Team LOST #1 Sneakiest Trick Ever: Making History

MYTHOLOGY USED TO BE A FRIEND OF MINE

The HydraMYTHOLOGY USED TO BE A FRIEND OF MINE

The "past" is basically a collection of stories. A story is considered History with a capital H when it has been verified as "based in fact."  A story can't be verified as "based in fact" without independent, credible sources of verification. The higher the number of independent, credible sources of verification, the more likely the story will become Historical Fact [as in, this is "the truth." This story is what "actually happened"].


From then on, this Historical Fact is a piece of History, and it is combined/compared with other pieces of History with the express purpose of INTERPRETING what happened before, EXPLAINING what's happening now and PREDICTING what may happen in the future.

[Image, "The Hydra" (right) found at Lists O' Plenty]

If a story is not fact, then it must be fiction, yes? Fiction would the opposite of fact: a lie, a mistake, untrue, pretend, made up, a delusion, etc. Problem is, SOME stories are VERY important to the cultures or groups they belong to whether they are "verified fact" or not. To prevent pissing off most of humanity, Historians have a ready-made loophole.


A story that can't cut it as History but is culturally important is called a MYTH.

A mythology is a collection of [usually related] myths with an official label. A mythological figure is someone featured in a myth.

The OTHER Hydra: Computerized Chess Player

[Image from ChessDailyNews.com]

Mythology can be a touchy subject because nearly every religion on the history of the planet is centered on a collection of stories, and calling religious stories myths can seem insulting or demeaning. For our discussion, I'm rolling with what my humanities professor always said when it came up in class.

• A fact is a fact whether you believe it or not.
• A myth is a myth whether you believe it or not.
• It's a matter of function, not origin.

History functions as noted above. It's used to interpret the past, explain the present and make educated guesses about the future.

MYTH serves a number of cultural functions. My humanities professor listed these as:

• SMITE stories. This is what happens when you defy {insert appropriate deity here}. FYI: You won't get away with it.
• REWARD stories. This what happens when you do what's "right." You'll be honored/blessed in the end.
• RULES stories. This is what to do/not do, and [sometimes included] this is why.
• TRICKSTER stories. These guys break the rules and/or try to get YOU to break the rules.
• SACRIFICE stories. This is what nobility/redemption/unselfish behaviors look like.
• ORIGIN Stories. This is why things are the way they are.*

ORIGIN stories [why bears don't have tails, why rainbows appear in the sky after it rains, why the moon has phases, etc] cover a LOT of ground. From Native Americans to Scientologists, origin stories offer a cultural reflection [of the group or people to which they belong] in particular because they are so versatile.

[The actual rules aren't myths, but they are very often based on the beliefs presented in the prevailing mythology. Thou shalt not sleep with thy neighbor's wife."  <-------NOT versatile, but based in cultural mores of marriage, sex, property and moral/immoral behavior.]


ADAM AND EVE



For example, Adam and Eve [(right) painting by Dan Fergus] are mythological figures in Creation mythology for Judaism, Christianity and Islam [arguably three of the most influential religions in Western and Middle Eastern culture].  Ultimately, this origin story confronts two huge theological questions: If God "made us in his image," then why aren't we perfect? If God loves us so much, why does he let us suffer?

Turns out, God intended for us to lead a cushy life.  Adam and Eve blew it for the rest of us. As descendants of these first humans, we inherited their sentence of "hard labor." Adam was cursed to scratch "sustainance" from the earth, and Eve was cursed with painful labor in childbirth.

[SEE really funny story at then end of this post!!**]

This origin story explains "why," from the moment we are born until the moment we die, human existence is a constant struggle. We are all doomed to suffer. [It's not our fault. We were "MADE THAT WAY."]  As a bonus, the entire time we're on Earth, we're caught smack dab in the middle of a cosmic struggle between good and evil. ["Terrific."]

However, the story of Adam and Eve is versatile enough to address many other questions, concepts and themes: original sin, satan/the devil/the serpent, Paradise/Garden of Eden, dominion of mankind over the Earth, origin of the human race, angels, demons -- the list goes on and on.


This is the power of myth.

For our discussion of LOST, the most important aspects of mythology to remember are how it relates to History:

• Mythology is MORE influential over historical events than historical events are influential over mythology.
• Scholars spend years and YEARS verifying historical events as "fact." Mythology carries no such burden. Consequently, arguing mythology as "fact" is not always the best use of your time.
• Mythology is less about "faith" than it is about "meaning" or "interpretation."
• Mythology is about FUNCTION. Figuring out how peeps/cultures USE their mythology is the key to understanding both.
• We can "outgrow" our mythology, but we can never escape its influence on us.

Finally, when we examine MYTH, [according to my humanities professor] we need to focus on "the prize."  Once you scratch the surface, any and ALL myths answer one or more of the following questions:

1. Who am I?
2. Why am I here?/What am I supposed to do?
3. Why is this happening to me?
4. What does it mean to be "human?"

Scratch the surface [barely], and the story of Adam and Eve lands SQUARELY on #4.


THOU SHALT NOT "GET IT"


[Oh, yunh-hunh!] This story places humans in context with the rest of creation and the perceived creator/divine.  Everything else was created by God's WORD ["Let there be light."], but humans were crafted by the hands of God [Adam from the earth; Eve from Adam's rib] and brought to life with God's "breath"  [Kinda like DIVINE CPR].

[Painting (right), "Adam and Eve Expelled From The Garden" by Pavel Popov found at Voices From Russia website]

The path to human existence portrayed in this story is one that defines humans as NOT ANIMALS yet NOT DEITIES [gods or equal to God]. Humans are BOTH, but neither. [In some versions, Paradise/the Garden of Eden is HEAVEN, and Adam and Eve are sent to Earth, but they are never considered on EQUAL status with GOD, which is the definition of "divine."]

In ALL the universe, humans are SPECIAL, but it's not FREE WILL that separates us from the animals. God made us the boss of them, but animals can choose as much as we can. They can even choose to EAT US.
In this story, KNOWLEDGE is what makes us SPECIAL. Specifically, the KNOWLEDGE of NUDITY.


NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE

Don't take my word for it. Ya'll can look it up HERE.  [All quotes from the Old Testament of Christian Bible, New International Version (NIV)]


BEFORE the apple incident: [GEN 2:25, NIV]

The man and his wife were both naked and felt no shame.

Apple Incident: [Gen 3:1-6, NIV]

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’"

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

AFTER the apple incident: [GEN 3:7-13, NIV]

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

[Painting (right), "The Expulsion of Adam and Eve From Paradise" (reproduction) by Benjamin West found at 1st-Art-Gallery]

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” ["WHERE ARE YOU?!!" -- Jack in "White Rabbit"]

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

AFTERMATH of Apple Incident: [GEN 3:21-24, NIV]

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.  And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

The full implications of this myth and its cultural influence are FAR beyond the scope of this blog. However, it's important for our discussion to note how Adam and Eve change once they've eaten the apple.

If you eat, you'll "surely die."

• In a way, the Serpent is right. They didn't "surely die." [KJV says "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen 2:17] So does that mean God was deceiving them?
• Well, not if you assume that they WOULD have lived forever if they hadn't eaten the apple.
• HOWEVER, God makes a point of muttering to himself: Now man has become LIKE US -- knowing good and evil. We MUST not ALLOW him to eat from the OTHER tree, the Tree of Life, and LIVE FOREVER.
• If that's true, then when the Serpent cons Eve into eating the fruit, he DOESN'T necessarily LIE to her. He tells her, You won't "surely die." God knows if you eat that fruit, you'll be like God. [Implied: God forbade you to eat the fruit to keep you from becoming like him.]
• God even admits it when he makes a point of muttering to himself: Now man has become like us -- KNOWING good and evil.
• Question:  Do the death references here ALL mean PHYSICAL DEATH?
• I mean, isn't one of the BIG tenants of Christianity that part of you can NEVER die? Your soul/spirit? Does that mean they were free from physical death until they ate the apple? ["What's 'dead?'"  "Something you'll never have to worry about."]

Having the "knowledge of good and evil."

[Collage (right) "Adam and Eve" by BBMukherjee found at National Gallery of Modern Art.]

• For whatever reason, God didn't want Adam and Eve to have knowledge of good and evil. He's not happy about their disobedience, and he punishes them accordingly, but God specifically tosses them out of Eden [and sets a guard at the gate] because of the knowledge thing. Now that they have it, it's too risky for them to stay cuz of the OTHER tree.
• As soon as Adam and Eve have the knowledge of good and evil, their EYES are OPENED [DING DING DING, people!!], and they are ASHAMED of their nudity. This means BEFORE their eyes were opened, THEIR EYES WERE CLOSED.
• Their state of NUDITY hasn't changed, only their PERSPECTIVE of the nudity.
• Amy's question:  How does NOT knowing good and evil prevent Adam's and Eve's awareness of their nudity?
• Even bigger question: WHY does God create man and woman WITHOUT this knowledge of good and evil in the first place?
• Is "living forever" contingent on NOT having your "eyes opened?"

[MUCH trickier than it first appears, yes?]

My point is not to solve the "mystery" of creation. My point is that this story is not a simple, straightforward narrative.  It has many, many LAYERS of meaning, and it's a GOOD thing to dig into these layers.

So, what is the FUNCTION of this origin story? Does it answer any of our 4 questions? Sure it does!


What does it mean to be "human?"

• Humans are like GOD because we have the "knowledge of good and evil." This differentiates us from ANIMALS, who DON'T have this knowledge.
• We are aware of our own mortality. We see the "big picture."
• Despite this larger perspective, we are still bound by "the rules" of our physical bodies -- physical needs, instincts and birth/death.

• Humans are like ANIMALS because we are tied to the needs of our physical bodies. This differentiates us from GOD.
• Despite this, our likeness to God is permanent. It is our HUMANESS. We can't just "turn it off" and "go back to the way we were before." We can't EVER put down our "humaness" and hang out on the Earth like the animals do.
• Animals know they can die, but they are not aware of their mortality. [This is a fancy way of saying they don't fret about the fact that they can't escape physical death.]
• Animals are SLAVES to their INSTINCTS. ["The ability to make decisions based on something other than instinct is what separates us from [BOARS]" -- Locke to Charlie in "The Moth"]

[Painting (right) "Adam and Eve" by Bela Klimkovics, found at Truthbook.com]


This story ALSO portrays the "origins" of HUMAN "SUFFERING":

• Our physical bodies are why we suffer because we can't remove/ignore/think our way out of our physical needs or the knowledge that we can NOT avoid physical death. [Physical death is our DESTINY.]
• Our HUMANESS is why we suffer because it does not allow us to "forget" we are physical beings. Our "humaness" precludes our "innocence." We are still "slaves" to our instincts.

"May all that have life be delivered from suffering." Gautama Buddha

The story of Adam and Eve explores the IRONY of HUMAN EXISTENCE: We are "more" than animals. We KNOW we are "more" than animals. This knowledge does not make us happy because we KNOW we are doomed to struggle/suffer/die.

[SUFFERING?! HELLO!! Can you say: Buddhism? Namaste, my lovely LOST readers!! Chakra Wheel found at "Buddhism and the Conquest of Suffering."]

Coupla things to notice about Eden [Just for kicks, let's drop back into the King James Version, KJV, of Genesis]:

• NO CHILDREN.
• No hunting, killing or eating of animals.
• No death.
• God is not a permanent resident.
• This is a CONSTRUCTED WORLD. ["And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." Gen 2:8 KJV]
• You can't get back in once you've left [because there's a guard at the gate with a "flaming sword"].
• The "bad guy" is not an INTRUDER. [The serpent, the SNAKE, is part of God's original creation --"Now the serpent was more subtil [sic] than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made." KJV Gensis 3:1]

Things to notice about Adam and Eve:

• Adam was made from the earth [He was a GOLLUM!!]. After God breathed the "breath of life" into Adam, Adam became a "living soul" ["And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen 2:7 KJV]
• Eve was made "from" Adam. ["I came from my mother, and you came from ME." Mother to Kid in Black in "Across the Sea"]  ["And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Gen 2:21-25 KJV]
• Even though they are separate identities, Adam and Eve are two HALVES of the SAME WHOLE. ["We are already together." Isabella to Richard in "Ab Aeterno"]

WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO


In my last post, we discussed how the cohesive image that results from completing a picture puzzle is the puzzle's "answer."  This ONE image was THERE ALL ALONG.  It just wasn't discernible BECAUSE it was divided into so many pieces [almost like it was SHATTERED].  When we start matching pieces, sorting them, we are able to see how they fit together. As we fit pieces together, the final image slowly emerges.

• Like it or not, Team LOST has given US an assignment: Solve this puzzle.
• To solve the puzzle, we have to put all the "pieces" together.
• Before we even think about putting ANY pieces together, we need to identify and sort them.

Here's the kicker:  Identifying and sorting the pieces of LOST IS THE RIDDLE. ["This story is not a simple, straightforward narrative."]


GET [TO] THE POINT?

So, Amy, where's this "Sneaky Trick" you claim Team LOST is using? [you might ask.]

[Oh! I'm so glad you asked!]

In our last discussion, we identified four "types" of puzzle pieces -- elements of the LOST story that must be properly identified before we'll be able to see how they fit together.

1. The story of our LOSTIES.
2. The history of the ISLAND.
3. The MYTHOLOGY of the ISLAND.
4. WHO WANTS WHAT.

I just played a trick on you. [Did you see it?]

On a sliding scale of which elements of the LOST story are the MOST obvious [the LEAST confusing] and which elements are the LEAST obvious [the MOST frickin' confusing], this list is BACKWARDS.

1. Most obvious: WHO WANTS WHAT
2. Second most obvious: The MYTHOLOGY of the ISLAND
3. Third most obvious:  The HISTORY of the island
4. Least obvious: The STORY of our LOSTIES

Run, Eloise! Run!

If you need another puzzle metaphor, think of the story of our LOSTIES as their journey through a rat maze.  When Jack opens his eye, our losties are at the START of the maze.  When Jack closes his eye, are losties are at THE END of the maze.

The PATH of our losties is what we're trying to pinpoint here -- not their final destination.  And guess what?  Working a maze BACKWARDS is the quickest and easiest way to find "the path."

If we are to pick out the ONE story of LOST, the PRESENT for our LOSTIES (WHAT HAPPENS), we need to figure out WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE our losties arrived in this world -- what HAPPENED on the island and how it RELATES to our LOSTIES' adventures.


The #1 trick Team LOST has pulled on us [and it is FRICKIN' BRILLIANT, btw] is the way they have INTEGRATED the MYTHOLOGY of the island with the HISTORY of the island.


Until we separate/pull out the MYTHOLOGY of the island and apply what we learn to past events, characters and their behaviors [what they WANT], we'll NEVER solve the riddle. If we can't solve the riddle, we'll NEVER solve the puzzle.

As of right now, EVERYTHING WE'VE SEEN on LOST is out of CONTEXT.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Q & A
Q: Okay, now I have LOTS of questions!!

Yay! I love questions!

Q: How do you know there's a "mythology" of the island?

Simplest answer:  Darton told me so.

Consider Darlton’s Commentary on “Across the Sea” [FULL transcript at Lostpedia]:

Damon Lindelof:  . . .when we were working on that episode, “House of the Rising Sun,” we knew that Adam and Eve were going to be mythological figures that were entirely responsible for Oceanic 815 crashing on the island. So that when Locke called them as Adam and Eve, he’d be referring to — these characters are personally responsible for us being here in some way.

Carlton Cuse:  . . .And what we really wanted to do was, basically, we felt that this was the final mythological origin story that we were gonna do on the show. And we saw this very clearly as a companion piece to "Ab Aeterno," which was earlier in the season.

Q: But how do you know they mean mythology like you mean mythology? How do you know they don't mean religion?

Religion and mythology are defined by cultural function. Christianity, for example, is not the religion of Creation. Christianity is the religion of Christians. The story of Adam and Eve explains how human beings came to existence on Earth [origin story] according to Christianity.  Even when Christians "believe" the Adam and Eve story is Historical Fact [as fundamentalist Christians do], the FUNCTION of the story remains the same.

According to the Orientation video for the Hydra Station ["The New Man In Charge"], the Dharma Initative was kidnapping, drugging and "interrogating" "hostiles" [against their will, btw, that's important] "to better understand the hostiles’ way of life, their origins and particularly their worship of an island deity they refer to as “Jacob.”

The worship of a deity falls under "RELIGION." The origin stories for most religions fall under "mythology." The DI were [or so they claim] investigating the "hostiles" religious beliefs by learning more about their mythology.

Q: So Jacob is mythology?

• The story that explains Jacob's origin as a deity for the hostiles is mythology.

Q: You're saying Jacob was never "real." How can that be when we've seen him on the island?

NO-no-no! I'm not saying Jacob was never "real." This gets very complicated very quickly, so we'll save the bulk of it for our next post [which is gonna be a GOOD one!], but the historical fact of Jacob's existence on and involvement with the "real" island [the one in the PAST] is not precluded by his designation as a deity by "The Others."

MANY mythological figures are based on "real" humans that have physically walked the Earth.  Stories of Jesus, Muhammad and Siddhartha [The Buddha] are the center of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, respectively. Historians believe a "real" Ulysses, Achilles, Hector, Heracles (aka Hercules) participated in the Trojan War. Vlad the Impaler, aka Count Dracula of vampire mythology, was a "real" guy.  St. Patrick of Ireland has his own mythology, too.

Some of these peeps can be verified as "historical fact," and some can't. Remember, when it comes to mythology, verification of stories/mythological figures as historical fact/figures is NOT NECESSARY.  It's IRRELEVANT.  These stories FUNCTION as mythology. That's what matters.

And when do we ever "see" Jacob?  Not until the Season 5 premiere, right?  Mock Locke chides "The Others" about how they have followed Jacob for years without ever seeing him. [Guess what?  They STILL don't see him when they get to the statue.] Richard and Ben both have existential crises over their "faith" in Jacob.

Question to ask yourself is: how does the story of Jacob function? What does it do?

Q:  But we've seen Jacob on the island. He was there thousands of years ago. That makes him part of the history of the island no matter what the "hostiles" believed about him.

Nope. There's NO PROOF WHATSOEVER that events in "Across the Sea" OR in "Ab Aeterno" actually took place hundreds or thousands of years ago.

I repeat: NONE. If Darlton themselves specifically tell us a billion times that "Across the Sea" is a "MYTHOLOGICAL DOWNLOAD," there's a reason.  We're gonna break down "Across the Sea" soon, but for now, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you READ the transcript of the COMMENTARY for "Across the Sea" [you can find the FULL transcript HERE on LOSTPEDIA], and while you're reading, keep your eye out for terms like "origin," "why," "mythology" and "beliefs."

Before in "Ab Aeterno"

After you've read the commentary, ask yourself:

• If Adam and Eve (the skeletons) are Jacob's Mother and MIB/Brother, then is MIB ALIVE or DEAD when Jack and Kate find their bodies in Season 1?
• If Mother is the "bad guy" and Jacob and MIB are her "victims" [which the commentary makes VERY CLEAR, btw], then what did she want?
• What CHANGES about Jacob -- on the ISLAND -- after "Across the Sea?" How is he DIFFERENT than he was BEFORE?
• What happens to Jacob at the conclusion of our LOSTIES' story? Where does he "go?"

Q: So what about all the religious imagery?  Is that just meaningless, too?

NOTHING on LOST is meaningless. Mythology is, in fact, the OPPOSITE of "meaningless."

As for the religious imagery, think back to how the island world is created -- with MEMORIES, right? From a DATABASE of MEMORIES and KNOWLEDGE included in those memories.  Obviously included in this database is an extensive knowledge of many different religions, cultural anthropology, psychology and philosophy (just to name a few).  Exactly whose memories, I don't know.

Since these memories are used to build this world, it means each element of this world was created a certain way for a REASON.  They can't be "meaningless."

After  in "What They Died For"

Q: Let's say you're right. How can we tell the difference between what's mythology and what's history?

Ahhhh, excellent! This is the BEST question!

Here's what Amy's working with so far:

• Anything Darlton refer to as "mythology" is suspect [obviously].
• Anything related to Jacob is suspect.
• Anything related to peeps who DON'T AGE is suspect.

["Suspect," btw, means "should not be taken at face value."]

• Anything related to peeps "born on this island" is suspect.

For NEXT TIME:  Any time peeps, "The Others" or otherwise, are in "costume" (wearing clothes like Jacob wears in "Across the Sea"), PAY ATTENTION.  Ask yourself, what do these costumes HIDE?


Thanks for stopping by!


REFERENCES:

1. The Myth Encyclopedia
2. eBible.com
3. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library
4. Lostpedia -- Portal: TRANSCRIPTS

NOTES:

Pele's Hair

*My favorite myths are those that explain the weirder things in the natural world.

In Hawai'i, the primary mythological figure is Pele [pronounced peh-leh], the goddess of fire and volcanoes [and she is a badass!].  Sometimes when a volcano erupts, thin streams of lava shoot really high into the air [kinda like when you stick your thumb on the end of a water hose]. The higher they go, the thinner they become.  When they hit high enough, they cool really quickly and turn into these very weird lookin' threads of volcanic glass that float in bunches and land all over the place.

If you ever get the chance, ask a geologist what it's called.

They'll say, "That? That's Pele's hair."

**Okay. I have to tell this story because it is so VERY funny. When I was twelve, we trekked to my grandmother's house to visit my cousin and her new baby. One night, I overheard my grandmother and my great-Aunt Opal [God rest their souls] chatting about my cousin and her "just-hurry-up-and-get-them-married" wedding 6 months prior.

Although she was not pleased with how it happened, my grandmother said she held no grudge. She said grandbabies were a blessing no matter how they came to be.  Aunt Opal joked: if only "young people" knew how miserable labor was, they would "be more careful."

• Grandma: If only Eve hadn't eaten that apple -- maybe we'd've gotten to skip that part.
• Aunt Opal: Or maybe it just hurts to push a bowling ball out of your ass.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!]