All the Best Princesses have Mommy Issues

Fittingly, on the heels of Mother’s Day, LOST devoted an entire episode to the relationship a mother has with her children. The LOST community of believers was as divided about this episode as the pitting between good and evil which has played this season. Some called this episode an epic failure…jumped the shark….too many unanswered questions. Or more succinctly, too many new questions raised without any answers and we’re only a few episodes away from the SERIES finale!

“Others” like me, were mesmerized by this episode and ranked it among the best ever. Although I will agree that the casting was horrible, the acting flat (I mean seriously if Terry O’Quinn doesn’t win the Emmy this year—they should just cancel that award show), and the dialogue at times was forced. However, the very “fabric” of the piece intrigued me and I spent the 45+ minutes watching absolutely glued to screen and the donkey wheel in my head was spinning.

Maybe it’s because I have a TON of mother issues. But, for a very long time I’ve had a fascination with the mother figure or more pointedly, the absence of strong mothers, in popular culture.

In fact, my first published and public work as a Shakespearean academic scholar was on this very subject. Hard to believe given his status and influence in English Literature, but Shakespeare, in his time, was considered a low base “artist” and rose to the status of a “pop icon.” Oh what People and US Magazine would do today to the Bard. His barroom brawls, mistresses, subject matter and cross-dressing at the theater!

One common theme in his works is the conspicuous absence of “mother.” There are only few “mothers” in his works, most notably Gertrude (Hamlet) and Hermione (not the Harry Potter character, the mother in the Winter’s Tale). Not very flattering characters.

More than a century or two or three later (okay I’m into words not math!), another low-base artist (animator) named Walt Disney rose to “pop culture” icon status…Is Disney not the GREATEST pop icon brand ever! In all of his works the mother is conspicuously absent as well. Bambi’s mom dies. the evil “step-mother” looms in Snow White and Cinderella, and where the hell is Ariel’s mother to warn her of the dangers of falling in love with a human in the Little Mermaid? And, those mothers who do exist, Aurora’s mom in Sleeping Beauty for example, are marginalized.

And, then there is LOST. Arguably the best show in today’s popular culture whose writers certainly don’t occupy the status of a JK Rowlings, Stephan King, or Dan Brown (the best sellers of our times). In the first episode there is the pregnant Claire who was warned about her having a baby raised by another, Rousseau who had her baby stolen from her and then went crazy, Eloise Hawking, a mother who seriously has some f-ed up motives, and the mystery of why woman can’t carry to term on the Island, etc.

Ironically, LOST devoted an entire episode (and a series to, Christian Shephard, Ben Linus, Anthony Cooper, Pierre Chang, and Charles Widmore) to “all the best cowboys have daddy issues” but it seems to me that all the best “princesses”—yes that is what all us daughters have been conditioned to believe we should become—have mommy issues.

Happy Belated Mother’s Day. Can’t wait for the finale.

LOST and the Deathly Hallows

When the final Harry Potter book came out, I was nervous, anxious and excited. I ordered my book from Amazon.com and patiently waited on the front steps for its arrival. I cleared my calendar for the weekend to read and shut off all communication with the world (cell phone, internet, TV) for fear that someone would spoil the ending. All my Potter friends were instructed simply to text “finished” before any discussion would commence. Would Harry live? Would Snape pay for Dumbledore’s death? Was Snape a bad man? Would we find out more of the back story of Dumbledore, of Harry’s parents, and of course, Voldemort? I marathoned the book in less than 36 hours with limited sleep. There were times in the book I was discouraged, frustrated and quite frankly distracted by what I felt were fillers in the story. Really, enough, come on were my thoughts during what felt like wasted pages when Harry and Hermione moved their tent from location to location to location to location. Let’s get to the meat of it already. I need answers!

When I finished I was satisfied that it was over but, I can’t say I was wholly fulfilled. Sure, I knew the answers and the outcomes and in fact got a glimpse into Harry and company future lives. But, I was sort of empty and sad to know it was over. It wasn’t until I re-read the whole series a year later without all the pressure of rushing and knowing the end, that I really enjoyed the entire story I had loved so much, and devoted so much of my time, myself, and my discussion for so many years. And, finally I was satisfied.

So here we are into the sixth episode of LOST with only ten episodes to go. A show I have loved, devoted so much of my time to and so much of my daily discussions to. After each episode, I text my friends, chat online and then the following day continue the discussions some more and read several blogs. One of my favorites is the dueling analysis by Jen & Liz of the Washington Post. I anxiously wait for their post the next day at 11 a.m., (taking my lunch early) and then logon again when I get home to read the comments from their 2 p.m. chat.

Much to my chagrin their analysis of this week’s episode about Sayid, an episode I really enjoyed, was extremely negative and they equated it to a dud like the Nikki and Paulo episode. Like many of their other faithful followers and readers, their 2 p.m. chat called them on the carpet for their growing ennui about the show. Yes, we are all clamoring for answers. Yes, they are not giving them to us fast enough. Yes we don’t need any other new characters. Yes, I, too am growing anxious about how the heck they are going to wrap this up! And, yes, I’m nervous that the ending will leave me wholly unsatisfied. Remember the cut to black ending of the Sopranos… I totally stopped believing in good writing at that very moment.

But, I wonder if all of us LOSTIES aren’t suffering from a little bit of Harry Potter syndrome? Will we really be satisfied with anything this season? Perhaps we will need sometime after it’s all over to take it all in, without any expectations, anxiety, or excitement to truly appreciate and see the whole picture. I hope so. We shall see.