The more required text I'm assigned to read the more and more interested I've become. I'm partially beginning to think that my dislike of Lost was pure ignorance. The more I understand the "culture" of the show as a whole the more I seem to find things interesting. Watching the episodes for class this week I found myself hungry for more, wondering what happened to all of the characters. Now, knowing that they were flash fowards also allowed me to enjoy the episode more because I was fascinated with where each person was going to reach this point - the point of being redistributed into society.
Now, I was unaware that Lost was in the genre of 'cults' - as is seen in my last post. However, I was unaware of all of the genres that the series is capable of fitting in to. As Ndalianis points out there are certain aspects of the show that could even be place in the genre of horror. These are the expected traits that the audience knows exist, this idea of putting genres together is very common today - widely because it broadens the prospective audience. It seems that this is a new phenomenon, however, it also seems that this is a driving factor because of the natural instinct to return the biggest gain on each episode.
In this article there is also a strong emphasis on "The Lost Experience" which is explained to be two different worlds that come into existence with the avid viewers who understand the main story as well as the many others that are going on. Last week I commented on Lost and its 'cult' category... today I read that it can also be considered science fiction. Yes, these are two different genres or categories, but I will say I think that type of audience they draw is usually fairly similar, and thus Lost's success may even be paritally based on the fact that if some aspects of one genre are missing they are present in the other - attracting the audience as a whole.
I really like the fictional world Lost brings in. It is close enough to a "reality" because of the actions that the people have to take in order to survive - however, there are things that are extremely fictional, and just add to the dramatic aspect of the show (like the polar bear in the first episode). All of these elements together allow viewers to disappear into a world on the screen but also connect or understand the fear/anxiety/uncertainty/ and dependency from the characters. For my own benefit, I want to express Ndalianis' article once again, because here we see this convergence term again. It is obvioulsy a huge part of every part of the show - fans find it important to connect in a whole type of way. The idea of individual viewing is actually less fulfilling, they like to share ideas and feel outside connection.
The show itself seems to be drawing me in. The continuity of the story, and the way the story is presented is actually more interesting then discouraging. I will say that the fan world is never one I have gotten involved in... blogging on a series website or "gaming". After saying this I WILL say that I still find myself enjoying the show, this is just another example of a different kind of audience (because I am not one that would typically pick a cult series or science fiction for that matter). The craze over Lost seems to me, at this point, to be about the ability to disappear into the world, to follow the story, and the continuous curiosity left for the viewers - however never enough to discourage one to come back the next week.
I've begun to buy episodes on my iTunes and really like all aspects of the show, even if some seem, well, like they don't make sense. The more episodes I watch the more I feel connected to the situation.
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