A very quick thought on one element of "Lost"

[tzikeh]

Several people on my flist have been saying that they like that Locke's compass is broken, or that it being off-kilter is a metaphor for Locke being off-kilter. I've yet to see anyone say what I immediately took for granted - the island isn't in normal space. The compass *is* pointing north; the *island* is off-kilter. Doesn't this make more sense than the compass is broken or the compass is a metaphor for Locke's sanity?

And when I say "make more sense", I mean in Lost-think, not in actual reality.

Comments

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

I see that too -- but why do you think it's either/or? I suspect it's both.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Sorry - badly phrased. I didn't mean that it couldn't be both, I meant that it seemed odd to me that the *first* conclusion people drew was that it was a metaphor, rather than that it meant something was seriously unnatural about the placement of the island.

[drkcherry.livejournal.com]

I took it to mean the island was off, not Locke. But this was the first episode I have watched all the way through so I have no clue what is going on.

[f1renze.livejournal.com]

That was exactly what I thought. I didn't care for what it might be saying about Locke. I'd love it if they go (more) mystical about the island's abnormalities. The possibilities!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, I thought the same thing - my first thought was that it was a clue to a different reality; my second thought that it was also a metaphor to 'broken compass' - but not that Locke was off-kilter, he's the most on-kilter person there. He's the one who has found his way. It's the others who have lost their way.

[destina.livejournal.com]

I think the island is off. Then again, from the beginning I have thought they are all dead, or trapped in some group dream or delusion.

Also, Locke Is God. I could not love him more. *g*

[barkley.livejournal.com]

My first thought was about the SG fanfic I read where Sam gets the team hopelessly lost on the planet they just gated to because her compass was always pointing...north.

But, yeah, I thought it was either saying that this planet isn't on earth as we know it, or it is, but they're sitting on top of a heck of a large power plant in order to generate that kind of magnetic field.

[thevetia.livejournal.com]

I don't think "Lost" has been attempting that kind of Creative Writing 101 metaphor. After all, the beast in the jungle isn't a metaphor, it's a real Thing That Kills People. The compass is far more logical in the "Lost" universe as a cold hard fact: the island isn't in our normal magnetic sphere. The island isn't a normal place at all, obviously. The things that happen on the island may have symbolic significance, but even if they're symbols they really, concretely, happen, they aren't stand-ins for something else without physical consequences.

My goodness, I really hate that metaphor idea! Talk about reducing the show to some treackly psycho-drama and throwing out all the cool mystical/supernatural stuff. Or do some people like to think that Locke's healing is only a metaphor for something else?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree, I really hope that it's supernatural and not 100% metaphorical. I don't really know what the Lost fandom thinks of Locke's healing; I've only recently started to get truly fannish about the show.

[estrella30.livejournal.com]

I actually *never* thought of it being a Locke thing, and *immediately* thought of it an a island thing. Not that it *couldn't* be a Locke thing, just...

Huh.

*ponders some more*

[lanchid.livejournal.com]

I think Locke is the most "on-kilter" character on the island. (Damning with faint praise, possibly.) I just keep remembering that he looked the "monster" in the eye and lived to tell about it.

So, I'm with you. The island isn't in normal space. Kinda. Maybe.

half-baked thoughts; 3 to be exact

[stormheller.livejournal.com]

Locke, to me, is a hugely intriguing character. First, I don't think we can decree his "healing" as anything at all until we know why he was in the wheelchair in the first place. (Hysterical/psychosymatic illness, anyone? Shades of "Heidi"... or was it "Lassie"?)
The name, John Locke, is fraught with meaning and as soon as I google up the philospher of the same name, I'll have a clue what it is. (Damn memory.) The wound/scar was fun; is he a mime or a Crow? People do seem to heal at different rates on the island--Michael's tapir wound was gone quickly while the scrape on Claire's chin lingered.

The "monster" in the jungle seems to be construction of some sort. "Sounds familiar" said Rose. "Where do you live?" they asked. "The Bronx", she answered. Funny, though, how no one has ever looked at the ground for tracks, even after the big rain.

Lastly, I've joined all sorts of lj communities re Lost and it's my first experience, after nearly a decade in fandom, with being surrounded by squeeing 12-year-olds or their equivalent. This is the first intelligent discussion of "Lost" that I've encountered. Could someone please start an adult (yeah, in both senses of the word) community or list? And remember to invite me? *g*

Much appreciated,
~ Stormy in Toronto!

[suaine.livejournal.com]

I totally thought the island was broken :D When Jack asks Sayid what he thinks it means and Sayid goes all "I think this compass is broken" I was all like 'yeah, right, keep telling yourself' because Sayid has on previous occasions shown that he's so not in love with the idea of the island being a little weird around the edges.

Maybe it's like "Dark City".