According to a Celtic legend, there was an island approximately 120 miles west of Ireland in the North Atlantic called Hy Brasil. This island vanished from view a long time ago. According to Irish myth, the island is a phantom island, cloaked in mist, but which makes its appearance for one day every seven years. But no one can seem to find it, even though sailors have tried to map it since the early 1300s.
The island was supposedly inhabited by a race of super-intelligent people, who had technologies thousands of years ahead of its time.
Some theorize that this ancient legend follows the pattern of that of Atlantis. Atlantis was also a place ruled by highly intelligent people who were much more advanced than normal tribes roaming the continents. But Atlantis somehow vanished from the face of the earth, and any ruins of their civilization have not been found.
Which gets us back to the submerged island scene from Season 6 of LOST.
Many viewers thought this was a clue to the premise of the series that the island was Atlantis. The island had been described as a place, a ship, a space craft, a time portal, a localized worm hole, an illusion, a dream, a game and a time-space vortex. If one can find the answer of what the island was, then that should explain the other unsolved mysteries.
Just as a few have tried to tie the advanced Atlantis civilization to unexplained artifacts like Stonehedge or the Bermuda Triangle, it is hard to connect disconnected dots on map. Atlantis legends state that the island country was in the Atlantic Ocean. Our LOST island was in the Pacific. Atlantis was said to have a highly advanced technology. Our LOST island technology apparently stopped with the Dharma construction in the late 1970s-early 1980s. So there seems to be little connection between the legend of Atlantis and LOST's island except that they were mysterious islands that explorers could not find.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
SINKING FEELINGS
In Season 6, fans got a flash of the island under water.
There are only a few ways that an island can become submerged:
1. The volume of ocean water increases, through the melting of glaciers or the end of an ice age. Scientists have confirmed that the rise in ocean levels have altered continent coast lines and flooded islands.
2. An earthquake could shear the base of the island, causing it to crumble. Islands are anchored on the seabed. Tectonic plates of the earth move under extreme pressure, so that a sudden joint or force could significantly alter the island's structural foundation.
3. Volcanic activity could have destroyed the island. Pacific Islands were created by volcanic activity, with the build up of cooled molten rock until the pile extends past the surface of the ocean. Likewise, a volcano can become active and its explosion force could have leveled an island.
The perspective that the island was underwater gave many viewers a sinking feeling that the series was taking a dramatic turn. It coincided with Flight 815 safely landing at LAX. At the time, what did that mean?
People immediately thought that the island events of the past five seasons must have been some sort of elaborate dream. For some who thought that, it was the jump-the-shark-moment. Other viewers theorized that the atomic bomb did go off, sending the characters back in time to moments before 815 crashed on the island. The bomb both re-set historical events, but also destroyed the island, sinking its artifacts to the ocean bottom. This theory was more palatable until the series continued to throw new current island events at us, including Juliet's apparent short-lived survival from the Hatch incident implosion. So some speculated that there had to be a separation of the characters story lines, i.e. a parallel universe was created which allowed the passengers to complete their voyage home to LA while at the same time, another universe kept the passengers trapped on the island. This would seem to be the closest explanation for what would finally occur in the end.
But it still left open questions. Because of LOST's extreme out-of-sync scene format, when did the island sink? Was it the jughead incident or was it after Hurley became guardian and he wrapped things up? Or was the island always under water, and it supernaturally trapped the passengers in a parallel universe? The show runners have never come out to explain the context of the sunken island.
So that leads to another possibility. The scene was inserted merely for "shock value." It was to confuse, divert and conceal the true meaning of the passengers landing at LAX so the final reveal that they were "all dead" could have the most impact.
1. The volume of ocean water increases, through the melting of glaciers or the end of an ice age. Scientists have confirmed that the rise in ocean levels have altered continent coast lines and flooded islands.
2. An earthquake could shear the base of the island, causing it to crumble. Islands are anchored on the seabed. Tectonic plates of the earth move under extreme pressure, so that a sudden joint or force could significantly alter the island's structural foundation.
3. Volcanic activity could have destroyed the island. Pacific Islands were created by volcanic activity, with the build up of cooled molten rock until the pile extends past the surface of the ocean. Likewise, a volcano can become active and its explosion force could have leveled an island.
The perspective that the island was underwater gave many viewers a sinking feeling that the series was taking a dramatic turn. It coincided with Flight 815 safely landing at LAX. At the time, what did that mean?
People immediately thought that the island events of the past five seasons must have been some sort of elaborate dream. For some who thought that, it was the jump-the-shark-moment. Other viewers theorized that the atomic bomb did go off, sending the characters back in time to moments before 815 crashed on the island. The bomb both re-set historical events, but also destroyed the island, sinking its artifacts to the ocean bottom. This theory was more palatable until the series continued to throw new current island events at us, including Juliet's apparent short-lived survival from the Hatch incident implosion. So some speculated that there had to be a separation of the characters story lines, i.e. a parallel universe was created which allowed the passengers to complete their voyage home to LA while at the same time, another universe kept the passengers trapped on the island. This would seem to be the closest explanation for what would finally occur in the end.
But it still left open questions. Because of LOST's extreme out-of-sync scene format, when did the island sink? Was it the jughead incident or was it after Hurley became guardian and he wrapped things up? Or was the island always under water, and it supernaturally trapped the passengers in a parallel universe? The show runners have never come out to explain the context of the sunken island.
So that leads to another possibility. The scene was inserted merely for "shock value." It was to confuse, divert and conceal the true meaning of the passengers landing at LAX so the final reveal that they were "all dead" could have the most impact.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
WHY KATE MATTERED
Just in the character's own background, fans had a love-hate relationship with Kate. Some fans really liked her, and some fans really hated her. But Kate's character provided an important role in the story structure.
She was the character most likely to be in the middle of the action. She visited five of the Dharma stations (Swan, Staff, Hydra, Flame and Tempest). She was probably on the most "missions" or jungle treks of the survivors. She was often the one (because her "tracking skills') to get her fellow castaways from point A to point B. As a result, Kate was the most captured/tied-up character on the show. This would put her in the center of the drama and danger being shown in the series; a proxy for fan involvement with the other characters.
Kate was also the point of conflict between Jack and Sawyer; and at times, between Jack and Locke on how things should be decided amongst the group. As the fans love-hate relationship grew, that feeling was also mirrored within the scripts for Kate's character.
She also had the most consecutive centric episodes: Pilot, Part 2, Tabula Rosa, Born to Run, Exodus, Part 1, There's No Place Like Home, Parts 1,2 & 3, LA X Part 2 and What Kate Does. It would seem that the writers wanted the viewers to identify with the Kate character and her motivations. Kate's name may be derived from that of a character from John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize-winning novel East of Eden. Catherine is one of the main antagonists and, like Kate, sets her parents' home on fire as a young girl (killing both of them, as opposed to Kate who just kills her step-father) and spends most of her life from that point forward running from the law. Catherine later changes her name to Kate to further avoid detection.
Katherine is a Greek name which means "pure." Pure is defined as being not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material; without any extraneous and unnecessary elements; free of any contamination; wholesome and untainted by immorality, esp. that of a sexual nature; and perfectly in tune and with a clear tone. Kate's character was an unyielding, stubborn, independent woman with personal flaws in morality and judgment. Her inner conflicts paralleled the island conflicts in many ways.
She was one of two characters to have actually left the island twice (the other being pilot Frank). She was the celebrity-trial centerpiece of the Oceanic 6. Her story with Aaron was the compelling reason NOT to go back to the island. She was also the reason Jack turned into a bearded, drug-addicted, suicidal mess.
When she leaves the island for the final time, she is only one of five main characters to be alive.
As for the Numbers, Kate was in 108 episodes. Kate is the only one of the Oceanic survivors and candidates whose candidate number is not one of "The Numbers" or a multiple thereof. The only survivors on the list in addition to Hurley, Locke, Sawyer, Jack, Jin and/or Sun, and Sayid are Kate, Michael, and Shannon. Shannon's number is 32, a multiple of 4 and 8 and Michael's number is 124, a multiple of 4. Kate's number is 51, which is not a multiple of any of the numbers.
However, she was the "variable" in the final equation. Even though her number was crossed off the candidates list, Jacob gave her the opportunity to take over his guardianship. As a result of still being a candidate, Kate was in the position to fell Flocke, who thought she was no longer a candidate, with a bullet.
She is also the second-to-last person to be awakened prior to Christian's funeral in the sideways world. Jack was the last to be awakened, which makes the story foundation come back full circle since it was supposed to be Kate to be the leader after Jack was to be killed off in the pilot episode.
She also served the purpose of giving Jack someone to move on with into the next stage of the after life. For Kate not to be by his side at the end would mean that Jack's island sacrifices would have no reward.
She was the character most likely to be in the middle of the action. She visited five of the Dharma stations (Swan, Staff, Hydra, Flame and Tempest). She was probably on the most "missions" or jungle treks of the survivors. She was often the one (because her "tracking skills') to get her fellow castaways from point A to point B. As a result, Kate was the most captured/tied-up character on the show. This would put her in the center of the drama and danger being shown in the series; a proxy for fan involvement with the other characters.
Kate was also the point of conflict between Jack and Sawyer; and at times, between Jack and Locke on how things should be decided amongst the group. As the fans love-hate relationship grew, that feeling was also mirrored within the scripts for Kate's character.
She also had the most consecutive centric episodes: Pilot, Part 2, Tabula Rosa, Born to Run, Exodus, Part 1, There's No Place Like Home, Parts 1,2 & 3, LA X Part 2 and What Kate Does. It would seem that the writers wanted the viewers to identify with the Kate character and her motivations. Kate's name may be derived from that of a character from John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize-winning novel East of Eden. Catherine is one of the main antagonists and, like Kate, sets her parents' home on fire as a young girl (killing both of them, as opposed to Kate who just kills her step-father) and spends most of her life from that point forward running from the law. Catherine later changes her name to Kate to further avoid detection.
Katherine is a Greek name which means "pure." Pure is defined as being not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material; without any extraneous and unnecessary elements; free of any contamination; wholesome and untainted by immorality, esp. that of a sexual nature; and perfectly in tune and with a clear tone. Kate's character was an unyielding, stubborn, independent woman with personal flaws in morality and judgment. Her inner conflicts paralleled the island conflicts in many ways.
She was one of two characters to have actually left the island twice (the other being pilot Frank). She was the celebrity-trial centerpiece of the Oceanic 6. Her story with Aaron was the compelling reason NOT to go back to the island. She was also the reason Jack turned into a bearded, drug-addicted, suicidal mess.
When she leaves the island for the final time, she is only one of five main characters to be alive.
As for the Numbers, Kate was in 108 episodes. Kate is the only one of the Oceanic survivors and candidates whose candidate number is not one of "The Numbers" or a multiple thereof. The only survivors on the list in addition to Hurley, Locke, Sawyer, Jack, Jin and/or Sun, and Sayid are Kate, Michael, and Shannon. Shannon's number is 32, a multiple of 4 and 8 and Michael's number is 124, a multiple of 4. Kate's number is 51, which is not a multiple of any of the numbers.
However, she was the "variable" in the final equation. Even though her number was crossed off the candidates list, Jacob gave her the opportunity to take over his guardianship. As a result of still being a candidate, Kate was in the position to fell Flocke, who thought she was no longer a candidate, with a bullet.
She is also the second-to-last person to be awakened prior to Christian's funeral in the sideways world. Jack was the last to be awakened, which makes the story foundation come back full circle since it was supposed to be Kate to be the leader after Jack was to be killed off in the pilot episode.
She also served the purpose of giving Jack someone to move on with into the next stage of the after life. For Kate not to be by his side at the end would mean that Jack's island sacrifices would have no reward.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
DIGESTING CLUES
When the 815 survivors finally get into the Hatch, Desmond uses the opportunity to flee his bondage to the computer and The Numbers.
He instructs them what to do every 108 minutes; then tries to escape. Jack chases him through the jungle. He confronts Desmond, who remembers Jack from the stadium stair run. Desmond asks Jack about the woman Jack said he "failed," and as Jack becomes emotional while pointing a gun at Dez, Desmond says "go ahead and shoot me." When Jack does not, Desmond presses on: what ever happened to the girl? Like pulling a tooth, Jack tears up and Desmond pushes for an answer. Jack's failure is his sudden admission that he married her. The situation quickly defuses, and Desmond runs off into the jungle while Jack sulks back to the Hatch.
During the same episode, the alarm timing begins to wind down. Locke begins to input the Numbers into the computer terminal. Hurley arrives and suddenly becomes aware that Locke his repeating "his" cursed numbers. He wants him to stop. Locke continues: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 32. Hurley then changes his mind and says "go ahead." But as Locke was going to press EXECUTE, Jack returns to tell him he has the wrong number. The last one is 42, according to Desmond. Locke corrects the input, but he refuses to press execute - - - he wants Jack to do it, but Jack yells at him that he will not push the button on faith. The button is pressed and the timer is re-set, and Locke takes the first watch.
During Hurley's first "watch," he is shown in the Hatch pantry: first gorging on an Apollo candy bar; then a bag of chips, and then he opens a cardboard box and lifts out a fully cooked steak dinner on a white plate. He takes a large bite of the steak, when his dream is interrupted by Kate who shows him that it is time to re-set the computer.
In this short, condensed and emotional episode, we have three important elements explode to the surface. First, the emotional breakdown of Jack in the jungle. This is the first time we really see Jack break from his calm, cool and collected leader role. Second, we have Locke trying to impose his will on Jack - - - blindly taking on faith the importance of pushing the buttons. Jack believes nothing will happen if the alarm goes off. This is a precursor to show that infallible Jack is wrong. Third, it puts dreams of Hurley front in center into the Numbers mystery. There was no reason for Hurley to dream about food when he had access to real food in the pantry. Food had always been the trigger for Hurley's emotional and mental depression. It foreshadows more island mental illusions, including the return of Dave.
If we look at these events through the spectrum of Hurley alone, we can postulate that Desmond could represent Hurley's desire for love. Desmond was desperately trying to win back Penny. He would risk his life to get her back. Hurley on the other hand never fought for the love of a girl. Also, Jack could represent Hurley's desire to be a strong, effective and forceful leader. These are character traits that a low-end fry cook like Hurley would want some day. Hurley's career path was stuck at Mr. Cluck's. And finally, Hurley's dream at a critical time brings into play why Hurley's past experiences (whether true or not) such as the Numbers continually show up in the series. The reason could be as simple as that the Numbers are all in Hurley's head, and the events happening to Hurley then are also happening in his head.
He instructs them what to do every 108 minutes; then tries to escape. Jack chases him through the jungle. He confronts Desmond, who remembers Jack from the stadium stair run. Desmond asks Jack about the woman Jack said he "failed," and as Jack becomes emotional while pointing a gun at Dez, Desmond says "go ahead and shoot me." When Jack does not, Desmond presses on: what ever happened to the girl? Like pulling a tooth, Jack tears up and Desmond pushes for an answer. Jack's failure is his sudden admission that he married her. The situation quickly defuses, and Desmond runs off into the jungle while Jack sulks back to the Hatch.
During the same episode, the alarm timing begins to wind down. Locke begins to input the Numbers into the computer terminal. Hurley arrives and suddenly becomes aware that Locke his repeating "his" cursed numbers. He wants him to stop. Locke continues: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 32. Hurley then changes his mind and says "go ahead." But as Locke was going to press EXECUTE, Jack returns to tell him he has the wrong number. The last one is 42, according to Desmond. Locke corrects the input, but he refuses to press execute - - - he wants Jack to do it, but Jack yells at him that he will not push the button on faith. The button is pressed and the timer is re-set, and Locke takes the first watch.
During Hurley's first "watch," he is shown in the Hatch pantry: first gorging on an Apollo candy bar; then a bag of chips, and then he opens a cardboard box and lifts out a fully cooked steak dinner on a white plate. He takes a large bite of the steak, when his dream is interrupted by Kate who shows him that it is time to re-set the computer.
In this short, condensed and emotional episode, we have three important elements explode to the surface. First, the emotional breakdown of Jack in the jungle. This is the first time we really see Jack break from his calm, cool and collected leader role. Second, we have Locke trying to impose his will on Jack - - - blindly taking on faith the importance of pushing the buttons. Jack believes nothing will happen if the alarm goes off. This is a precursor to show that infallible Jack is wrong. Third, it puts dreams of Hurley front in center into the Numbers mystery. There was no reason for Hurley to dream about food when he had access to real food in the pantry. Food had always been the trigger for Hurley's emotional and mental depression. It foreshadows more island mental illusions, including the return of Dave.
If we look at these events through the spectrum of Hurley alone, we can postulate that Desmond could represent Hurley's desire for love. Desmond was desperately trying to win back Penny. He would risk his life to get her back. Hurley on the other hand never fought for the love of a girl. Also, Jack could represent Hurley's desire to be a strong, effective and forceful leader. These are character traits that a low-end fry cook like Hurley would want some day. Hurley's career path was stuck at Mr. Cluck's. And finally, Hurley's dream at a critical time brings into play why Hurley's past experiences (whether true or not) such as the Numbers continually show up in the series. The reason could be as simple as that the Numbers are all in Hurley's head, and the events happening to Hurley then are also happening in his head.
Monday, December 16, 2013
WIPE AWAY
We
make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose. But
wiping the surface clean doesn't really make anything any neater. It
just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go
underground, that you can see who you really are.
— Sarah Dessen
The housekeeping analogy of wiping away one's mess does not make one's life any neater can be applied to LOST, at various levels.
First, the creators and writers of the show steadfast refusal to discuss or explain the meaning of their series to their fans is a swipe against their former viewers. Now that years have past since the show ended, and numerous fans have devoted a great deal of time, thought, resources and sweat equity into preserving their memories, wouldn't the show's inside people want to tell their viewpoint on the series? Because the open question genre of a drama and mystery show, which leaves major plot points hanging, is actually not a genre at all. If an inspector (viewers) come to a builder's new home construction site, the inspector should have the right to hear how the builder (show producers/writers) created their foundation and built their structure in order to pass inspection.
Second, as a character study, most of the characters made major messes in their lives. From failed parental relationships, to serious accidents, to failed love relationships, to criminal activity to murder - - - LOST ran the gambit on twisted character flaws. Now, most of the characters could have wiped the surface clean and continued on with their miserable little lives and secrets but for the Flight 815 flight crash on the island. Metaphorically, the flawed characters had to go through their own personal "hells" in order to a) recognize their personal faults; b) trust and believe in other people for support; c) take chances not just for themselves but for others; and d) accept change to create a new path to erase any regrets.
If you don't care on how or why the characters were put into this personal hell to work through their inner problems, then LOST can make sense. But if you want to know more than just symbolic personal character development or reaction to the mysterious events on the island, then LOST continues to be a frustrating exercise in logic and common sense.
The housekeeping analogy of wiping away one's mess does not make one's life any neater can be applied to LOST, at various levels.
First, the creators and writers of the show steadfast refusal to discuss or explain the meaning of their series to their fans is a swipe against their former viewers. Now that years have past since the show ended, and numerous fans have devoted a great deal of time, thought, resources and sweat equity into preserving their memories, wouldn't the show's inside people want to tell their viewpoint on the series? Because the open question genre of a drama and mystery show, which leaves major plot points hanging, is actually not a genre at all. If an inspector (viewers) come to a builder's new home construction site, the inspector should have the right to hear how the builder (show producers/writers) created their foundation and built their structure in order to pass inspection.
Second, as a character study, most of the characters made major messes in their lives. From failed parental relationships, to serious accidents, to failed love relationships, to criminal activity to murder - - - LOST ran the gambit on twisted character flaws. Now, most of the characters could have wiped the surface clean and continued on with their miserable little lives and secrets but for the Flight 815 flight crash on the island. Metaphorically, the flawed characters had to go through their own personal "hells" in order to a) recognize their personal faults; b) trust and believe in other people for support; c) take chances not just for themselves but for others; and d) accept change to create a new path to erase any regrets.
If you don't care on how or why the characters were put into this personal hell to work through their inner problems, then LOST can make sense. But if you want to know more than just symbolic personal character development or reaction to the mysterious events on the island, then LOST continues to be a frustrating exercise in logic and common sense.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
AWAKENING
There was a great emphasis on the main characters "awakening" in the sideways world - - - to remember the "importance" of their island time together - - - in order to "move on" in the after life.
The term "awaken" refers to a process which most fans do not acknowledge as a premise for the show.
To "awake" means to stop sleeping; wake from sleep; or to cause (someone) to wake from sleep. It could also mean to regain consciousness or to become aware of a realization. It can also be to become active again, such as "there were echoes and scents that awoke some memory in me."
However, the adjective of awake means not asleep, i.e. the noise might keep you awake at night.
So what did this mean in the context of LOST?
The most obvious would be that the characters were in a dream state; that they were not awake. If we put that into the situation of the island, that means all the characters and actions were part of a complex dream world. If it was a complex dream world, was it the dream of a single person or a collective network of separate dreamers interacting with each other.
If the latter is true, then how would the main characters be "together" in the dream world. There are a few possibilities:
First, all the characters are together in one place. For example, a medical hospital undergoing various treatments. As they are hooked up to their medical equipment (including life support and computer EKG readings), their subconscious filters through the system and interacts with the other patients who are in a similar dream state.
Or, all the main characters are actually children in an orphanage. This would explain, in part, the deep rooted parental issues, betrayal and abandonment. It would also feed the persistent character trait of personal loneliness. Children in an orphanage would naturally dream intense fantasies because they believe their current lives are dark and lonely.
Second, that the characters are in a coma state - - - either as a result of accidents or as part of grand scientific research experiment. The latter would tie into the Dharma experimentation in mind control and manipulation of unique energy systems. The human brain is the most complex energy system in the planet; and one which most mainstream science still does not fully understand. By containing the brains of diverse individuals in a deep control group (such as in a coma state), the researchers could feed their minds with various scenarios to see how they react. For example, inject the terror of a mysterious smoke monster into their minds to see how they would process that information in their patient's dreams.
Third, that the characters were actually "awake" but in a virtual reality that was the island. This could also be an experiment on how the brain works in regard to virtual soldier technology. We know that the defense department and government agencies have used virtual reality systems to train soldiers for combat missions. This would be a leap forward in technology, almost Avatar like, dealing with missions in real time. Perhaps in the future, as referenced in an old Star Trek episode, wars would be fought by soldiers in a virtual reality setting, to avoid the human pain and suffering of real warfare.
But if the characters were participants in this virtual combat world, why would they not "remember" it. If the technology was sufficient to implant the game program into their minds, it probably would have been just as easy as to erase or block those memories once the characters were no longer needed in the experiment.
So the concept of awakening in the series had to mean that the characters woke up or remembered something critical in their past (i.e. the island). After losing their conscious to a virtual dream world called the island, the characters were put back into normal situations to live normal lives as shown in the sideways world. Now this would work perfectly as a reasonable explanation of the entire series except for one critical plot detail. In the sideways world, everyone was dead.
This gets us back to the last definition of the word: to become aware of a realization.
I have thought for a long time that knowledge is power. If one knew what was going on at any moment in time, they could control their own destiny. Early on, I thought that Rose became fully aware of what the island really was because the pain of her incurable cancer was gone after the plane crash. Rose became aware on the beach that she had died in the plane crash. That is why she thought everything would be alright; that she would meet up with her husband soon.
This is also why Rose and Bernard later broke away from the survivors and their dramas with the island inhabitants. They knew that what they were up to was not "real." Rose and Bernard wanted to keep to themselves so they could enjoy the "extended time" they were granted, together.
It would also explain why we did not see Rose and Bernard "awaken" in the sideways world. They did not have to awaken. They already knew of their deaths while on the island. It would seem that all the LOST souls had to awaken by themselves - - - and once each individual came to the realization that they were actually dead, could their souls move on in the after life (as depicted at the ending of the sideways church scenes).
Everything up to that point was the individual's subconscious not wanting to let go with "life." It was fueled by the regrets of the characters; the things they never experienced in their life (such as Hurley finding a true love in Libby). Somehow, some one gave these lost souls the opportunity to live a second life on the island in order to experience those past events and maybe soothe their regrets.
If that is the case, then Jacob would be more like Clarence from It's a Wonderful Life than the Devil. He brought the people to the island. And the island gave them a second chance to find trust, love, friendship and a sense of purpose. It gave those lost souls a second chance before final judgment.
The term "awaken" refers to a process which most fans do not acknowledge as a premise for the show.
To "awake" means to stop sleeping; wake from sleep; or to cause (someone) to wake from sleep. It could also mean to regain consciousness or to become aware of a realization. It can also be to become active again, such as "there were echoes and scents that awoke some memory in me."
However, the adjective of awake means not asleep, i.e. the noise might keep you awake at night.
So what did this mean in the context of LOST?
The most obvious would be that the characters were in a dream state; that they were not awake. If we put that into the situation of the island, that means all the characters and actions were part of a complex dream world. If it was a complex dream world, was it the dream of a single person or a collective network of separate dreamers interacting with each other.
If the latter is true, then how would the main characters be "together" in the dream world. There are a few possibilities:
First, all the characters are together in one place. For example, a medical hospital undergoing various treatments. As they are hooked up to their medical equipment (including life support and computer EKG readings), their subconscious filters through the system and interacts with the other patients who are in a similar dream state.
Or, all the main characters are actually children in an orphanage. This would explain, in part, the deep rooted parental issues, betrayal and abandonment. It would also feed the persistent character trait of personal loneliness. Children in an orphanage would naturally dream intense fantasies because they believe their current lives are dark and lonely.
Second, that the characters are in a coma state - - - either as a result of accidents or as part of grand scientific research experiment. The latter would tie into the Dharma experimentation in mind control and manipulation of unique energy systems. The human brain is the most complex energy system in the planet; and one which most mainstream science still does not fully understand. By containing the brains of diverse individuals in a deep control group (such as in a coma state), the researchers could feed their minds with various scenarios to see how they react. For example, inject the terror of a mysterious smoke monster into their minds to see how they would process that information in their patient's dreams.
Third, that the characters were actually "awake" but in a virtual reality that was the island. This could also be an experiment on how the brain works in regard to virtual soldier technology. We know that the defense department and government agencies have used virtual reality systems to train soldiers for combat missions. This would be a leap forward in technology, almost Avatar like, dealing with missions in real time. Perhaps in the future, as referenced in an old Star Trek episode, wars would be fought by soldiers in a virtual reality setting, to avoid the human pain and suffering of real warfare.
But if the characters were participants in this virtual combat world, why would they not "remember" it. If the technology was sufficient to implant the game program into their minds, it probably would have been just as easy as to erase or block those memories once the characters were no longer needed in the experiment.
So the concept of awakening in the series had to mean that the characters woke up or remembered something critical in their past (i.e. the island). After losing their conscious to a virtual dream world called the island, the characters were put back into normal situations to live normal lives as shown in the sideways world. Now this would work perfectly as a reasonable explanation of the entire series except for one critical plot detail. In the sideways world, everyone was dead.
This gets us back to the last definition of the word: to become aware of a realization.
I have thought for a long time that knowledge is power. If one knew what was going on at any moment in time, they could control their own destiny. Early on, I thought that Rose became fully aware of what the island really was because the pain of her incurable cancer was gone after the plane crash. Rose became aware on the beach that she had died in the plane crash. That is why she thought everything would be alright; that she would meet up with her husband soon.
This is also why Rose and Bernard later broke away from the survivors and their dramas with the island inhabitants. They knew that what they were up to was not "real." Rose and Bernard wanted to keep to themselves so they could enjoy the "extended time" they were granted, together.
It would also explain why we did not see Rose and Bernard "awaken" in the sideways world. They did not have to awaken. They already knew of their deaths while on the island. It would seem that all the LOST souls had to awaken by themselves - - - and once each individual came to the realization that they were actually dead, could their souls move on in the after life (as depicted at the ending of the sideways church scenes).
Everything up to that point was the individual's subconscious not wanting to let go with "life." It was fueled by the regrets of the characters; the things they never experienced in their life (such as Hurley finding a true love in Libby). Somehow, some one gave these lost souls the opportunity to live a second life on the island in order to experience those past events and maybe soothe their regrets.
If that is the case, then Jacob would be more like Clarence from It's a Wonderful Life than the Devil. He brought the people to the island. And the island gave them a second chance to find trust, love, friendship and a sense of purpose. It gave those lost souls a second chance before final judgment.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
POLAR BEARS
There are many theories about why polar bears were on the island.
The first theory was that Dharma brought polar bears to the island to manipulate their genes so they could adapt to warmer temperatures. Some believe evidence of this is contained on the Blast Door map which stated "STATED GOAL, REPATRIATION ACCELERATED DE-TERRITORIALIZATION OF URSUS MARITIMUS THROUGH GENE THERAPY AND EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE." If Dharma was concerned about "the end of the world" through global collapse of the environment, it could have been looking to find a way for animals and humans to adapt to the massive eco-disaster as foretold by the Valenzetti Equation.
However, the gene experimentation on the polar bears seems weak considering that most American zoos have polar bear exhibits in climates well above the natural Arctic habitat.
The second theory was that Dharma was using polar bears to train them to do certain tasks. When Sawyer and Kate were locked up in the cages, Mr. Friendly told them the bears took little time figuring out how to receive fish biscuits from the cage machine.
Dharma was training polar bears to turn the frozen donkey wheel in order to move the island. The evidence of that is the polar bear (with Dharma dog tag) skeleton found in the Tunisia desert, around the same place as Ben wound up after he turned the frozen donkey wheel. We can assume that the early Dharma folks were concerned about the energy fields, as it killed at least one worker in the Orchid station. As a result, the science team conditioned the polar bear, a strong animal, to move the donkey wheel so as not to risk human life. Polar bears were chosen because they could tolerate the cold chamber where the wheel was located (which in itself is contra-indicated because the deeper one goes below the surface of the earth, the hotter it would get). But after some time, the concern over humans using the donkey wheel must have subsided as both Ben and Locke turned it and wound up okay in the desert halfway across the globe.
A third theory is more simple: polar bears were brought to the island to mess with visitor's minds. Dharma was all about mind control (see, Room 23). What is more disorienting to a visitor in a tropical jungle than being confronted by a large polar bear? The expression on Sawyer's face was priceless when he was firing rounds at the charging polar bear. It also brought to the the first major mystery, as spoken by Charlie to the fans, of "where are we?" This mystery of what was the island; where was it located; and what was its purpose is still unresolved.
But some may consider the polar bears as another writer twist of throwing something that should not belong in the normal course of events. It is a prop designed to confuse viewers with the aura of mystery but with no answers forthcoming (i.e. the theory that the writers were just making up things as they went along to keep fan interest whether it made sense or not).
The polar bears could also symbolize the main characters: people who were out of their normal place, being manipulated by forces unknown to them, and losing control over their own lives.
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