On LOST

[Spooky]

Massive SPOILERS if you haven't seen the show.

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2010/05/28/lost-finale-best-show-in-television-history-comes-to-the-end/

[Spooky]

An interesting comment on the article...

SPOILERS

[spoiler]One little philosophical/theological theory I have:

What is the light in the cave?

I've always felt the show was making a strong statement about the dangers of utopianism, pantheism, moral relativism (i.e., believing there is no true right or wrong, and that values are all subjective, coming only from within).

The challenge of faith is often believing in a god whom we know either, a) directly causes evil and suffering; or b) allows suffering and evil to take place. Those are the only two real possibilities, in a Judeo-Christian sense anyway, and neither is very comforting. So we have to come to terms with the fact that good/evil is - for whatever reason - part of life on earth. Religious people generally believe that God is present on earth, but does he ever intervene? Is it possible to create a heaven on earth?

Yet many don't believe in good/evil, right and wrong, morality, etc. in any objective way. These things exist only to the extent, the argument goes, that we have constructed them within a social framework. It's entirely subjective. Since good and evil results from the social construct, and not from any objective morality - the thinking continues - then utopia (i.e., pure goodness on earth) is possible if one simply removes the environmental, societal elements responsible for the evil (it isn't only non-religious who think this way, incidentally).

I think the light in the cave represents God's presence on earth, or a part of heaven, in other words (the key word here being "represents" for those who are non-religious). I think this directly parallels the final scene of the series, when Christian opens the church doors and we see the same bright light envelop everything.

We should always strive to improve life and our conditions on earth. This is much different than trying to create utopia, or in this case, attempting ownership of the light. Such a pursuit inevitably leads to much greater evils, as it has around the globe, historically, when it's been tried. Instead, each generation is responsible for fighting evil, spreading goodness and re-articulating those values to the young, who will not - despite modern-day thinking - automatically absorb our same values. We renew this stance with each generation because we recognize that evil doesn't go away, no matter how idyllic the previous generation may have been. The battle is constant.

Heaven on earth, for reasons we won't fully know until the hereafter, is impossible. The pursuit of utopia inevitably leads to evil. This is what the island protects us from.

Jacob's "mother" told the boys that each person has a little bit of this light within them. But some are greedy and want to take it all. Of course, doing so, presumably, would make one like God. Metaphorically, we generally recognize such a pursuit as a violation on earth, as seen in countless horrific historic examples (i.e., leaders who claimed such connection/power/equality with deity).

As far as the rest, I didn't find it sad at all. Some of the Losties survived and presumable lived out full lives. We can also argue (intuit?) that those who died had the realization that they did it for a valiant purpose higher than themselves....that goes back to Charlie's death. I don't think they were saying at all that happiness is only found in heaven, but instead enlightenment (a distinction I believe Shapiro is drawing too). Those are two separate things. I think it's significant that Jack is smiling as Ajira goes overhead.

If you've tolerated the length, thanks for reading![/spoiler]