Media Ethnography: Getting Lost in "Lost"

My boyfriend, Dustin, and I are both avid fans of the TV show "Lost." We watch the show together every week, and we are always looking forward to the next new episode. I decided to interview him about his attitudes and motivations in watching the show. What I found was that we have very different motivations in watching the show and that our viewing meets different purposes in our lives.

When I asked him about why he watches the show, he said that it was because he thought it was "the smartest show on television." He likes the fact that the show alludes to many other texts and is heavily based in mythology and other themes. It also keeps the viewer interested because he or she can almost never predict what is going to happen next. Dustin was also really drawn to the show because he likes a lot of the other work that the creater and producer, J.J. Abrams, has done, so he expected it to be good. For him, another big draw is the action and the intensity of the plot. I also asked him if he discusses the show with friends or if he interacts with the show in anyway outside of the normal weekly viewing time of the show. He sometimes listens to podcasts about the show where people talk about different theories regarding what is going on in the show, but not regularly. He also frequently discusses the show with his friends and admits that he has to keep up with what is going on in order to keep up with them. For him, knowing about the happenings in the show is almost a type of social capital in his group of friends.

After watching the show with him for a long time now, I expected most of these answers, but after reflecting a bit on how I would respond to the same questions, I was surprised at how we interact differently with the show. While we watch the show together every week, I think we take different things away from it. I am also very interested in the allusions and subcontexts of the show, but am far less interested in the action and adventure. I am really drawn to the characters on the show and how they interact. I realized that I love watching the show every week because the characters are so familiar that I can't wait to see what will happen next in their "lives." For me, the show has far less social capital. I don't usually talk about the show with my friends and I don't interact with the show in any way outside of the normal hour long broadcast.

Our varied responses really surprised me. I had assumed that all people liked the show for the same reasons that I did! More than that though, I realized that Dustin takes away a very different meaning from the show that the meaning that I construct from it. We both value literary allusion and critical analysis and are able to see that represented in the show, but I think I am a far more passive recipient of the text. Dustin seems to actively seek out meanings for the show, researching elsewhere and discussing with other people. He may seem more actively engaged in the show. On the other hand, I look forward to the show every week to experience it as entertainment on a more aesthetic level, but I seldom experience the show as a separate "reality." I think that maybe our seemingly opposing experiences with the show are what make us keep watching the show together!