A LOST POV

Before launching into some thoughts that might be more controversial, I will start by addressing some basic building blocks that might be important for us in future discussions. First up is LOST's point of view.

In the way that we are normally used to watching television shows, we don't usually need to worry about point of view. We assume that we saw everything that we needed to see in order to completely understand the story. While we might spend more time with our lead characters, we don't usually follow the show directly through the understanding of an individual character. Instead, we watch all relevant story from neutral, often flat camera angles. We assume that what we saw on our screens is unbiased and what "actually happened" in the canon of our show. Of course, there are a few exceptions. Some television shows will occasionally include dream sequences and daydreams--however, the audience usually knows which shows will pull something tricky like that on them. Anyway, most audience members are savvy enough to recognize the hallmarks of a dream sequence or daydream (i.e. a close up on someone's eyes, unusual lighting choices or flashes, people acting out of character, and people "waking up").

The story of LOST begins when we see an eye opening in the Pilot. It is quite easy to become caught up in the possible symbolism of the eye itself--is a reference to the gaze of a god? Are we supposed to connect Jack's eye with the eye of Horus (commonly known as "the eye of Ra")? Should we somehow parallel this opening eye with the sinister, burning eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings story? (Please, no.) Is it "Big Brother"? Is it a reference to Logan, "Eyes Only" from the short-lived television series Dark Angel? Are we actually supposed to be focusing instead on the pun of "eye/I"? Remember, the Desmond/Jack Bender hatch mural painting literally spells it out for us: " <0> am sick "!

While I don't discount the possible importance of some of these connections, I think that the most important aspect of the focus on eyes in LOST is that LOST is a story told from at least one, if not multiple, points of view. Whether or not LOST turns out to be all in someone's mind, memories, a long and involved story to someone, part fantasy and part reality, or something else entirely--LOST is not a story told from an unbiased gaze. If it was, I believe that there wouldn't have been so many close ups of eyes.

Who cares whether this story is from Jack's point of view, from Kate's point of view, or from some unknown point of view? I'll tell you why it is important. When point of view is in play--even with the most reliable narrator (we'll discuss unreliable narration later, trust me)--what we see is only part of a greater whole. If we have only one point of view, we are only seeing things as one person understands or pictures them. If we end up seeing multiple points of view at separate times, it becomes like having only one color in an optical illusion, then another. First we see the blue, then the red--but if they aren't combined we can never see the whole picture. Now, what if the point of view that we are basing our understanding of the show on is actually someone who is color blind, highly imaginative, sick, wasn't there for part of the time, or is a habitual liar?

The gaze in the beginning might be simply telling us that "this story is told from Jack's point of view." For simplicity's sake, let us say the show is told from Jack's point of view. However, if it is Jack's point of view, then why do there seem to be scenes without Jack? Why were there all those other changing eyes that we focused in on early in the series? Is Jack imagining what happens in other locations? Is there some entity on the island that takes over for Jack's gaze when Jack isn't there? If so, who is that unknown person? If it isn't so simple, and there are multiple points of view, when are we following one point of view over another?

I care about LOST's point of view, because it makes a difference to the story. There are so many "mysteries" on LOST, but I think that the mystery of point of view is one of the most important. If we can discover unequivocally the point(s) of view that LOST is told from and when, we might be one step closer to understanding the LOST gestalt.

Bienvenidos

Welcome to LOST AND FOUND CONNECTIONS. I am a fan of storytelling. This blog is a place to post some of my thoughts and observations about a journey into storytelling that I discovered through the conduit of enjoying the television show LOST and the phenomena that surrounds it.

I have been encouraged to not be silent about my observations. I confess that I am a bit nervous about whether I am making the right decision in creating a place to share my thoughts at all. Like all avid fans of the show, I think that I might know something about the show LOST--a show that is rooted in tricking us all. I am so presumptuous that not only do I think that I might know something, but I even believe that sharing some of my observations might lead to me inadvertently revealing secrets that are not mine to share! Outrageous, huh? In any case, I will be careful about what I choose to write about on this site--just in case I have actually stumbled upon something that the people behind the scenes of LOST would not want to be revealed.

Some people enjoy knowing how magic shows work. Other people just like to sit back and watch the magicians as they pull rabbits out of hats. I am a person who is interested in all sides of the magic show--the technical components, the motivations of the magicians, the way they trick us, who the audience members are and why they attended the show, if the rabbits are unharmed...and in the end, I am still a fan of the magic.

I have more theories about LOST than I have ever had for any other show, but I will set those aside in this blog. What if some of my predictions come true? It could ruin the experience for someone else. Instead, this blog is a place to share in a friendly way some of the patterns that I have observed and some of the connections that I have made. It will be up to any readers to decide if they find my musings helpful in their own understanding of the show LOST (or any other similar journey down a rabbit hole).