Subtlety is not something we usually associate with television or religion. But for the past six years, ABC’s Lost, which ends its run on May 23, has provided viewers with nuanced concepts that have made it ”” at least for this religious scholar ”” appointment viewing.
Religion has played a prominent role on Lost since the series began Sept. 22, 2004, with Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashing on a remote, mysterious and dangerous island. We’ve watched persistent conflict between a man of science and a man of faith. We’ve witnessed debates about baptism and appearances of the dead.
We’ve often wondered what was going on, but even in our uncertainty, we knew that our bewilderment was part of what Lost was exploring: the question of where our lives are headed, and whether there is any meaning to it. Do we have a destiny, and if so, how do we figure out what it is?
For crying out loud, it’s just a TV show, albeit an entertaining one – get a life, and stop trying to use it as mirror to everyone’s soul. You’re a professor of New Testament, not Tom Shales!
For the quintessential bit on this see http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x930vt_william-shatner-snl-skit-get-a-life_fun for Bill Shatner telling all the Trekkies to get a life on the famous SNL skit. The fun starts just before the 4 min mark, although the whole clip is funny.
Yes, Daniel, it is “just a TV show,” but it has led a lot of people to think about, and discuss, religious matters and the meaning of life in general. It’s also been a pretty good window into America’s smorgasbord spirituality over the last few years, I think.
I’ve never seen it. Is it worth renting and watching? From the comments I’ve read about it, if you didn’t catch it from the beginning, you’d be hopelessly confused by it.
I would say it’s definitely worth watching, Dallasite, but I’d first put yourself through several questions:
*Does the idea of a show of mixed genres (adventure, drama, science fiction, and fantasy, with the first two prevalent early on and the last two becoming larger as the series progresses) that deals with life issues (to name just the major ones: destiny vs. free will, faith vs. reason, father/mother issues affecting wounded adults) in fantastical fashion appeal to you?
*Are you willing to watch six seasons of a show with many mysteries in which the creators never give you enough clues to figure out where the show is going, even right up to the very end? In LOST’s case, there is no way you can figure out the full storyline, much less most of the details, ahead of time; you just have to let the show roll on and go along with the ride. And many mysteries never get resolved during the course of the entire show. LOST is about the journey more than the destination.
*Do you like long science fiction/fantasy/horror sagas such as some Stephen King novels, the Harry Potter series, or Lord of the Rings? If you do, you’re more likely to like LOST. (Much of the audience bailed out as the science fiction and fantasy became more prominent.)
*Do you mind a show that raises many spiritual issues from a non-Christian point of view, and that presents a very syncretistic spirituality?
If you can answer yes to most or all of the above questions, then you’ll probably be happy to take the plunge. If not, you may want to skip it. It’s a very well-made series, often (though not consistently so) very well-written, that can hit you in the gut with surprising ease. It’s in many ways an attempt at creating a mythology for adult Generation Xers in particular, it seems to me. And it deals ultimately with the question of how people can be redeemed (again, approaching this subject without a Christian worldview).