One of the themes was good vs. evil. Most literature has this theme in one form or another. It is the basis for most conflict between characters and it gives a writer a redemption road map to change an evil person to change to good.
Jacob was protrayed in white. White is symbolic of good. MIB was dressed in black. Black is symbolic of evil. But things may not be as they appear.
There are various theories that have Jacob as the Bad Guy. And there is plenty of support for it.
Why would a good, immortal angel like Jacob walk up to Locke just after he was pushed through a skyscraper window to land crippled on the ground just to say he was sorry. Wouldn't a "good" supernatural being heal Locke - - - give him the miracle he was searching for?
Also, when Sayid finally found the love of his life, Nadia, in the O6 story arc, it was Jacob who stopped Sayid from crossing the street - - - which allowed Nadia to be killed by a motor vehicle. Wouldn't a good supernatural being protect Sayid - - - and stop both of them from harm?
And the clearest story of the series about Jacob came from Dogen. Dogen was the man who supervised the Temple. He said that he was a distracted father. He never cared much for his son. But after he was in a traffic accident, and his son was critically injured, Jacob came to the hospital and offered Dogen a deal. He would save his son in exchange for Dogen coming to the island to serve him.
Dogen made the deal.
He would not see his son again. But he knew that his son would live.
This story is a key foundational element that Jacob was not good. Why would someone good make a father chose between his own life and his son's? Logically, the bargain was Dogen's life for his son's. That means that Dogen would the substitute soul that the grim reaper was going to take to the underworld. That means that Dogen gave up his life in a bargain with the Devil. That Dogen gave up his life to follow Jacob to the island means that the island is Hell.
In Christian texts, the Devil was fallen angel banished from heaven after he had a jealous rage against God. The Devil vowed one day to return to overthrow God and rule paradise. But the Devil was never strong enough to do so. Other texts believe that the Devil was sent to Hell not as a punishment but to prepare human souls for their journey to Heaven. The Devil is a warden for those sentenced to Hell, the portal purgatory between life, death and the after life.
But even the job of being a warden would be a dull, thankless task. Dealing with the worst, immoral and corrupt people for eternity, far away from the paradise he once enjoyed, the Devil would want to find a "loophole" from God's service. The loophole he sought was a person who would take over his job and become the Devil - - - the guard of the island (Hell).
The candidates were good people who could do the thankless job of helping other people through their sins. But Jacob could not tell them. Each soul retains their own free will. For example, Ben's psychotic anti-social behavior did change after he killed Jacob. Jacob's own followers decided not to kill him - - - which gave Ben a chance to change to become a good person. Even in the sideways world, Ben's new attitude was that he needed to make amends for his past mistakes before moving on to paradise.
If one looks at LOST through the "prison" of various deals with the Devil, Jacob, it is interesting that most characters did achieve something that they were missing or looking for in their pathetic lives. Charlie got his own "family" in Claire and Aaron. Claire actually found a man who would love her unconditionally and never leave her. Locke found something he never had: a group of friends who believed and respected him. How each character got to their revelation moments is actually quite sadistic and dramatic, but there is that underlying theme that the characters were pushed into their decisions, deals, with Jacob for a greater purpose.
Showing posts with label Dogen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dogen. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2015
Thursday, August 7, 2014
EVENT HORIZONS
After composing the last post, and specifically the reference on how Dogen became trapped on the island through his "bargain" with Jacob, there may be another explanation on the concept of Time.
I recall detailed discussions with fellow posters during the series run about the question of time travel, time shifts and the unique electromagnetic properties. A few theorized that the FDW was a control mechanism for a tiny wormhole, which was the center of the island. The power of a wormhole to pull galaxies into its center is immense. To lose control over it would have been the literal end of the world.
Wormholes have strange physics. It is postulated that the edge of the wormhole there is an event horizon. Time and space act strangely in this area as the forces pull matter into the wormhole.
Since Dogen came to the island in a deal to save his son from certain death caused by his car accident, one could consider Dogen paying the penance of his bad act on the island, if the island was hell. And if you start to look back at the big island players, everyone has something major to repent.
Instead of looking at Time as a linear concept, one should try to look at it as a whirlpool sucking people and their lives into its drain at the center.
Crazy Mom who stole Jacob from his mother was living her own personal hell on the island as the guardian. Her punishment for her sins must have been an eternity guarding the light source. It is a thankless job with no reward, not even death. Until she found her own loophole, finding a candidate, a sinner, to replace her. When Jacob killed his brother, he became that new sinner trapped in the island hell for eternity. That is why he continued to bring candidates to the island to succeed him. Alpert was a sinner most likely killed for his crimes (or died on a slave ship) who found his soul trapped in what he immediately thought was hell, and Jacob being the devil. Likewise, Dogen's story of giving up his life for his son's means that Dogen's soul had to go to a place of punishment, the island. Dogen served Jacob, but did not replace him. We then get the Dharma group, who may have done human experimentation and sinned against nature in the quest for new technologies. Horace found his demise and eventually became a ghost on the island. Then we have Flight 815 characters who each had their own sins to atone.
From this perspective, the island is like a toilet swirling the lives, memories and sins of various people toward their own personal end. As such, the various time line of personal events can interchange, cross connect and flow past each other in non-linear fashion. Each person's event horizon in the island hell is separate and distinct from the real world linear time line.
I recall detailed discussions with fellow posters during the series run about the question of time travel, time shifts and the unique electromagnetic properties. A few theorized that the FDW was a control mechanism for a tiny wormhole, which was the center of the island. The power of a wormhole to pull galaxies into its center is immense. To lose control over it would have been the literal end of the world.
Wormholes have strange physics. It is postulated that the edge of the wormhole there is an event horizon. Time and space act strangely in this area as the forces pull matter into the wormhole.
Since Dogen came to the island in a deal to save his son from certain death caused by his car accident, one could consider Dogen paying the penance of his bad act on the island, if the island was hell. And if you start to look back at the big island players, everyone has something major to repent.
Crazy Mom who stole Jacob from his mother was living her own personal hell on the island as the guardian. Her punishment for her sins must have been an eternity guarding the light source. It is a thankless job with no reward, not even death. Until she found her own loophole, finding a candidate, a sinner, to replace her. When Jacob killed his brother, he became that new sinner trapped in the island hell for eternity. That is why he continued to bring candidates to the island to succeed him. Alpert was a sinner most likely killed for his crimes (or died on a slave ship) who found his soul trapped in what he immediately thought was hell, and Jacob being the devil. Likewise, Dogen's story of giving up his life for his son's means that Dogen's soul had to go to a place of punishment, the island. Dogen served Jacob, but did not replace him. We then get the Dharma group, who may have done human experimentation and sinned against nature in the quest for new technologies. Horace found his demise and eventually became a ghost on the island. Then we have Flight 815 characters who each had their own sins to atone.
From this perspective, the island is like a toilet swirling the lives, memories and sins of various people toward their own personal end. As such, the various time line of personal events can interchange, cross connect and flow past each other in non-linear fashion. Each person's event horizon in the island hell is separate and distinct from the real world linear time line.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
LEADERSHIP
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" - - - Steve Jobs
The Apple Computer co-founder was also fond of saying that he did not believe in focus groups where consumers would tell companies what features they wanted in their electronic products. Jobs was insistent that he would tell them what consumers wanted before they knew they wanted it.
Being light years ahead of the curve is one thing, but understanding the dynamic of interpersonal skills is another. As a brash, combative and anal-retentive boss, Jobs had his employees both fearing and worshipping him because of his innovation push towards continued excellence.
The theme of leadership was prominent in the LOST series. It was something that a few characters sought as the ultimate goal in their lives: Widmore, Ben, Locke. A few characters never wanted the role of leader put upon them: Jack, Sawyer, Hurley. In many respects, the various island story arcs were variations of the child's game of follow the leader.
The pinnacle of leadership would be a devote following. Jacob was a cult figure to the Others, even though few, if any of his followers actually met him. The closest encounter we have is Dogen's back story, when he said he met a man who could save his son from terrible injuries, but it would cost the father (Dogen) a life of service to the island at the Temple. Dogen accepted his punishment for his actions and became a high priest for Jacob's vague vision of the balance between light and dark forces.
But Jacob kept in the shadows. He was a loner. He did not need the adoration of people in his presence. It appears the humans brought to the island were treated more like intellectual pawns in his thesis game with MIB. At some point, a leader needs an emotional connection with his people in order to lead them to the right way.
Widmore was once a co-leader of the Others, but he was banished from the island for allegedly having an off-island child. As a result of his banishment, Widmore spent his entire lifetime trying to return to the island and seek vengeance against Ben and his followers. Widmore's great leadership was purely based on the power of money. He had a lot of it; and he used his wealth to create an army of mercenaries. Those people were only connected by the promise of personal wealth and not of greater purpose.
Ben also ruled with an iron fist. His followers were mostly fearful of his wrath. He used mental manipulation to hold his followers on their paths instead of voluntary devotion to his cause. Once Ben assumed leadership of the Others, he really had no great vision of what to do next. He started to do side projects like fertility studies which the native hostiles, including Alpert, found disconcerting and not within the framework of the island's purpose.
Locke's tenure as a leader was short. He desperately wanted to be treated and respected like a leader. But most people considered him a fool. When Locke became a leader, it was because the group had come to a crossroads. He got his small band of followers because he promised hope when Jack was still stressing practical necessities of survival.
Jack was thrust into a leadership role based upon his outward skill set as a doctor. People respect a doctor who has special knowledge and skills to help heal people in the time of need. The crash survivors naturally migrated toward the doctor for comfort and advice. Jack's quiet acceptance of his role helped solidify his position as beach camp leader.
But at the same time, Jack did not innovate or create a grand vision for the survivors to follow. Jack did not set down a rescue plan. It was Michael who had the idea of the raft. When Jack was captured by the Others and learned of their ships and technology, he did not fashion a plan in order to use those tools to escape the island. When the freighter arrived at the island, Jack naively accepted their offer of help when other survivors, including Locke, were skeptical of their motivations. Jack's leadership was mostly following the cues of other people's ideas. Jack never had a grand plan of his own.
Even when O6 crazy Jack wanted to get back the island, he had no clue how to do so. He was at the mercy of devious Ben and Eloise. At that point, Jack became a follower. When he time traveled to 1977 Dharma, it was Sawyer who was in charge of their little group. Jack became a wall flower until the final Jacob camp fire scene where he volunteered to be the guardian in order to stop MIB from leaving the island. But as the guardian, Jack had no clue on how to defeat MIB. He gave no direction. He gave no grand speech to mass his troops for battle. It was merely a series of fortunate coincidence that felled MIB.
Even at the end in the bamboo grove, Jack as the leader, was not even mourned by his fellow survivors. They did not stop to honor Jack. They fled to the Hydra Island to catch the plane flight off the island. There was no greater purpose in their actions. It was all personal, selfish survival.
Though leadership was touted throughout the series, there really was no true leader amongst any of the characters. Perhaps the message is that leadership is a hollow title. There is little respect or little rewards in taking the responsibility or accountability for your actions or those of your followers.
The Apple Computer co-founder was also fond of saying that he did not believe in focus groups where consumers would tell companies what features they wanted in their electronic products. Jobs was insistent that he would tell them what consumers wanted before they knew they wanted it.
Being light years ahead of the curve is one thing, but understanding the dynamic of interpersonal skills is another. As a brash, combative and anal-retentive boss, Jobs had his employees both fearing and worshipping him because of his innovation push towards continued excellence.
The theme of leadership was prominent in the LOST series. It was something that a few characters sought as the ultimate goal in their lives: Widmore, Ben, Locke. A few characters never wanted the role of leader put upon them: Jack, Sawyer, Hurley. In many respects, the various island story arcs were variations of the child's game of follow the leader.
The pinnacle of leadership would be a devote following. Jacob was a cult figure to the Others, even though few, if any of his followers actually met him. The closest encounter we have is Dogen's back story, when he said he met a man who could save his son from terrible injuries, but it would cost the father (Dogen) a life of service to the island at the Temple. Dogen accepted his punishment for his actions and became a high priest for Jacob's vague vision of the balance between light and dark forces.
But Jacob kept in the shadows. He was a loner. He did not need the adoration of people in his presence. It appears the humans brought to the island were treated more like intellectual pawns in his thesis game with MIB. At some point, a leader needs an emotional connection with his people in order to lead them to the right way.
Widmore was once a co-leader of the Others, but he was banished from the island for allegedly having an off-island child. As a result of his banishment, Widmore spent his entire lifetime trying to return to the island and seek vengeance against Ben and his followers. Widmore's great leadership was purely based on the power of money. He had a lot of it; and he used his wealth to create an army of mercenaries. Those people were only connected by the promise of personal wealth and not of greater purpose.
Ben also ruled with an iron fist. His followers were mostly fearful of his wrath. He used mental manipulation to hold his followers on their paths instead of voluntary devotion to his cause. Once Ben assumed leadership of the Others, he really had no great vision of what to do next. He started to do side projects like fertility studies which the native hostiles, including Alpert, found disconcerting and not within the framework of the island's purpose.
Locke's tenure as a leader was short. He desperately wanted to be treated and respected like a leader. But most people considered him a fool. When Locke became a leader, it was because the group had come to a crossroads. He got his small band of followers because he promised hope when Jack was still stressing practical necessities of survival.
Jack was thrust into a leadership role based upon his outward skill set as a doctor. People respect a doctor who has special knowledge and skills to help heal people in the time of need. The crash survivors naturally migrated toward the doctor for comfort and advice. Jack's quiet acceptance of his role helped solidify his position as beach camp leader.
But at the same time, Jack did not innovate or create a grand vision for the survivors to follow. Jack did not set down a rescue plan. It was Michael who had the idea of the raft. When Jack was captured by the Others and learned of their ships and technology, he did not fashion a plan in order to use those tools to escape the island. When the freighter arrived at the island, Jack naively accepted their offer of help when other survivors, including Locke, were skeptical of their motivations. Jack's leadership was mostly following the cues of other people's ideas. Jack never had a grand plan of his own.
Even when O6 crazy Jack wanted to get back the island, he had no clue how to do so. He was at the mercy of devious Ben and Eloise. At that point, Jack became a follower. When he time traveled to 1977 Dharma, it was Sawyer who was in charge of their little group. Jack became a wall flower until the final Jacob camp fire scene where he volunteered to be the guardian in order to stop MIB from leaving the island. But as the guardian, Jack had no clue on how to defeat MIB. He gave no direction. He gave no grand speech to mass his troops for battle. It was merely a series of fortunate coincidence that felled MIB.
Even at the end in the bamboo grove, Jack as the leader, was not even mourned by his fellow survivors. They did not stop to honor Jack. They fled to the Hydra Island to catch the plane flight off the island. There was no greater purpose in their actions. It was all personal, selfish survival.
Though leadership was touted throughout the series, there really was no true leader amongst any of the characters. Perhaps the message is that leadership is a hollow title. There is little respect or little rewards in taking the responsibility or accountability for your actions or those of your followers.
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