Monday, July 27, 2009

"I'm Just Saying - #4"

The SD convention is over now and we're back to ruminating about S5 until Lost University opens, or someone gets more information out of the odd videos of Hurley, Kate, and Oceanic Air. Meanwhile, I've been thinking about Ben and Judas Iscariot.

A few things about the finale in the statue base, and Ben overall, have been reminding me of the stories that we know about Judas. It's believed from the Gospels of the Judeo-Christian bible that Judas did not quite become a follower of Jesus' teachings and what they really meant. That is, he didn't seem to really understand that Jesus was speaking of saving Israel in a spiritual sense, and rather might have put his hopes in Jesus being an earthly conqueror in releasing the Jewish nation from the immediate physical oppressors in their promised land -- i.e., to solve all of their problems in the here and now, not in some heavenly lofty "later". If he came to realize that this was not the case, it may have made him bitter and therefore easily swayed into turning Jesus over to be accused of being a false leader.

According to the other apostles, Judas was usually the stone in the cogs for much of their missions together. For example he allegedly hoped for a high position in the kingdom that he thought Jesus was building on earth, and when he saw that wasn't going to happen, that also turned him away. He was the groups' treasurer as we know, and when Jesus was anointed in Bethany, he pretended to be concerned for the poor and the wasted money represented in using the precious oil to anoint Jesus. But Jesus and other disciples knew his intentions (and that he took funds from their moneybag [John 12:6]), illustrated in his later deal for silver coins as well. It is also thought that Judas is one of the grumbling disciples mentioned who "...turned back and no longer followed Him..." (John 6:60-71). At that point Judas might have felt as if his allegiance to Jesus was all a waste of time and wasn't going to get him anywhere. His ambitious disappointment was capped by what happened in the garden of Gethsemane, when Judas gave his former teacher over to the officials who were already annoyed with Jesus.

Judas' misunderstanding of Jesus' purpose, his misguided faith, and eventual disillusionment and betrayal, all came to my mind as Ben whined to Jacob about not getting the kind of attention that he wanted after all of his efforts in Jacob's plans. Being so worked up in his heart, Ben was an easy target for Flocke/MIB tricking him into betraying Jacob in anger, resulting in Jacob's death -- just as Judas was finally an easy bribing target for the people who wanted Jesus silenced. I also couldn't help thinking that perhaps Jacob's making Ben wait, was a type of test for Ben that he ultimately failed miserably. I also wonder if Jacob knew this the way that Jesus knew about Judas' fate.

So do I think that TPTB were specifically making parallels between Ben's and Judas' life in the final scene of betrayal by Ben and Flocke? I don't know. I'm just sayin'.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

"Comic Con From Afar"

This past Sunday's Foxtrot cartoon (click for large readable jpg) just about says it all for those of us who can't get to SDCC this week, for the final participation of the Lost powers-that-be. So, we'll live vicariously through our Lost friends who can, and who'll give us their timely reports. P.S. Bill Amend is pretty neat, and very geek-friendly in his cartoons. :o)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

"Separated At Birth?"

Remember the photos and book published by Spy Magazine back in the 1980s that showed non-related famous people who looked like the twin of another random famous person? Well just for fun (and because I'm all theoried-out at the moment) I've got another entry. I give you: Neil Frogurt...

...and David Bowie. Definitely twin sons from different mothers, on different continents, haha. Have a good week everyone, give a toast to all of our astronauts who went to the Moon and back 40 years ago, and hopefully we will get a little pre-ComicCon goodie sent out through the ether this week to set the tone for whatever is to come from the Lost panel coming up!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

"I'm Just Saying - #3"

The scene where Charlotte pokes her head up out of the lagoon after cutting herself free from the parachute so brought to mind the scene in "Apocalypse Now" when Capt. Willard's head emerges from the river. Both Charlotte and Willard are on two missions -- to find a nutcase in control of a renegade faction, and to find the meaning of their lives. You can imagine Charlotte thinking the thoughts of Willard as she ponders her next move, "Part of me was afraid of what I would find and what I would do when I got there. I knew the risks, or imagined I knew. But the thing I felt the most, much stronger than fear, was the desire to confront him."

We don't know if Charlotte was at the end of her sanity in her search for the meaning of her past and future, as was Willard. But we can empathize with the same combination of fear and exhilaration she may have felt. And we can imagine Ben reciting the words of Col. Kurtz as well: "But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. As for the charges against me, I am unconcerned. I am beyond their timid lying morality, and so I am beyond caring." I don't know if TPTB were trying to create a purposeful image link with Charlotte's lagoon moment and "Apocalypse Now", even though Lost bloggers have made other comparisons to Conrad's book "Heart of Darkness" in the early seasons of the show. I'm just sayin'.

Friday, July 10, 2009

"Some Lost Art From My Past"

This old dried up, cracked, and unfinished painting that I did in high school art class stares at me from the wall every time I sit at the computer. As I spend so much time online talking to my blog-buddies about Lost in front of this picture, I decided to revisit my past in Lost style, to give a new name to my old painting. I used to call it the "Cheez-Whiz" painting, for obvious reasons. But now I've renamed it "The Elizabeth" for Lost-related reasons. It makes me dislike the painting a lot less, so that's a good thing. :o)

Friday, July 3, 2009

"I'm Just Saying - #2"

Happy 4th, Losties! The other part of the finale that reminded me of "Planet Of The Apes", was the emergence of Richard, Flocke, and Ilana's group at the base of the broken statue. This scene was of course reminiscent of the finale of the first Apes movie, when Taylor and Nova came upon the remnants of the Statue of Liberty on the beach. We know what happened to the statue on the apes' planet, but we don't yet know for sure what broke the island statue. Although I'd guess that it might have been fairly cataclysmic since there are no pieces of the top remaining on the beach. Did it get blown to bits by the cannons of the Black Rock? Perhaps the indigenous islanders attacked the Black Rock as it approached. Or was the ship's crew just in a state of panic after they accidentally went through a violent vortex, and arrived at the island thinking that they had been attacked?

Another interesting note, is that I've heard that the book or tablet that the Statue Of Liberty is holding is called the Book Of Law. We know that's the name of the book that Richard showed young Locke when he visited his house for what we've come to call Locke's Dalai Lama test. The Book of Law is also named in the section of the bible that Mr. Eko quoted to Locke in the Swan station. I'm just sayin'. :o)