I was quite disappointed in the end of LOST. While I’m happy to leave some questions left unanswered (like “what is the island anyway?”), there were some things that were either unanswered or glazed over that detract from my enjoyment of the overall series and leave me wondering what message the series put forward. Reason vs. faith, fate vs. free will, loyalty, and the problems of secrecy were recurring themes throughout the series, and the themes seem somewhat unresolved.
The characters are of course rewarded with heaven in the end, but was this because of their faith, loyalty, etc. or was that irrelevant? Did the characters who died serving Jacob die for a just cause? Could all of this have been avoided if just a few people had been more forthcoming about what was going on on the island? I don’t know.
I do have a few speculative answers for some of the nagging questions remaining after the finale.
According to Scifi Wire Michael Emerson, the actor who plays Ben, revealed on Attack of the Show! that a 12 or 14 minute Hurley and Ben epilogue will appear on the complete LOST DVD box set. The Scifi Wire is skeptical.
One person who has thought about this quite a bit is blogger Klint “Klintron” Finley, who has written about the concept of “real-life Dharma initiatives” extensively at Hatch23.com. “I think it stems from various trends and movements from the ’60s and ’70s,” he said. “More specifically, anywhere that two or more of the following intersected: Eastern spirituality, fringe science, defense spending, disturbing psychological research, experiments in utopian/communal living and experiments social control.”
He points to many possible influences for the Dharma concept but thinks there is one in particular that shares a lot with Dharma: the Esalen Institute. Made famous in a 1967 New York Times article, the institute began as a place where one could, as its website says, have “the intellectual freedom to consider systems of thought and feeling that lie beyond the current constraints of mainstream academia.”
It still serves as a retreat center at the beautiful Big Sur mountains to this day and, according to the website, has been devoted to the exploration of human potential since the 1960s. It’s here that the “Physics Consciousness Research Group” was allegedly co-founded in 1975 by theoretical physicist Jack Sarfatti. Sarfatti is the author of such works as “Progress in Post-Quantum Physics and Unified Field Theory” and “Super Cosmos: Through Studies Through the Stars.”
And what about Dharma’s benefactor, Hanso? Aside from maybe Richard Alpert and Charles Widmore, no one character has fascinated and mystified fans more. … In fact, much of the online “Lost Experience” a few years ago revolved around him. (According to Finley, Hanso may have been modeled after people like inventor Charles F. Kettering, who died in 1958.) In ABC’s game “The Lost Experience,” players found out that a main reason for his interest in the Dharma Initiative was the “Valenzetti Equation.” In “Lost” lore, this is a calculation of the exact date on which humankind would wipe itself out, consisting of the familiar “numbers” from the hatch, Hurley’s lottery ticket and, we now know, Jacob’s candidates. Dharma was trying to change these numbers in order to save the world.
So a big welcome to everyone’s who’s visiting here from CNN. My articles on real life DHARMA initiatives are here.
Here’s a real life DHARMA that’s relatively new and still going strong:
The Resonance Project is an organization “dedicated to the unification of all sciences and philosophies emerging from a complete and applied view of the physics underlying the wheelworks of nature.”
They have a communal living / research facility in Hawaii:
Ongoing theoretical and applied research about Unified Field Theory is conducted within the context of a sustainable research park that reflects the values of this innovative research. Many of our researchers live together, eat together and think together in a collaborative environment which supports the flourishing of great ideas. The Resonance Project Foundation is striving to become a model of a regenerative and self sustaining system at its facility, utilizing permaculture principles, such as grey water recycling, composting toilets, soil and water conservation, alternative fuels, and native and edible landscaping including fruit trees pollinated by hives of onsite bees.
Terry O’Quinn, who plays Locke/Smoke Monster, tells me he is shopping around a bible for a TNT-type show that would pair him back up with his real-life chum and on-screen foe, Michael Emerson (Ben) – as suburban hit men juggling family issues.
The television program LOST (first broadcast on the United States channel ABC between 2004-2010) includes geodesic domes. I do not intend to say much here about the show other than I have enjoyed it tremendously. The sixth and final season of LOST begins in February 2010. This essay will discuss the geodesic domes appearing in LOST.
To date the dome has been seen in three forms. The first version of the dome is the dome itself, seen in the episode ‘Man of Science, Man of Faith’ on 21 September 2005. This dome is a full-sized set, while the other two are models. It is implied that this dome is a 5/8th-sphere made up of panels with one or more entryways. The second version of the dome is a model of the completed dome, seen in the episode ‘Orientation’ on 5 October 2005. This dome is a cutaway model made of panels of a 5/8th-sphere. The second version of the dome is a model of the dome under construction, seen in the episode ‘Namaste’ on 18 March 2009. This dome is an in-progress 5/8th-sphere made of struts. The ‘Man of Science’ dome and another dome appear in the computer game LOST: Via Domus. All of the geodesic domes appearing in LOST are class one, four-frequency, 5/8ths truncated spheres. [...]
The narrative of LOST places the construction of these geodesic domes in the mid-1970s. In the mid-1970s Buckminster Fuller was at the height of his popularity and influence. The use of domes in LOST helps establish when the story is taking place and the sympathies of the characters that constructed them.
Was Alan Moore on Oceanic flight 815? It was either him, or someone deliberately meant to look like him (note the rings!). I noticed this guy and commented on him while watching the season premiere, but didn’t think much of it. That is, until I was the above screencap from Bleeding Cool.
What are the chances it was actually him? Well, Moore appeared on The Simpsons and recently name dropped the Sopranos in an interview, so we know he’s not totally adverse averse to American television.
A blog exploring the real life mad scientists, occult philosophies, and conspiracies that influence ABC's LOST. The editors of this blog are NOT affiliated with ABC or the creators of Lost in any way.
