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'Lost': Wish lists
In yesterday's entry, I tried to look at the various forms of lists on Lost as a way in which the show examines a particular modern anxiety: namely, that we don't often know who is pulling the strings around us. We wake up, shower (usually), eat some breakfast, commute, work, commute back, sleep, and start again. And all the while the world works in a similar fashion, usually in a lockstep pattern that we take for granted, until something happens that pulls the veneer of normalcy back and what we take as given we suddenly question.
When I was around eight or so, I was in the car with my dad. Can't remember where we were going, but I know that we were on the highway. I turned to my dad and asked, "Who's winning?" He wasn't sure what I meant at first, so he asked for clarification. "The race, Dad," I replied. And what I eventually conveyed was my intensely held belief that somewhere, on that road, there was a car that had no other cars in front of it. And that car? That car was winning.
I'm not sure why, in that particular moment, I had such clarity as to the existence of this first-place car, but I did, and moreover, I wanted to know the identity of the person in that particular automobile. I associated that car with power, with ruling that road, and I wanted to meet that leader. I didn't want to BE that leader, mind you: I just wanted to know who I was dealing with. That's all.
In Lost, we're seeing an incredibly dramatized version of that car ride, in many ways. What the Island seemingly provides for the Lostaways---a chance for an autonomy not possible in the civilized world---is in fact a fallacy. In no other place in the world (or other worlds, depending on your interpretation of the Island's location) is one more susceptible to unseen forces set upon controlling the actions, even emotions, of the inhabitants. A place in which reinvention seems not only possible but imminent is in fact a place in which autonomy turns into unwilling heteronomy.
And that's the tension at the heart of the show: nearly everyone on the Island answers to someone else, but here's the rub: they almost NEVER know who that someone is. Last week ago I offered up my "Who Watches the Widmores?" Theory of Lost, and I could an an addendum to that entitled "Who Lists the Listmakers?" Central to the mystery of the various lists in Lost stems from not knowing the identity of the person making said lists. We know these lists exist. We know these lists are executed. But we very rarely know the person, or even purpose, to these lists.
That lack of knowledge extends both throughout and beyond the Island, whether they concern lists derived from Jacob, Ben, or Abaddon. We have a vague sense of purpose as an outside viewer to the show, but for those involved in the fictional action of this drama, the situation is infinitely more muddled. What does it say about Jacob's list that it doesn't contain Jack? Did having Kate and Sawyer on Ben's list serve a greater purpose than simply leveraging Jack to perform spinal surgery? And what about those four particular people suited Abaddon's needs so perfectly?
All questions yet to be answered, and given what we've seen from flash forwards in Season 4, these questions still haunt the Oceanic 6. But let's look at this another way, if we can. The fact that these purposes are so hidden makes, on a purely practical level, dramatic television; it creates mystery in a show that would have none should people always answer questions directly upon first being asked. We'd all have laughed had Ben Linus strolled up to Lostaway Beach in Season 1 and shouted, "Hey, by any chance, is somebody here a spinal surgeon?"
But maybe, just maybe, such secrecy holds a greater purpose. Perhaps the list-makers have an end-goal in mind that could not be achieved through disclosure. Now, the various factions on the show all have various end-goals in mind, and these differing end-goals provide the "war," for lack of a better word, over the Island. On that Island, it's easier to achieve a heteronomous society: it's far simpler to control a small, contained population cut off from the rest of the world than it would be to affect control in, say, Cleveland. Not that there's anything wrong with Cleveland: but should you want to pull the strings necessary to affect the changes you want, you're better off doing so on an island in which you control pallet drops.
To try and illustrate the point I'm trying to make here about secrecy as crucial to the listmakers' plans, let me quote a little scene from Season 3's "The Cost Of Living". (Emphasis added.)
BEN: I'm telling you this, Jack, because my wonderful plan... got shot to sunshine when you saw my damned x-rays and figured out I was dying.
JACK: All of this... you brought me here to operate on you. You... you want me to save your life?
BEN: No, I want you to want to save my life. But we're beyond that now, so... all I can ask is that you think about it.
It's not about Jack simply performing surgery, in Ben's view. It's as much to do with the desire to do such action, in combination with the action itself, that will produce the desired results. As such, one can look at the lists as ways of moving chess pieces around the board, without the pieces knowing they are being moved. Those who make these lists have a sense (or perhaps even knowledge) that once there, these pieces will act in a certain way beneficial towards achieving the end goal.
Now, how could these listmakers possibly know all this? I understand if you read the previous paragraph and scoffed. But in the figure of Ms. Hawking, the show has introduced the notion that some form of future history has already been written in the world of Lost, not unlike the prophetic paintings of the late, sorta semi-great Isaac Mendez on Heroes. Telling Desmond WHY it's so important for him to push the button would render the very act of pushing the button moot, in that such knowledge would create a butterfly effect in which the achievement of the end-goal would be simply impossible.
A presupposition of future knowledge in the show is also inherent in The Valenzetti Equation, a formula that purports to know with scientific accuracy the end of days for mankind. The actions of many parties on the show (seen as well as unseen) can be understood simply as those taken by people seeking to introduce new variables to the equation. That these variables happen to be human beings is interesting but ultimately unimportant: what's important is to alter the pre-established narrative and create their own. Or, as a favorite song of Desmond's might suggest, what's important it to make their own kind of music.
But in order to complete this symphony, they need the proper instruments, but even more than that, they need properly tuned instruments. And that's what these lists ultimately achieve: the finest harmony possible in order to achieve the various end-goals sought. Both Walt and Christian insist that Locke and Jack, respectively, have "work to do." And that work can seemingly ONLY be done by them. But the Lostaways don't know what instrument they are, or in what social symphony for which they are being conscripted...and well, isn't that just like a lot of us here in the real world? Just as lost as Locke, or as headstrong as Jack, constantly thinking we're in charge, when in fact we're the furthest thing from "in charge" as possible?
Those who make the lists are in charge on Lost. And as long as they remain hidden, they remain in control. Unmasking these forces will make up the bulk of the show between now and Season 6. Only in this unmasking can our heroes truly be free, once and for all.
Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.
Excellent post tonight, Ryan. You summed up alot of what I've been thinking about for awhile now.
It's interesting that they have alluded to the Wizard of Oz so many times in this show already. And like the great and powerful Oz, I believe that on the Island, once the curtain is drawn back, the menacing entity with all the control will be revealed to be nothing more than a misguided fool, who sends others to do their dirty work; just like Ben, just like Abbadon(and Widmore?), and perhaps, Jacob too.
Other Sean | Feb 28, 2008 12:12:40 AM | #Very interesting, Ryan. Do you think that, since all of the Tailies are dead, they were never meant to survive the crash and therefor they are not on any lists? Then the Others stepped in and killed all of them that they could (with a little help from Smokey with Mr. Eko). And, even though Bernard was with the Tailies, he wasn't technically one of them because his seat was up front.
Blue Sean | Feb 28, 2008 4:45:22 AM | #In The Secret, and many other self improvement books, a technique used in getting what you want is writing what you want down on paper and reffering back to it daily. I think this goes hand-in-hand with what your saying. Yes, Ryan? Awesome posts by the way.
Brian of the North | Feb 28, 2008 5:37:48 AM | #Great post Ryan. While thinking about this last night I had another thought about the nature and purpose of lists. Lists kind of act as a way of determining the haves from the have nots. Seperating our lostaways into 2 fundamental groups, those who were on the list and those who weren't. Now the fact that most of the characters have no idea about Jacob and his original list makes the analogy of the puppetmaster that much more applicable. Jacob holding the strings, while the people on the island don't realize that they're part of his show. The man behind the curtain.
This is how power is wielded in most social stratifications. One or a small group of people hold power. They use whatever power they posess to split those under them into smaller groups and then let them fight over small petty things to keep them occupied and not paying attention to the most important issues (Think of Alperts line to Locke before he sets off to the temple). That they are mere puppets.
Blue Sean: There are some Tailies kicking around, actually, on their way to the Temple. Cindy and the children Ana Lucia intially took care of come to mind.
Mike: I also like the line Boonie uttered in "Through the Looking Glass", in which she basically said the second she started questioning orders would be the second everything fell apart. Seem related to me.
Ryan | Feb 28, 2008 7:35:12 AM | #Are kids list-worthy? I tend to think that the abduction of the children is more of a Ben goal than a Jacob/Smokey goal. And does the assimilation of Cindy as an Other mean that she also isn't list-worthy? I think of the Others as administrator's of the list so they cannot be on it.
Blue Sean | Feb 28, 2008 8:13:52 AM | #Ryan - Pause in my reading to let you know I asked my dad the exact same thing on the Garden State Parkway when I was about 7. We were in his blue Buick Regal. I just KNEW there had to be someone who was first! OK - back to reading ...
MK46 | Feb 28, 2008 8:37:02 AM | #That's funny, MK46. I didn't want to say that I had the same thought when I was younger 'cause I thought that was kind of silly. But I totally did. Only I thought that we were winning and everyone who passed us was behind a lap and trying to catch up.
:)
I love that I'm not the only one who thought about this as a kid. I feel like it's some big support group.
"Hi, my name is Ryan, and I used to think highways were one big race."
"Hi, Ryan."
(Also? "Boonie"? I'm a moron. Bonnie. That's what I meant.)
Ryan | Feb 28, 2008 8:53:34 AM | #Blue Sean - I love how optimistic you were ...
The first time we went to Cape May (Exit "0") I was much older, but I remember laughing to myself that we had finally crossed the finish line.
Good times ...
MK46 | Feb 28, 2008 9:37:20 AM | #Ryan-
we knew whatcha meant, bruthah.
and i, too, always wondered who was in first place on the highway. or better yet, who was the first one to drive it? i mean, you don't pave a road through nowhere to end up nowhere, so somebody had to know what 2 points that road needed to connect. the guy i'm curious about is the one that bushwhacked his way from point A to point B. any thoughts as to who that might be? i guess that points back to who built the Temple maybe...b/c i don't think we have any clue as to who that is yet. the DeGroots/Widdemore/Dharma/etc. stood on the shoulders of giants. and apparently those giants have 4 toes.
i'm on a bit of a ramble here and may not be making much sense. if that's the case, please ignore me...
:-)
mri | Feb 28, 2008 9:44:39 AM | #Ryan, could you tell me who was on Jacob's list? I've never missed an episode and own all of the seasons, but I don't remember anything about a Jacob list. Thank you!
Jerry | Feb 28, 2008 9:51:01 AM | #Jerry: Well, we don't really know anything about Jacob's list per day, except that Pickette mentions in "I Do" that Jack wasn't on it. (This was also the very first mention of Jacob.)
It's also strongly hinted in the mobisode "Room 23" that Walt was kidnapped at the behest of Jacob.
But since we've only ever heard Jacob say one thing ("Help me") and given his precarious relationship with Ben, everything related to Jacob's list should be taken with a silo of salt.
Ryan | Feb 28, 2008 9:54:21 AM | #Thank you Ryan. Now I remember what you are talking about!
Jerry | Feb 28, 2008 11:07:48 AM | #Dude, c'mon, sometimes a list is just a list.
The Writers | Feb 28, 2008 11:37:30 AM | #This doesn't really relate to lists exactly, although Jerry, thank for being brave enough to ask about Jacob's lists b/c I didn't remember it either and have never missed an ep... Anywho, my though when we first "met" Jacob was similar to my thoughts on that "magical box" that Ben cooked up to give Locke his dad - it was just another story Ben made up. I feel like Ben made up Jacob because, as I believe someone pointed out with the Wizard behind the curtain, it is the NOT knowing who is pulling the strings that makes them that much powerful and scary. I thought Ben made up Jacob and that look on his face when Locke "heard" him was utter shock because how could Locke hear a figment of his imagination? To me, this kind of makes the "island" (or the REAL powers that be, if you will) all the more powerful because it is not only memories it is accessing and manifesting, but also other people's lies, and then showing those lies to others.... Just a very wild and crazy, probably not very justified (b/c I don't actually monitor any of the online sites for Lost other than this one), "theorette," if you will.
AndreaC | Feb 28, 2008 12:07:46 PM | #To clarify a little further, my thought was Ben made up Jacob to maximize his power - and we already know he is a fan of The Wizard of Oz!
AndreaC | Feb 28, 2008 12:13:25 PM | #Andrea-
That's a cool idea, but I can't believe that Jacob is something that Ben made up. It would kind of fit in that it would give Ben complete control over all of the Others because every decision he made could be blamed on Jacob having ordered it, and no one questions Jacob.
I just feel as though it is such a cool mystery that it can't be the case (I hope!)
Mike in RI | Feb 28, 2008 12:19:16 PM | #AndreaC- I think that's a cool idea as well. Why would Ben then shoot Locke if he only heard his lie? Is it just because he was looking for an excuse to tell Locke when he was actually shooting him to retain power over the Others? If so, why would Ben care since he thought Locke would die anyway?
Blue Sean | Feb 28, 2008 12:41:47 PM | #The thing I always though odd and interesting about that scene was the fact that Ben DID NOT HEAR what Jacob said to Locke, despite the fact that he clearly had been having a conversation with Jacob (which Locke did not hear).
Don't know what it means. Apparently Jacob prefers one-on-ones. A bit inefficient if you ask me... :)
DanC | Feb 28, 2008 4:50:13 PM | #Andrea, Mike, Sean, Dan, if Ben made up Jacob it is an amazing trick that he could create a teleportable cabin with the "ghost" of Jack's dad inside it, along with another guy to scare Hurley.
When he gets off the island, Ben's going to give David Copperfield some competition.
Dean- It's not Ben creating it, it is the Island creating it from his thoughts. Maybe once the Island manifests something, it takes on a life of it's own and they all live in the cabin together. Maybe if the camera would have panned across the rest of the cabin, we would have seen the boar and Kate's horse having a wrestling match. That could have been what Christian was looking at while he was in his rocking chair!
Blue Sean | Feb 29, 2008 5:10:32 AM | #I would argue that Cindy is not a Tailie, if that is the argument for Bernard. Cindy was a flight attendant, and could have been anywhere on the plane when it broke in half.
I also agree with the sentiment that the children were taken as a result of Ben's separate agenda.
morgan | Mar 1, 2008 2:01:50 PM | #don't be an idiot cindy is a tailie have you seen the other 48 days? one point i want to make, WE NEED TO BRING THE FLASHBACKS BACK the show is missing it's emotion also, it't too linear basically one big episode so far
Sebastian Evans | Mar 1, 2008 6:38:02 PM | #Well, Sebastian, thanks for calling me an idiot, but this was a direct response to Blue Sean's comment regarding the tailies being dead in relation to the list. And since I am CORRECT about Cindy, I will refer you to here:
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Cindy_Chandler
If Bernard is not a tailie by virtue that he happened to be standing somewhere that was not his seat, neither is a flight attendant.
morgan | Mar 1, 2008 10:46:02 PM | #
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