Reading Lost's Walkabout

In my television theory class, we watch the episode "Walkabout" from the series Lost as an approach to studying semiotics - the study of signs. This posting contains spoilers!!

Roland Barthes:

Using semiotics is the basis on how to conduct a close analysis of a film or a television series. Roland Barthes's work on Mythologies is one of the founding texts for this type of analysis. And to keep things simple, I will focus on the terms: denotative and connotative. 

Denotative Meanings:

Denotative is the surface level of a sign. For example, if I see a stop sign while driving, I know to stop my car. It is a sign that we can all agree upon - at least I hope we do.

Connotative Meanings:

Connotative is the secondary level of a sign. This means there can be multiple meanings of a sign. For example, I could read the sign "snake" not only as a slimy reptile, but as "sin." The surface reading (denotative) of a snake means a reptile and it slithers. The secondary reading (connotative) of a snake could mean "sin," or it could mean "friend." I preferably would not like to think about snakes at all! But you get the point...

Rhetoric: Making Your Case Convincingly

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. A connotative approach to studying film or television involves how well you can argue your case. This means when you unpack secondary meanings (connotations), you have to make your case convincingly. To do this, you must inventory the signs of a film and or television episode.

"Walkabout" Example

Lost is a television series about the survivors of Oceanic 815 stranded on a mysterious island. "Walkabout" is an early episode in the first season that focuses on John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), a mysterious man who decides to hunt for a boar after learning the survivors had ran out of food.

"Walkabout" involves Locke's journey into the mysterious island. This odyssey entails a physical component (find and kill the boar), and an interior component (Locke's re-birth). We can track these two registers by inventorying the episode's signs.

Locke's Wheel Chair

The wheel chair is more than simply a means of transportation; it is also about Locke's backstory and his internal struggles before he crashed on the island, which is told through flashbacks. His wheel chair has an added charge of meaning when we learn that Locke can walk after surviving the airplane crash at the end of the episode.

Movement and Stillness

Locke is shown a number of times lying on his back, looking at his feet. Movement has multiples meanings, especially when you consider the title of the episode: "walkabout." It is a spiritual renewal for Locke.

Re-Birth

Locke is re-born as he learns to walk again. The fire framed by his wheelchair at the end of the episode helps to communicate this at the connotative level. He is no longer the same person we saw in the episode's flashbacks.

There are many connotations I could have discussed in this episode. But I chose signs that are tied to a specific theme: Locke's re-birth as a "walkabout" in his hunt for the boar. At the end, he successfully kills the boar and provides food for the survivors. At the same time, Locke's soul is nourished by the hunt in the form of a walkabout.

Random Reviews - September 18, 2012 - Lost, Fringe and Person of Interest

Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest

I recently finished watching all six seasons of the television show Lost (2004-2010) - thanks to the wonderful technology of video streaming. For the sake of those who have not seen show, I have tried to avoid listing specificities that would ruin the plot. In a nut shell, Lost tells the story of a group of survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 marooned on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

Lost is clearly one of the top television shows of recent years. The show covers many themes, such as science, religion, and family. But probably the topic given the most attention is the question of fate.  Here, the writers do a great job keeping us wondering if there is a greater purpose for the survivors of flight 815. Lost's puzzle narrative structure helps to underscore this notion. Some random notes (after all, this is a random review): Michael Giacchino's beautiful score; the diversity of characters; and cinematography, editing, and acting-all work very well. Lost deservedly won a bunch of Emmys. But I was surprised that none of the women were nominated for their work. Lastly, there are some fantastic stand-alone episodes. I particularly loved "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead," which some critics, apparently, did not like.

I find myself drawn more and more to J.J. Abrams' fictional Universe. I recently started watching Fringe - another great show of Abrams'. Fringe is like the scientific version of the Twilight Zone.  If Rod Serling gave us existential reasoning for the show's strange happenings, Fringe attempts to scientifically solve them! Topics covered are telekinesis, shape-shifting, spontaneous combustion, and suspended animation, to name but a few.  Walter (John Noble), the eccentric scientist, does a convincing job to prove the scientific validity of these strange happenings. Noble's humorous antics also help to balance out Fringe's graphic imagery.

All of these shows strikingly share a commonality: a depiction of a post 9/11 society of paranoia. These shows, in many ways, are a microscope into our culture of rapid technological innovation, speed, and surveillance. Abrams and Matt Reeves really tune into these features in their frantic, science-fiction, disaster, monster, digital cinema film Cloverfield (2008).  I guess in certain ways these shows can be compared to the paranoia films of 1970s, such as Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). This is not meant to be a generalization.  But I like that the writers of the show address these issues. Finally, I recently read that Star Trek 2 is heading into production which begs the question: does J.J. Abrams sleep?