Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A conservative’s view on the last episode of LOST.

I was a big fan of the television show LOST when it premiered 6 years ago. Then as the plot twists and turns became too illogical to comprehend I stopped watching the show sometime during the third season. I kept reading the running commentaries in the news that mentioned the Time Travel and dead people who came back to life and I reveled in the fact that I no longer had to sort any of that out to make it comprehensible. After all, it was just a television program and a figment of someone else’s imagination.

Since I made a brief departure from politics in this blog a few months ago and wrote a glowing review of the movie AVATAR and as a result, became the only God-fearing, patriotic American to do so, I thought I would give my humble interpretation of this show as well. To sum it up in a few words, I enjoyed the final ending of LOST so let me tell you why.

When I began watching LOST it became obvious that the “survivors” of the plane crash were on the island for a purpose. The purpose became clear in the last two episodes. First of all, there were no survivors of that plane crash. When a large airplane flying at a normal altitude of about 35,000 feet breaks apart at a cruising speed of over 500 miles per hour, everyone dies. So what do we make of two groups of people, one group that was in the back of the plane and the larger group in the front walking away? It takes a certain belief in God and in the afterlife to accept the answer.

The basic premise of the story is simple: All of the people on the plane that became the central characters of LOST were troubled souls who were not worthy of Paradise at the moment of their deaths. They were being given a second chance to redeem themselves. They were being tested and those that passed the test and became worthy made it to the final chapter of the story. During the course of the story some of the “survivors” died a second time and were written out of the ending. It is possible these people were found unworthy or that there were a few exceptions to the story made necessary for other reasons. The entire six-year ordeal on TV was supposed to only take place in a few months of real time. Contractual obligations may have been responsible for the lack of availability of some of the actors and for some that no longer fit their role.

The island was populated with other people who existed only for the purpose of creating the test environment that applied to the “survivors”. I suspect that they may have been spirits representing good and evil but a few other characters who had not been on the plane who made it to the church in the final scene may also have been troubled souls also being tested, as well. The story line in LOST was not perfect and this explanation cannot possibly explain everything so there will be some inconsistencies. I also think the writers and producers added too many twists that added a few extra years to the show for the sake of making money. So if you discount the plot lines in years 4 and 5 it seems to make more sense.

The  part of the story toward the end that showed the parallel lives of the people in Los Angeles was, in my opinion, a test of how they would have transformed themselves after they had been redeemed. Then they began to help each other in various ways to reach the final gathering place in the church.
Depending on the personal beliefs or lack of them, others who review this show may have different opinions than I have. An atheist, for instance, would not acknowledge the spiritual aspects as I did and would come to a different conclusion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. This is mine.

A final comment on the movie AVATAR. As I stated in my original review, I saw the movie twice in the theater, once in 3-D which I did not like because of the polarized glasses, and once in 2-D which I loved. I purchased a BluRay copy of AVATAR on the day it was released on DVD and have since watched it four more times. That makes six views in 5 months. The story has not diminished my belief in God or in my sense of patriotism toward my country or my respect for all the good things about America. Some people who reviewed this movie suggested that it would have that effect. Well, did any of the Harry Potter films cause a number of children to believe in witchcraft? I will venture to say that heavy metal music has caused more people to follow devil worship than Harry Potter encouraged practice in black magic. Motion pictures are made for entertainment and you go to see the stories you enjoy. I have also enjoyed Harry Potter for the fantasy part and think the author J. K. Rawling has done more to get young people interested in reading than anyone on Sesame Street.

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