Lost

2/19/21

I watched a good bit of the series in high school, and read about the rest. Last night I watched parts 1 and 2 of the pilot. It's tempting, but I just don't think I can justify the time. It's constant intrigue with, I think, insufficient payoff. I don't think intrigue is intrinsically sufficient payoff. If I remember right, the series incessantly introduces questions, from big to small, and regularly answers some of the smaller ones, after delays, and not all of them, and infrequently answers the bigger ones, maybe once or twice a season. Constantly new questions arising, with delayed and partial answers, and rarely or never answering the major questions. It's a question surplus, I think even after the series finale. That's frustrating and hard to justify, since this is fiction. I could easier justify a question surplus in our reality, for example cosmology or philosophy. I needn't bother with the Island's cosmology -- rather consider my own. Of course, my preoccupation with Tolkien is a counterexample, which I try to exempt very specifically as my one guiltless escape.

Lost is tempting, since I liked it back then, and I'm immediately intrigued again -- but how intrigued? Probably not enough to really care. And how satisfying are the answers? Probably not enough to really care. This says little against Lost as a series, but again (like many recent posts) reflects the medium. TV has never really paid off for me, and even movies must be exceptional. At least I have a history of loving film as a medium. TV I've never really loved nor respected much. A series must be extremely exceptional, which I don't think I've ever met. I remember liking Lost, and it's tempting. Recent experiences like Justice League and even Breaking Bad leave me pessimistic on the intrigue paying off. I need to start learning my lesson. The formula is intrigue, and in Lost's case questions, which breeds addiction, which by definition never pays off, right?

I can get into TV, and even like it, but hardly justify it.

Man of Steel

I liked this back in... early 2014 I believe. I think I was kind of high on Amy Adams at the time, and liked Henry Cavill a lot in this movie. The latter holds, actually, all these years later. I'm not so excited about Amy Adams (though I still like her). And I'm definitely not so excited about the film. I think in early 2014 it felt novel for me to enjoy a blockbuster, and I was starry-eyed with the perfection of Superman and Lois. It actually felt like the ideal it was supposed to feel like. Now, while I still feel that wonder, it's not enough. A lot of the movie seems stupid, like the alien business, Krypton, Zod. A lot of the action is just destruction porn, which is tiresome after a while and just baffling. One would expect more caution from Superman, and saner moderation from the filmmakers. That might be another difference between my 2014 and 2021: destruction porn lost a little luster.

But beyond all hope I actually still loved Superman in this movie! I heard that performance was criticized; it seemed perfect to me? Cavill seems pretty much perfect... But I just love the perfection of the character. I love pure, perfect power, like Gandalf the White. It almost feels like I have a crush on Superman in this movie, so I'm not sure what's going on there. But regardless I love the pure, perfect power. Unfortunately other elements of the movie didn't match the ecstasy.

Justice League (2017)

In the past year I watched the new Star Wars trilogy, much of The Avengers, and now Justice League, and amazingly I still crave more of this. How can these movies be so disappointing and so tantalizing? Do other people find them satisfying? I guess the most basic premise is stimulation, which I guess they deliver; but isn't satisfaction next up? Awesomeness? The whole thing is just a tease, yet I keep telling myself the next one will deliver. Justice League seemed to suck, yet I'm tempted to return to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. This reminds me of that definition of insanity people attribute to Einstein. I should probably stop. For years I desired these movies, and stomached all the costs for the expected payoffs, which tarry still. The costs are high, and the opportunity costs higher -- it's probably time for me to give it up. The unapologetic box office gluttons are probably not for me. I opened myself up to the stupidity; I gave them many chances; I found them empty not just to the intellect but to the emotions.

My favorite moment was probably when Superman resurrected and was clearly far better than everyone else. He's the god among demigods. That was cool -- I do love displays of power.