peek-a-boo, i c u
With FlashForward readying itself to be the replacement for “Lost” when the curtain comes down on the island journey in 2010, it’s worth asking: what themes, if any, will the David S. Goyer series borrow from its predecessor?
One of the aspects I feel define “Lost” from any other show is its use of vivid, often haunting, thematic symbolism. One of the strongest symbols from Lost, was (and still is) the opening eye shot (illustrated above). Whenever an episode began with a close-up of an eye it served as a trigger – a flag-post indicating we were about to go on an introspective journey into this character’s past, present or future (or possibly all three). It set the tone and served as a better method of communication to the viewing audience than any other device. The eyes, after all, are the windows to the soul.
What thematic elements will FlashForward have?
Clearly they will use the flash forward mechanism – similar to Lost‘s use of flash backs (and more recently, flash forwards). Hopefully they will also develop and experiment with some ‘new’ techniques.
Incidentally, one of the great things about so many of Lost’s thematic strokes is their simplicity - their ability to convey emotion simply from an expression, camera angle or piece of music. I’m looking forward to seeing the methods the FlashForward producers use to connect viewers into the world of the show.
