A Node in the Web of the Emerging Church

Beyond Lost

Posted Jun 26, 10:06 PM | 0 comments | by Editor | Link

Andy Root has been a friend of mine for several years. My predecessor in the PhD program at Princeton Theological Seminary, he is now a professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Andy’s book, Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry is, in my estimation, the new standard-bearer for a theological reflection on youth ministry. I think you’ll also like what he’s written about Lost. —Tony Jones

From Dr. Andy Root:

There are many mysteries in the world, like, Who built the pyramids? How can light be wave and particle at the same time? Why is Paris Hilton a celebrity? and perhaps the greatest mystery of all: What in the world is going on the TV show Lost?

Lost is the critically acclaimed and viewer obsessed (of which I am one) ABC drama. It is about a group of passengers from Oceanic Flight 815 who crash on what they believe to be a deserted island, only to discover that the island is not only not deserted (it is inhabited by the “others”) but also that the island itself possesses some magical or supernatural powers. The crash victims then seek to get off the island while confronting both its mysterious power and the “others” who inhabit it. These “others,” we discover, have somehow tapped into the island’s mysteries, and are hell-bent on keeping the island and its powers to themselves.

All the passengers of Oceanic 815 want to do is get off the island, but the island itself seems to be keeping them there as they discover its secrets. As the show unfolds we learn that the island was at one time in the hands of the scientific group called The Dharma Initiative, who built stations all over the island in hopes of harvesting the island’s unique properties. Yet, we also learn that Dharma has lost the island to an insurrection from within its ranks. These rebels are the “others.” Now as season 4 unfolds a struggle erupts for the island between Ben, the leader of the “others,” and Mr. Whitmore, a business tycoon in search of the island and its powers.

If you’ve ever seen the show you know it is much more complicated (and interesting) than my one paragraph synopsis. If you haven’t seen the show you may be chuckling to yourself thinking, “Really? People stuck on a deserted island, this is interesting?” This was my reaction until I watched my first episode. What was so captivating was the way the show dealt with time. In every episode the viewer is taken off the island through flashbacks (or flash forwards) to learn how each person’s own narrative leads them to be on the plane that crashed, and how their struggles have led them to be lost both personally and now on this island. We hauntingly discover through these flashbacks that these supposed strangers crossed each other’s lives before ever boarding the plane, showing their narratives, their existence in time, to be interconnected.

Read the rest of the essay on Next-Wave

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