I am a big-time Lostie.
After reading that sentence, you are now doing one of the following:
1. Squinting with confusion at the word “Lostie.”
2. Rolling your eyes and poising the mouse to click away.
3. Doing a silent fist-pump in the air and settling in for some good reading and theory-swapping.
This blog post is for those of you who fall into the third category. We Losties, after all, must stick together.
Goodness knows my husband won’t stick with me. He’s what you might call a fair weather Lostie. He likes the show well enough when the action is fast and furious, or when Sawyer or Hurley throw out ironic one-liners, but he has precious little tolerance for what he calls “being played” by the writers.
But me? I kinda like being played.
It’s a bit of a trick, though, to follow convoluted plot lines while your better half is throwing things at the television screen and shouting things like, “This is soooooo stoooopid! Every time they answer something, we get five new questions!!!”
I’m not going to say he’s wrong about that, but some of us rather enjoy the complicated stories, unanswered questions, and characters that make us care despite the frustrations.
Even if the plot made no sense at all (And let’s face it, sometimes it does seem as if the writers themselves aren’t keeping track of all the mysteries they have conjured up. Who could?), I think I would watch Lost for its religious imagery and symbolism alone.
There’s good and evil, sin and redemption, hope and healing, religion and science, and life after death ... We Catholics eat this stuff for breakfast.
A couple of seasons ago, I watched with tears streaming down my face as the show’s most overtly religious character, Mr. Eko, stood in the ocean and baptized Baby Aaron. It was just such a beautiful depiction of the gift of grace and the goodness of God.
I am not alone in my Catholic appreciation for this bit of popular culture. Fr. Greg Friedman, OFM shared some thoughts on the Christian imagery in last week’s episode:
“This mysterious heart of the island contains a pool of water, which immediately made me—and my friend Matt Swaim, fellow devotee of the show—to think of John 5. This pool’s waters are troubled, stirred up and murky. When our heroes arrive with the dying Sayid, he’s placed into the waters, even though the temple attendants seem unsure what will happen. They hold Sayid beneath the water, prompting his friends to protest that he’s being drowned. And, indeed, Sayid, carried out (in the image of a crucifixion) is dead. Dr. Shephard’s attempts to resuscitate him fail. But then, surprisingly, Sayid comes back to life.
Lots of explanations remain to unravel the mystery of this scene in the Lost story arc, but once again the show’s creators have drawn on our Christian imagery—the place of healing, our understanding of Baptism, going into the waters of the baptismal pool ... where we die with Christ and rise again.”
And it was my turn to do the silent fist-pump while listening to Fr. Roderick Vonhögen’s podcast, Lost and the Mystery, last week. Fr. Roderick spoke eloquently about the meaning of “mystery” as Catholics understand it, and how that concept makes the plot of Lost a true depiction of the human experience.
And that, I think, is key. You can say that Lost fans are wasting their time sitting intently in front of their television sets week after week, but in the end, those of us who appreciate Lost appreciate that it depicts a truth about the human experience. It makes us think about what is good, what is true, and what is right. Good art will always make us do that.
So I’ll give everyone a pass for the hour a week. But all those quizzes you’ve been taking? The forums you’ve been frequenting? Those podcasts you’ve been downloading? And that Dharma wine you’ve been drinking?
Come on people, get a grip! Or at least invite me. I’ve got a theory or two I’d like to try out on you.
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I am sooo in category 3! But, we don’t have cable, so I have to wait until the day after when the show is posted on their website. I’m still waiting to get a few episodes under my belt before I start theorizing…for now, I’m just kind of like “whaaa?” It seems to be a dual-universe type thing, but that just can’t be it. My husband gave up on LOST half-way through season 3 and he thinks we will all be left hanging. But, I don’t really care! I am sticking it out. I am a big LOST nerd..I even dressed up my baby as a Dharma baby 2 years ago for Halloween =) It was good to have Charlie back in the season premiere, too! I hope we see more of him. I really love all the epic good and evil type stuff, and the mystery really keeps me around…I mean, what good Catholic doesn’t love mystery and impossible truth! It’s right there in the Holy Trinity and the Eucharist =) Not that LOST even comes close to that kind of bliss, but it is still fun to watch. Namaste!
Hi Danielle!
I’m a #3! I’m a #3! **fist pump**fist pump***
I’m so glad you’re a Lostie!! As soon as Sayid came out of the water I thought of Baptism. And the fact that the viewers are being forced to ask more and more questions sort of reminds me of life in general. I’m totally OK with the gradual revelation of truth. Now, if they yank us around like this and don’t have an explanation, then I’ll be upset, but right now I’m enjoying the ride.
I’d love to hear your theories. I’m personally confused about the Man In Black (MIB) When he sat and talked to Jacob on the beach (end of last season) about the people Jacob supposedly brings to the island, he says something about how they always come to corrupt. If he is the Bad Guy then why is he concerned with corruption?
Any Catholics out there with ideas?
Also, some people on the new flight 815 are experiencing the opposite of what originally happened (Hurly saying he’s always lucky, Rose comforting Jack during the turbulence, Charlie swallowing the drugs as opposed to flushing them like he did originally.) while some people experienced things exactly as they had been. (Jin telling Sun to button her shirt, Kate in handcuffs…still running when given the chance.)
Any theories on that?
I love LOST. I am so glad there are other Catholic moms who enjoy it as well. I think Kate needs to leave Sawyer alone right now. Her fickleness is so diving me crazy. I think Juliet knows more than she’s let on all along. She was an other who was branded. I think that’s why she time jumped and the other others didn’t. Now there are other other others. I like the us and them. It’s so interesting the unity and division. Also, who is it Juliet is suposed to resemble that makes Ben love her. What happened to Emily? How did Ethan become an other? Was Amy an other plant? Her first husband was wearing an ankh? I hope we find out this stuff and more.
Well got to go check Lostpedia and DarkUFO. Thanks for pointing us to Jorge Garcia’s blog a while ago. That’s fun to read.
Though I’m not a Catholic mom (sorry ladies), I’m tempted to get into the conversation when I see Catholic “Lost” fans online. I too have admired the show’s Catholic imagery for some time. In addition to Mr. Eko’s journey toward becoming a priest, I also think Charlie’s story and death were probably the most touching since he sacrificed himself to save Claire and Aaron. And he died making the sign of the cross, not something you see a lot of on TV. Also impressive was Ben’s speech about St. Thomas the Apostle last season where he said, “When Jesus wanted to return to Judea knowing he would probably be murdered there, Thomas said to the others ‘Let us also go that we might die with him.’ But Thomas was not remembered for this bravery. His claim to fame came later when he refused to acknowledge the resurrection. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around it.” Pretty profound for the often evil-seeming Ben Linus. But in terms of a theory about what’s going on in the story, I think the following clip from Season 1 is especially relevant in light of what we now know about Jacob and the man in black: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg2tB_xTt9I
I didn’t even think of the show in religious terms, until the end of last season. I was so surprised. How funny! I’ve loved the mystery all along maybe it was thought for my soul.
Since Eko was only IMPERSONATING a priest, I keep looking for an informed commentary on whether his baptisms were valid.
Also… notice that in EXCALIBUR, characters kept taking crucial actions when at least waist-deep in water? Even ignoring the obtrusive symbolism of Perceval’s “crucifixion”.
I, too, am a Lostie. Great post.
@ Will
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, if no ordained minister is available and there is a necessity, a layperson can confer a valid baptism. All that is needed is water and the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” You don’t even have to be Catholic to do it. When I was in first grade, we were taught how to baptize so that if anyone we knew was unbatized and in danger of death, we could baptize them.
It is the “necessity” part I was wondering about, since only Charlie seemed to think there was imminent danger.
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