Monday 24th May 2010
by WillThe TV show LOST aired its series finale tonight. LOST was memorable and noteworthy. One thing that makes it especially interesting to me is the work of executive producer and writer Carlton Cuse. In a recent interview, Mr. Cuse shares that he was significantly influenced by Robert Coles at Harvard. Apparently, it was through Dr. Coles that Mr. Cuse studied the works of James Agee, Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy and others. Mr. Cuse was such a Percy fan that Lancelot was featured prominently on the show more than once.
Mr. Cuse went on to say that, “much of Coles teaching was centered on the question: how does one lead a life? What matters as we make our way on our journey? Those questions and that inquiry has stuck with me.” This reminds me of what I learned were the Four Diagnostic Questions: what is a good life and what good is life; what is a good death and what good is death; what is a good love and what good is love; and what is a human being? There is no doubt that LOST explores each of these questions in detail.
In an earlier interview, Mr. Cuse and his counterpart Damon Lindelof, mentioned that the works of C.S. Lewis provided a hint at where the show was going. It has been noted elsewhere that the mythology of the island shares much in common with Lewis’ Narina, along with the now obvious connection to The Great Divorce in the “sideways” flashes. It is pretty easy to earn my respect once you list Percy and Lewis as important influences.
I am impressed that Hollywood was willing to produce a show (especially one as expensive as LOST) that explored deep subjects and did justice to the viewer’s intelligence. Yes, the story of LOST had its flaws, but it was undeniably well told, complicated, and spoke about the depths of the human condition. After now seeing the ending, I’m struck even more by the ambitious nature of the story and impressed that the storytellers were able to tell it.
Tags: Lost
3 comments
I think if Percy affected the story it was largely in the character development–especially the character of Jack. He is a super-Binx with skills and talent in spades, but ultimately unhappy and dissatisfied until he finds his purpose. A purpose that had to revealed as much as found. I think the struggle between the man of science (Jack) and the man of faith (Locke) was also quite interesting. Jack, a doctor, also reminded me of Will Barrett, an engineer, in that both studied how complicated systems worked, but they suffered under the weight their everyday dispair.
Like I said, the story of LOST has its flaws, but I appreciate the effort.
Thank you Phil and Firpo for participating in the discussion. Don’t be strangers.
I watched LOST for the first time last night, and was intrigued. Learning of the Percy connection makes me want to watch the whole thing from the beginning… even though I find Percy’s religious worldview constricted even in comparison to his own broader Existential concerns. But so what, there’s just not that much intelligence on display on TV. We shouldn’t take any of it for granted!
I’ve watched Lost since the beginning, but never read any articles/web sites about it. I didn’t want to influence my thinking. Last night during the pre finale show, I heard one of the writers mention Walker Percy. This morning I did a search on ‘Lost tv show Walker Percy’ and found your site.
I am very happy to read about the writer/producer’s ( and presumedly your) affection for Percy/Lewis/O’Conner. They are among my favorite writers/thinkers.
I plan to re-read some of their works as a result of your post today.
I also plan on watching all Lost seasons again, hopefully with a better understanding of what the writers were trying to say.
I am glad I followed the trail. There are no coincidences.
Firpo