At the heart of this interactivity – the heart and soul of the Lost community that deviates from more traditional fan cultures - are forums and the medium of blogging. Through the show, the blogging format has transformed from merely a “log of personal thoughts and weblinks, a mixture of diary forms around what is happening in a person's life, and reports and comments on what is happening on the web and the world out there” (Lovink, 3) to a prominent medium that allows viewers to share and expand on their personal repertoire of experience and theories within the community.
Above: Screenshots of one of the many Lost Theories. The Time Loop Theory can be viewed here, and is just one example of the work, dedication, and research on elements of the show in conjunction with real life phenomena.
Whilst blogs remain to be a “personal voice and a rapid response”(Lovink, 3), it breaks out of what scholar Geert Lovink deemed to be “hastily written personal musings, sculpted around a link or event...[to form a] dense cloud of impressions around a topic” that is usually lacking research and depth. This manifestation of the transformation of the medium is prevalent in the many blogs within the Lost community, and can be seen in both the blog posts themselves and the discussion that each post catalyzes. Lost blogs serve to be a platform in which not only the traditional participatory forms of fans can be seen through the posting of fan videos and fan art, but in which the true interactivity of the show can be discovered through the Lost theory discussions.
Due to the nature of the show, Lost's viewers encounter questions and mysteries about real life paradoxes, philosophy, mythological phenomenon, and the supernatural within the show. Lost's many allusions to historical mythology (such as Gilgamesh), real life philosophers (at least eleven historical philosophers and writers are referenced in the movie through character names, such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Stephen Hawking, to name a few). Allusions to the apocalypse and purgatory, and conflicts and explorations of the dualisms between things such as good versus evil, coincidence versus fate, and destiny versus science forces the viewers to not only sit back and watch the show, but also actively become involved within its mythology.
The Man in Black represents chaos, whilst Jacob, the Man in White, represents good.
This new active viewership is the catalyst behind the blogs and forums, as many are dedicated to well-thought out and researched theories about the show that breaks the blogging platform out of the shallow, ill-researched medium described by Lovink. As a result, the fans of Lost sees the blogging format through its transformation of vague media based upon shallow and ill-prepared assumptions to a format that is well researched, and in which full interactivity between not only fans, but with the producers of Lost themselves takes place. As consequence, one sees the transition of not only blogs, but of television viewers themselves – from a passive audience that only receives from the main media, to a new, activated audience that is purposefully committed and involved in not only the show, but its theories and aspects.
Popular lost theories include the Garden of Eden Theory, the Centre of the Earth Theory, and many more in regards to time travel, astrophysics, and the supernatural at popular blog theory sites. Ultimately, some theories come to fruition in the form of published books, as many have been published as an exploration into the philosophy of the show.
Thus, one can see that Lost changed the format of new media and pushed it one more step towards bridging the gap between television and interactivity and engagement. Not only does Lost utilizes new media and technological convergence to broaden its viewership and brand loyalty, the show also takes full advantage of the interactivity of new media to create for itself a brand community that takes the participatory model of cognitive surplus and elevates it to a new standard. By demanding a new, more actively engaged viewership and participation within the shows theories and show as well as within the brand community, Lost transformed the participatory fan culture that resulted from new media and further transformed it into a platform of optimal intelligent interactivity.
