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The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies

As of this writing, the next new episode of Lost is only 14,531 minutes away. Yes, I’m desperate for more. Yes, I’ve been re-watching old episodes (I recommend the end of Season 3: knowing what we do about what happens, Ben’s dismay and confusion over Locke’s coup is even more powerful). Yes, I’ve been dissecting the new promos and trailers. But no, it isn’t working.

So in a pathetic attempt to satiate my Lost cravings, I’ve been indulging in commentaries, easter eggs, and special features galore. I’m always disappointed by the Lost DVD special features: I want more! I want the drama, heartache, philosophy, and confusion of…okay, I really just want new Lost episodes. But since the impossible is, well, impossible, I recommend for your viewing pleasure The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies from the Season 4 DVDs.

The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies is allegedly from an “anonymous source,” and purports to investigate the plausibility of the Oceanic Six’s story. The mockumentary uses real-life experts to support its final conclusions that: the crash was staged; the Oceanic Six (and possibly a pregnant woman, to give birth to Aaron) were hidden in a remote location for 108 days; and the entire thing is the work of the U.S. government, the United Nations, or a sinister corporation with nefarious and ambiguous motives.

The mockumentary has the trust-me-I’m-serious narrator, blurry videos, and extremely cheap graphics we’ve come to expect from similar works on the Kennedy assassination, alligators in the sewers, and other completely erroneous, completely earnest documentaries. It’s structured as an investigative narrative, proposing and discarding theories (like cannibalism) as new evidence comes to light.

Occasionally, bold-fonted words pop up over the on-screen images: “Truth?” or “Lying” or simply, “?”. The best one, of course, is the narrator’s final assertion that the Oceanic Six, instead of being lured by money, must in fact be living in fear. On-screen graphic: “Of What?” and “Of Whom?” How can you not trust a conspiracy theorist who knows his objective case?

Of course, this mockumentary assumes that we’re familiar with the travails of the Oceanic Six as their story was told to the general public. Whether or not such notoriety will prove an important plot point for our plucky band of heroes remains to be seen. But it’s also pretty cool to see a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment by the Lost Power that Be of the impossibility of the little things: grooming, changes of clothes, lack of sunburns and weight loss. And there’s something neat about the sense of being included in a gigantic in-joke.

Does The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies make the waiting any easier? Not really. But, at about 25 minutes in length, it helps pass the time. All 14,531 minutes of it.

2 comments:

  1. Very nice! Thanks, Josie.

    And... nine days and counting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was part of my "cheating" as I watched half the extras yesterday and the rest today while in mid season.

    Not a good things, especially for spoilers. Too bad; can't get enough either.

    It juts adds up to the mythology of this Cult TV show.

    Wow and bliss.

    (108 days !!!)

    ReplyDelete

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