Four people stranded on an unknown island stand in an underground shelter complete with a mid-’80s computer system. The eldest in the group — a middle-aged mountaineer-type — is trying to convince the other three — a rugged doctor, a handsome Iraqi soldier and a drop-dead gorgeous convict — that in order to survive, they must enter six numbers into the computer every 108 minutes.
On the surface, this is a preposterous picture taken from the popular ABC drama “Lost” — “Survivor” meets “Gilligan’s Island” in “The Twilight Zone” — which commonly deals with science-and-religion themes.
This scene is one of many where a faithful outdoorsman — John Locke, played by Terry O’Quinn — interacts with a rational man of science — Dr. Jack Shephard, played by Matthew Fox. At its essence, this scene is loaded with the science-and-religion dialogue. The mountaineer is begging the others to take a leap of faith despite the plea’s absurdity. The soldier and convict look to the doctor for a reasoned argument but find him unconvincing. The group enters the numbers into the computer.
On “Lost,” scenes like this pit the logic of science against the fortitude of faith. For scriptwriters, that sort of dramatic tension has real audience appeal.
“Well cast and produced shows like ‘Lost’ and other possibly-purgatory-type fare have the advantage of appealing to wide audiences because they can be enjoyed at many levels,” said Stuart Fischoff, founding president of the American Psychological Association’s Media Psychology division. “Science fiction with some element of spirituality is making a presence.”
At the start of the 2005 season, there were no less than a half-dozen science-and-spirituality shows slated, even though some have ended. Fischoff said that Catholic-themed shows have suffered because of the church sex scandal, edgy religious shows tend to attract only small audiences of intellectual viewers, and alien shows don’t quell anxiety. Despite the challenges, the desire for science-and-spirituality on TV is still strong, as seen in the popularity of “Lost.”
“Science functions a bit like religion for some people,” said Quentin Schultze, author of
Communicating for Life: Christian Stewardship in Community and Media. “Scientific and technological developments, in particular, connote a kind of mythical progress with human beings becoming more powerfully godlike.”
Religion and science are the two great explanatory frameworks, said Judith Buddenbaum, author of
Religion and Mass Media. “With our fascination with technology and concern with what is going to happen to us, it’s a natural melding [on TV].”
Get “Lost”
For fans who crave the mystery and mysticism that science and religion provide, “Lost” is the perfect fix. It is the story of 48 survivors of a plane crash on an island in the middle of nowhere. But this is no ordinary isle of paradise. Located somewhere in the Pacific — the show is actually shot in Hawaii — the island always has something up its metaphorical sleeve — be it a polar bear, a band of killers who live in the jungle, or a secret underground shelter. The castaways hear voices in the jungle, see phantoms and are visited by a crazed French jungle-woman named Rousseau.
Like a Polynesian Da Vinci Code, “Lost” is never what it initially seems to be. Each week, fans and critics alike hunt for clues to survivors’ pasts and the deeper meaning of the island. Some believe the survivors have died and gone to purgatory, hell or elsewhere. Some think the crash is some cruel government experiment. Others believe it is what they see. ABC producers remain relatively mum, keeping everyone guessing — and tuning in.
“People like spiritual shows because they allow for tapping into our spiritual side while never completely abandoning our rational side,” said Fischoff, also senior editor of the
Journal of Media Psychology. “They allow people to think that there’s more to guide us than simply our science and our logic and our rationality.”
In addition to the spirituality element, the deep-rooted ethical, philosophical and science-rationality overtones of “Lost” helped make it an instant hit and immediate cult classic.
“There’s something about the show that people really relate to,” Damon Lindelof — co-creator of “Lost” — told New Jersey newspaper The Record last spring. “I don’t know what it is, which is good. If I did, I would pander to it.”
While Lindelof may not completely understand the popularity of “Lost,” Fishoff hypothesized: “As times get more uncertain — as Iraq produces more unpleasant results, as global warming starts making its presence more strongly felt, as terrorism makes people feel more insecure — [people] will turn to their entertainment venues to help them through the night, and spiritual and faith-based forces might do that.”
According to Nielsen Media Research, “Lost” has garnered high TV ratings. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama and won six Emmys, including one for Outstanding Drama Series. “Lost” — alongside “Desperate Housewives” — rescued ABC from near oblivion last season.
However, “Lost” is not typical sci-fi fare. Creators Lindelof and J.J. Abrams — who won a “Lost” Emmy for directing — have created a band of misfits with souls. The characters are contemplating the philosophical and spiritual meaning of their lives — they reflect about the ethics of their past decisions and wonder who they are.
“Lost” and other spiritual shows “play with the idea that there is an ‘unknown’ world beyond human reason,” said Schultze. “It appeals to the broadly spiritual interests of [people]. It’s a generic kind of spirituality that can be taken many different ways by various audiences.”
Man of science, faith
The science-and-religion dialogue in “Lost” comes most forcefully in the lives and interactions of Jack and Locke — the personifications of science and spirituality.
Locke — named after the 17th-century philosopher — began his stint on “Lost” as a paraplegic, but once his plane crashes onto the island, he can walk. Locke credits the island for his cure and quickly becomes a spiritual adviser. He tends to speak in Yoda-like riddle — as Hollywood stereotypically portrays spiritual mentors — and has helped a rock star kick heroin, advised a new mother on child rearing and befriended a boy who wanted to learn to hunt.
Jack balks at the idea of the island as a mystical force. A surgeon, Jack has been the established leader since the very beginning. He is the keeper of the guns, makes many of the group decisions, and generally keeps tabs on all other survivors. More than any other character, Jack has reason to believe in fate — he is loosely tied to other survivors in pre-island meetings — yet he refuses to believe.
As the characters surrounding Jack and Locke live their island lives, viewers see people going back and forth between Jack’s rational worldview and Locke’s faith-based one. The other characters’ hesitation to view the world as purely science or purely faith shows that there is more than “science vs. faith.” It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Unfortunately though, in the case of Locke and Jack specifically, “Lost” pits science and religion against each other, continuing the popular but questionable conflict metaphor for describing the relation between science and religion.
“The many ways of harmonizing faith and science tend to be underrepresented in news media,” said Schultze, also a professor of communications at Calvin College. “In fact, conflict is the major bias of news media. Reporters are like sharks in the water, looking for the blood resulting from current fights among creatures. Since drama depends on conflict, too, the same kind of bias is at work.”
But are people watching to see the conflict or to distract themselves from the conflict in their daily lives?
“When reality fails, when science fails, when reason fails so that we feel insecure, we can turn to forces who can’t fail us because we can’t really test them, because they are figments of our faith, not our knowledge — true escapist fare,” said Fischoff.
Maybe we all need a little escape. Maybe we need more science-and-religion. Or maybe it is just good TV.
“I think people look at the show like they look at life,” co-creator Lindelof told The Record. “They’re trying to find meaning in it. And like life, there is no big answer.”
Thanks Stnews.org