In order to best connect media to our lives, it is important to study examples that truly manage to captivate, and scintillate an audience. After all, successful media thrives best when it can tap into an essential truth of the human condition, and portray it in a manner that relates to its audience.
One particularly successful show of the last decade was “Lost,” a show that portrays a group of plane crash survivors stranded on an island. Although the show delves into science fiction, time travel, and cinematic drama, it manages to scintillate its audience by creating characters that are believable. The development of each main character’s back-story and motivations not only allows the audience a glimpse of the psychology behind the character’s actions, but also reveals sociological patterns to the discerning eye.
Although the characters are alone on an island, far outside of established law or society, they begin to form their own society very quickly. Leaders emerge, and a civilization is formed. In a way, the first episodes of the series depict culture shock- the group is thrown into a new environment, far different from their previous experience, and the reactions are varied- some resist the new environment, attempting to use rules from their previous life and society to interact. Some embrace the new order, trying to regroup and adapt to the situation.
Very quickly, a hierarchy begins to emerge- naturally the television show focuses on the main characters- the figures that maintain the power. The extras, most of which are unnamed and only appear during group scenes, represent the subordinate group. In addition, social norms begin to appear, as the stranded group adopts generally accepted and shared rules for behavior- for example, meeting at a certain time to share what little food they have obtained, or gathering to discuss the next action. In a way, this is an accurate portrayal of society, and reminiscent of conflict theory. While those in power have maximum airtime (or control and power), those who lack the resources or leadership are extras, or minor players in the game of life. Several times in the series, the less powerful characters challenge authority- the equivalent of the proletariat in Marxism standing up to those who rule. Unfortunately, this generally fails them, representing a striking depiction of the helplessness of minorities.
Throughout the show, the idea of relative deprivation consistently emerges. Even removed from structured society, the characters build their own society, and resources are not evenly distributed. For example, one character (Sawyer), hoards resources and refuses to share them unless he obtains something in return. This leads to frustration among the others. While Parrillo’s text indicates that frustration within society is often not acted upon because “the true source of frustration is often too nebulous or too powerful to act against,” the characters in this show are able to retaliate due to the small number of inhabitants in their makeshift society. In a way, this show depicts society in its most basic terms, by reducing the number of participants and using individuals to represent entire groups.
Since the show uses a small group of characters, sociological patterns are even easier to identify. Scapegoating appears often, as those unhappy with the situation tend to find someone to blame for the problems, whether or not the person actually caused the dilemma. Also, many other sociological concepts are explored through flashbacks and flash-forwards regarding the character’s lives. Racial profiling is shown when Sayeed is singled out because he is a Middle Eastern male. Stereotypes are applied by the show to portray the Korean couple according to expected traits and characteristics in order to fit the audience’s expectations. Power-differential theory is depicted on a very basic level, when new additions to the group are treated in a manner similar to those of a migrant group joining an indigenous group- while they may be allowed participation, the migrant group relatively is allowed far less input and sway in decision making.
Overall, I feel that “Lost” is an exceptional example of the theories and concepts inherent to sociological studies. While most media tends to encompass representations of true human behaviors and attitudes, “Lost,” provides the added interest of showing a society essentially beginning from scratch- leaving the audience wondering whether the sociological structures we face in our every day lives are unchangeable because of society, or whether these ideas are so engrained in our subconscious that they would develop organically, even if we had the option to start over on a deserted island.
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