Contents.
- Introduction to Semiotics
- LOST Synopsis
- Literary Techniques and Recurring Themes
- Semiotics in Lost
- Season one
- Golf Course
- Music Box
- Halliburton Case
- Season Two
- Charlie’s Piano
- Season Three
- Sun’s Glass Ballerina
- Matryoshka Doll
- Juliet's Knots
- Use of Dolls and Ben’s doll
- Season Four & Five
- Cannonball
- Loophole
- Leadership/manipulation
- Season Six
- Water
- Mirrors and Reflections
Introduction to Semiotics
Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and can be divided in to three branches, Semantics, Syntactics and pragmatics. It can refer to, but isn’t limited to, images, music, speech, road signs, natural formations and just about anything you can deconstruct and apply meaning to. One of the earliest mentions of Semiotics in the English language was in 1670 by Henry Stubbes, however it was spelt Semeiotics, derived from the Greek word “Semeiotikos” meaning an interpreter of signs. John Locke, one of the most enlightened thinkers and philosophers of the 1600-1700’s explained how science could be broken down into three parts using semiotics.
“All that can fall within the compass of human understanding, being either, first, the nature of things, as they are in themselves, their relations, and their manner of operation: or, secondly, that which man himself ought to do, as a rational and voluntary agent, for the attainment of any end, especially happiness: or, thirdly, the ways and means whereby the knowledge of both the one and the other of these is attained and communicated; I think science may be divided properly into these three sorts.”
When relating semiotics to TV & Film it helps to give a wider understanding of what the storyteller is trying to convey. A swell of emotional music can instinctively tell the viewer that this might be a sad scene, or in the case of the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”, the lack of music to imply there is nothing left in this post apocalyptic world. During this essay I will discuss semiotics in lost as well as their meanings.
“LOST” synopsis
LOST is an American TV Sci-fi and drama show that has spanned six seasons, with the series finale set to air May 23rd 2010. In it’s simplest form it is a show about plane crash survivors stranded on a remote and mysterious island and boasts the most expensive TV pilot ever made. An episode usually has two story lines that tend to contrast or resemble each other.
Lost complies a lot of literary techniques in order to convey its message and symbolism such as comparative (Irony, Juxtaposition), plotting(cliffhanger, plot twist), stock character (red shirt, unseen character) and story techniques (Flashbacks/forwards/sideways, repeated phrases, symbolism and unreliable narrators). Lost also has many recurring themes that pop up on a regular basis, the more prevalent been Parent issues, Philosophy, Rebirth, Black and White, Character connections and coincidences, Dreams and Visions, Eyes, Fate versus Free Will, Science versus Faith, Games, Life and Death, Pregnancies Deus ex Machina and much much more. However I will be concentrating more towards the signs and symbolism that are present in nearly every scene of Lost.
Semiotics in LOST
To go through and discuss every piece of Semiology in LOST would take hours and there is a bounties worth of the stuff to choose from. Black and White is one of the main symbols in LOST and has been present in nearly every episode of the series, and has become even more important to the series with the introduction of the man in black(Black) and Jacob(White) who have been playing a game on the island for over 2 millennia. This was perfectly summed up in the very first series by man of faith, John Locke. Named after the Philosopher John Locke, this character has become one of the key characters to the shows story and in the series pilot he finds a backgammon set among the wreckage. A young boy named Walt asks him to explain the game to him and John Locke has this to say
“It’s a very old game. There are two players. One side is light, and one side is dark."
Rain is one of the biggest repeated symbols in Lost, and has shown up in many episodes usually accompanying significant scenes, plot twists or for dramatic effect. It is extremely significant to the character of John Locke, who has often predicted the rain (A trait shared only by others in tune with the island like Locke).
Examples include;
· When Locke embraces the rain and the Monster appears immediately after.
· When Locke and Boone find the Hatch.
· When Shannon tries to kill Locke.
· Locke tells Boone "It's going to start raining in one minute. You should turn back.".
· When the survivors split between Locke's group and Jack's group and when the freighters land on the Island.
· Locke tells Hurley "Storm is about to pass, Hugo", before it's truly passed.
· When Richard Alpert comes to test young Locke.
· When Locke is all alone in the jungle after the first time shift.
The latter was also the first time John Locke was caught by surprise from the rain, signifying the jump through time and the impossibility to predict where they were going to end up, even with Locke’s connection to the island.
Throughout each season there have been significant scenes heavily based around symbolism and I will go on to list what I think are some of the most important ones in my opinion.
Season one
Golf Course
Michael, a character with a troubled past and a son (Walt) he’d never seen until his mother died shortly before the survivors crashed. Michael has to deal with learning to be a father as well as getting over the loss of his son’s mother. The Golf Course is arguably representative of Michael's poor parenting skills. When he learns about the tournament he leaves Walt on his own at the beach, when he realises his error he asks Walt to play, but Walt feels bad about skipping people who have been waiting for a turn longer than him and Michael fails to see this. When Michael's turn is up, rather than give it to Walt he accepts it himself leaving his son to walk back to the beach on his own.
The Music Box
In the same episode as the Golf Course, Sayid, a former Iraqi interrogator, is kidnapped by Rousseau. Rousseau has been stranded on the island without human contact for 16 years and the Music Box, initially broken, is representative of her isolation. When Sayid fixes the box and the music starts to play it symbolises Rousseau’s connection with somebody for the first time in less than two decades. When Sayid leaves, the music stops playing, i.e. breaking human contact.
Kate Austen, a character who was on the plane handcuffed by a US marshal, is obsessed with getting the case and it seems to reflect her closed personality. At first Kate was reluctant to share any truths about herself, her reason for being on the plane or the acts she committed back in the real world, and during this period is unable to obtain the case. It’s not until she reveals to Jack why she was in handcuffs, that she finally gets it open. Alternatively, another interesting idea here is that without a key it seems nearly impossible to get into the Halliburton case. Sawyer does everything he can, dropping it, hitting it, banging it repeatedly against rocks but he can't get inside. This can be seen as a metaphor for Kate's spiritual and mental state, she's has such a hard shell she won't let anyone in. Finally, after promising Jack they will open it together, and failing at her "the key isn't there" trick she confesses to Jack and their relationship is pained, and different. Her defence failed, she went to help, went out of her shell, and with opening the case she opened herself up, if only a little bit.
Season Two
Charlie’s Piano
The piano from "Fire & Water" can be seen as a device to reflect Charlie's family. It was bought so that Charlie could become rich and thereby improve his family's standard of living. This is why the piano houses Aaron in a dream, as Charlie believes Aaron needs saving, and so this belief manifests itself inside an object that, to Charlie, symbolize the concept of saving. On a related note in a similar dream, Charlie’s brother Liam places a Cigarette on the piano, showing how Charlie feels towards his brothers’ disregard for family. We are later shown in other episodes that Liam ended up been a very good family man, whilst Charlie stayed on drugs, contrasting their earlier relationship where Liam was obsessed with drug abuse and Charlie just wanted to play music with his brother.
Season Three
Sun’s Glass Ballerina
Sun Paik Kwon is a Korean Born woman married to Jin Kwon who prior to crashing on the island was secretly learning English in preparation of leaving her husband who had become increasingly controlling and violent due to the nature of the work Sun’s father was putting him through in order to gain his blessing. Sun had a broken childhood as a result of her controlling father and the fragile glass ballerina smashing could represent the fragility of a child’s innocence and how easily broken it can be. It’s also representative of the current events on the island of her finally overcoming her broken childhood and breaking free of the restraints of her father and Jin returning to his normal loving self.
Matryoshka Doll
More commonly known as Russian Dolls, some claim they were influenced by similar Japanese souvenirs at the time. They are often used metaphorically as hidden layers of meaning, each level bringing you closer to a revelation. In LOST a TV Exec keeps diamonds hidden in one of these dolls that was eventually stolen by Expose star Nikki and her lover Paulo. The two ended up on Oceanic Flight 815 with the other survivors but weren’t introduced to the show until the 3rd season. The doll that housed the diamonds seemed to signify the multiple depths of the episode, where there were both on and off-Island flashbacks which together explained how Nikki and Paulo met their end in a detective-genre inspired episode.
Juliet’s Knots
Along with the figure-8 knot, Juliet ties a double knot at the very end of "One of Us". The double knot is possibly symbolic of her (temporary) double-crossing of the survivors, since the knot will not necessarily hold.Dolls
Dolls are a recurring symbol in lost. Jack sees a doll underwater, Charlie has a dream where his father(a butcher) is chopping up a doll, a close up of dolls faces appear in a brainwashing video, the previously mentions Matryoshka doll, and most recently in season 6 Claire has a doll representing her lost son Aaron made out of a squirrels carcass. However one of the most significant use of dolls as a symbol is Ben’s dolls. Annie, Ben's childhood friend on the island, gives Ben two carved wooden dolls meant to represent the two of them and their friendship. Ben keeps the female doll as it is representative of the Nuclear family of the time that he never had or the lack of a maternal figure because of his mother dying during childbirth and his abusive alcoholic father who blames her death on Ben.
Season 4&5
Season four took place during the now infamous writers strike and so there was not much symbolic scenes to choose from, however season 4 was a catalyst to all the events leading up through season 5 and 6 setting the stage for the finale. This was represented in “The Beginning of the End” when Hurley cannonballs into the water and everything has changed when he emerges. Some could also argue that it is symbolic of baptism.
We also see the beginning of the man in blacks loophole to kill Jacob begin to take flight when Locke becomes the Leader of the Islands inhabitants, “The Others”. When he meets ‘his people’ it is filmed at an upwards angle to symbolise his position as a leader, their chosen one. However it turns out in later seasons it was all a ruse and manipulation from the Man In Black in order to get his “pieces” into place, his major pawn been John Locke himself.
Season 6
Water
Water is another recurring theme in lost that symbolises rebirth in Lost, it is also a significant symbol for rebirth in many religions throughout the world. In the Season Six premiere we are shown that the island is underwater in the Flash Sideways timeline, its importance to the story’s narrative has yet to be explained mid way through season 6 however it’s safe to assume that it could perhaps mean that this is a purer world, washed clean of the evils present on the island, and a world where the Survivors lives are much happier than they were in the original timeline.
Mirrors and Reflections
Mirrors have become a major symbol in the new series, showing up in nearly every episode where the flash sideways is taking place, sometimes juxtaposed by water in the original timeline. It is clear they are representative of the two time lines and how they’re coming together. Below is a picture showing some of the instances in season 6 where an Alt-Lostie seems to be subconsciously aware of living another life while staring at their reflection.
Conclusion
All TV programmes have semiotics in some form however Lost has a higher abundance than most TV serial dramas. It’s ideally a sci-fi show branded as a drama that mixes several genres successfully. There is so much thought gone into the writing process all the way up to the filming process due to the excellent relationship between writers Cuse and Lindelof with Series regular Dir. Jack Bender. Every detail in every scene is analysed vigorously by the shows fans and there's enough symbolism in the show to keep fans discussing its many twist and turns for years to come. I’ve only scratched the surface of the shows gargantuan, twisting most times confusing plot and Michael Emerson, the actor who portrays Ben has stated that even after the final episode airs, people will be still left with their heads scratching and scouring the entire series for hidden answers in signs and symbols.
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