tie together.” There is no unified theory of everything. Indeed, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to think that the search for a grand unified theory is futile.
So what are we LOST fans left with then? A gift that is the same as one of the greatest gifts we have as humans: the capacity to wonder and philosophize and speculate. Some of us need to get over our anger that LOST abandoned any attempt at a “theory of everything” (if that was ever the goal) and embrace the gift, a gift that will live in our discussions for years to come.
- See more at: http://foolishsage.com/2010/05/25/lost-producer-cuse-no-unified-theory/#sthash.lrjvILoT.dpuf
May 25, 2010
From a fascinating discussion between LOST producers Cuse and Lindelof and theoretical physicist Sean Carroll, author of From Eternity to Here:Carlton Cuse: I think there’s this essential human desire to have a unified field theory. But there is no unified field theory for Lost, nor do we think there should be. Philosophically we don’t buy into that. The great mysteries of life fundamentally can’t be addressed. We just have to tell a good story and let the chips fall where they may. We don’t know whether the resolution between the two timelines is going to make people say, “Oh, that’s cool” or “Oh, fuck those guys, they belly-flopped at the end.” But the fact that we’re nervous about it and that we’re actually attempting it — that is what we had to do. We had to try to make the dive.This is similar to the point I was trying to make in my pre-finale essay “Why LOST Doesn’t Need to Answer Every Question.” To provide a basis for every mystery is not only bad writing, it’s not true to life. The mysteries should have a plausibility within the universe of the story, but they do not need to all “tie together.” There is no unified theory of everything. Indeed, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to think that the search for a grand unified theory is futile.
So what are we LOST fans left with then? A gift that is the same as one of the greatest gifts we have as humans: the capacity to wonder and philosophize and speculate. Some of us need to get over our anger that LOST abandoned any attempt at a “theory of everything” (if that was ever the goal) and embrace the gift, a gift that will live in our discussions for years to come.
- See more at: http://foolishsage.com/2010/05/25/lost-producer-cuse-no-unified-theory/#sthash.yZyUefSJ.dpuf
May 25, 2010
From a fascinating discussion between LOST producers Cuse and Lindelof and theoretical physicist Sean Carroll, author of From Eternity to Here:Carlton Cuse: I think there’s this essential human desire to have a unified field theory. But there is no unified field theory for Lost, nor do we think there should be. Philosophically we don’t buy into that. The great mysteries of life fundamentally can’t be addressed. We just have to tell a good story and let the chips fall where they may. We don’t know whether the resolution between the two timelines is going to make people say, “Oh, that’s cool” or “Oh, fuck those guys, they belly-flopped at the end.” But the fact that we’re nervous about it and that we’re actually attempting it — that is what we had to do. We had to try to make the dive.This is similar to the point I was trying to make in my pre-finale essay “Why LOST Doesn’t Need to Answer Every Question.” To provide a basis for every mystery is not only bad writing, it’s not true to life. The mysteries should have a plausibility within the universe of the story, but they do not need to all “tie together.” There is no unified theory of everything. Indeed, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to think that the search for a grand unified theory is futile.
So what are we LOST fans left with then? A gift that is the same as one of the greatest gifts we have as humans: the capacity to wonder and philosophize and speculate. Some of us need to get over our anger that LOST abandoned any attempt at a “theory of everything” (if that was ever the goal) and embrace the gift, a gift that will live in our discussions for years to come.
- See more at: http://foolishsage.com/2010/05/25/lost-producer-cuse-no-unified-theory/#sthash.lrjvILoT.dpuf
