As you head into your weekend, please enjoy these quick thoughts on Lost, the band Iglu & Hartly, and the new Julia Roberts/Clive Owen movie Duplicity.
Since some of what I’m discussing involves the most recent Lost episode, I’ll reveal everything after the jump. You know, in case you haven’t gotten around to your DVR yet…
(1) Lost
In this week’s installment, “Namaste,” I appreciated that the show allowed us to make up our own minds about Jack. Season after season, he has been aggressively flaunted as a hero, whether he’s a victor leading his people to freedom or a trodden-upon champion enduring perils untold.
This week, though, when he was standing in Sawyer’s Dharma cabin in 1977, it was clear that Jack was unhappy with his sudden loss of control… that he wasn’t sure how to react to his own powerlessness. In an excellent, mostly-silent performance, Matthew Fox conveyed resentment, trepidation, and even sadness as Jack realized that his role on the island had changed.
And since the episode was mostly told from Sawyer’s perspective, not Jack’s, the writing, directing, and soundtrack didn’t give us signals about how to intepret his reponses. That was nice, because I think Jack is a smug whiny-pants, and I’ve blanched whenever the show has used meaningful violin music to tell me he’s noble.
But hey, if you think Jack is a hero, that’s your right. Andthis episode left you the freedom to think that way. It’s always nice to be trusted to make a decision.
(2) Iglu & Hartly
On last week’s music quiz, one of the songs that wasn’t guessed was “In This City” by Iglu & Hartly. I’ve been meaning to write about them for weeks now, and Lisa B.’s iPod reminded me to do it.
Iglu & Hartly are a California punk-pop band that has recently been successful in the U.K. They are very sexy and often naked, and their Blink 182-style music is either really fun or screechingly annoying, depending on your mood and blood alcohol content.
I’d say they’re worth knowing about because of how they divide British critics. For every writer who praises them, there’s another who wants them maimed.
If this band were up in my face, I’m sure I’d get over them pretty quickly, but since they haven’t broken through in America, I can observe them as an outsider who’s fascinated by yet another bizarre musical phenomenon in the U.K.
(3) Duplicity
Ever since I scaled the trailer, I have been excited for this movie, and now it’s finally opening. Hooray! Shockingly, Andrew isn’t interested in this sexy romp at all. (I know!) But even if I have to go alone, I will see the sexiness and the romping. Yes. I. Will.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Lisa // Mar 20, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Two mentions on your site in two weeks? You’ve officially made an internet geek’s day here. Thanks.
2 Gonzalo // Mar 20, 2009 at 3:09 pm
We clearly disagree about Jack. I’ve really enjoyed following Jack’s journey through the seasons. He’s clearly a very damaged “hero”, he’s been wrong more times than I can count, and he’s stubborn to a fault. And yet, he’s fascinating, and I’ve always always rooted for him the most.
Yes, I can see the reasons why you may call him a smug whiny-pants, I’ve just never seen him that way. To me, he was always a reluctant leader – don’t get me wrong, nobody asked him, and he definitely asserted his leadership as much as he could, but I think he always did it because he couldn’t see any other person who’d take that responsibility and do a good job. I mean, Locke? Sure, he may have been right a few times, but anyone rational person would think he’s crazy. And Sawyer has only recently blossomed as a leader – let’s not forget how much of an a-hole he was in earlier seasons (hating on Sayid for being Iraqi, stealing all the weapons and declaring himself the law, etc, etc).
On top of that, I interpreted the scene in Namaste *very* differently than you did. To me, Jack has changed a lot in the last few months. He is now no longer purely a “Man of Science” – he had some measure of faith (he ended up believing Locke) to carry them all to the island. I mean, he got on a plan that he “believed” was “destined” to crash, convinced the others to do the same, AND he was chilled out enough to just read a friggin book.
Jack questioning Sawyer was a momentary reversion to their old roles. And when Sawyer clearly showed he was the leader now, what I saw in Jack’s face was not “resentment, trepidation, and even sadness”. It was relief. Doesn’t he smile? After three years with Dharma, he saw that Sawyer is now very capable of leading. Jack saw this from his response. And he’s happy to rescind control (for now – who knows how things will change in the next 1.5 seasons…).
Anyway, that’s my essay in defense of Jack. I know I’m in the minority, but I’ve always rooted for Jack, whether he was bearded-suicidal Jack, don’t-push-the-button Jack, or live-together-die-alone Jack
And yes, I squeal every time he says that.
3 Mark Blankenship // Mar 20, 2009 at 6:30 pm
You make some very good points about Jack, Gonzalo… especially about the previously unimaginable faith it took for him to get on another plane.
I’m glad we could see the same scene and come to completely different conclusions. For a scene like that, I’d say it’s a sign of good writing. (Some scenes need clear meanings, of course, but some work with gracefully written ambiguity.)
4 Gonzalo // Mar 20, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Absolutely. I didn’t think this week’s Lost was all that great, because it felt like an opening act that’s rearranging all of the players and where they are in preparation for the second half of the season. But even in a so-so ep of Lost, the quality of the writing, the acting, the directing, and everything else, is top-notch.
Also, and regardless of my feelings for Jack, you’re right in pointing out that Sawyer has emerged as an awesome leader on the island. I’ve really really enjoyed his transformation, and the development of his relationship with Juliet (most of which happened in one episode, yet I still buy it). It’s hard to ignore that, at the moment (based a lot on the last 2 eps), Sawyer is the effing man.
5 Paladin // Mar 21, 2009 at 1:39 am
Gonzalo, excellent posts. I too see Jack as a flawed hero, and that’s one of the reasons he’s the most interesting character in this show, IMO.
Jack was relieved. He never wanted to lead anyone, but he’s a born-leader, and we’ll see that happening again.
I thought Sawyer was really mean. It isnt all Jack’s fault. And he blames himself already, so no need to be mean like that. It’s easy for Sawyer to be a “leader” (’cause he trully isnt, he’s head of security, second in command) now that they have everything, a home, food, security,… In Season 1 when the survivors needed someone to take charge and make important decisions, what was Sawyer doing? Reading and driking beer on the beach. And what was Jack doing? Being a leader, even though he never wanted it. But he did it, because he always cares more about everyone else than about him.
And no, I dont hate Sawyer. I’m not a character basher. It’s just how I see things, JMO
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