Lost

[fredreisz]

This evening (Wednesday-USA) on LOST, a USA cult-follower TV show, there was a direct reference to magicians/magic. This show uses tons of symbolism and cross-references in the script. This snapshot also indicates where "magicians" stand generally in our popular culture, I am afraid.

In one sequence, Jack, a main character, visits his uncle who left/escaped from a nursing home and has been brought back. The lucid uncle obviously abhors this sterile and stereotypical environment and his state in life. They begin with Jack finding him in a rec. room where there is a show going on. The camera pans past a small sign/poster announcing the magic show. then two images are shown a rabbit in a box and the arm of a magician offering a fanned deck toward an elderly lady, saying "Take a card." That's it! They leave the room quickly. Later in the dialog between Jack and his uncle he is asking his uncle why he asked away from the care facility which is so nice and the uncle sarcastically says some thing like "and yes I have magic shows." Unfortunately, this is one (only one) cultural stereotype of our art. We all perform against it.

As a theologian/philosopher,I found the side reference interesting because it appears in a show where there are repeated references to the issue of having faith and trust beyond rational knowing. It seemed that magic was portrayed as a vacuous sideshow to the real issues...but one is never sure in this TV show. The show has a constant interplay between what can be achieved through science, even time travel, what is controllable and not, and what is destiny and freedom, with repeated references to faith.

Again it would appear that entertainment "magic" was shoved aside almost as a sick joke to these issues. What happens in the show often seems like a sort of magic with the slight hint that it is all destiny or controlled. Then that is the illusion we produce of the impossible or improbable occurring but (we know) we are very much in control...or evolving the experience with others.

For some of us, we are striving to evolve how to link entertaining magic to larger and deeper meanings and resonances in life, just as ancient "magic" or "magik" was intimately intertwined with the mysteries of living and the cosmos.

Sorry to be so heavy. Initially the use of the magician in the script was deeply troubling as a critique of how we are viewed...not individually but corporately. Curses!

Peace...Fred Reisz

[Richard Hatch]

J. J. Abrams, the creator of Lost, has a magic background and gives an interesting talk about it (in part) here:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/j_j_ ... y_box.html

[JKeppel]

Fred, no big deal but it was his grandfather not his Uncle. Remember, in the confusion that is "Lost" every detail is important, hahahahaah

[Jonathan Townsend]

Probably written the same way as Family Guy.

Link for thems what missed the boat or forgot which way to turn the wheel: www.southparkstudios.com/clips/103666

[Gordon Meyer]

Thanks for bringing this up, Fred. As a pop culture view on magic, it was depressing, but I think generally accurate.

However, Lost is full of symbolism and the rabbit the magician used is a callback to previous episodes. See the Lostpedia online if you're dying to know more.

[Gord]

For you lost fans, here is a video that I believe hasn't appeared on the show, but is important to the mythology.
Two important points, first it involves rabbits, second, notice the box in the lower right of the screen.

Find The White Rabbit

[Jonathan Townsend]

Creation of wormholes... nice. Yes it's fun to see a thing in two or three places at the same time.

Last I read it was okay for things to interact with themselves so long as... well the Heinlein story "All You Zombies" seems to have been more correct than abusurd. ;)