Themes
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Black & White Duality
There is a theme of conflict between light and dark aspects within the characters themselves, as well as externally opposing sides and their perceptions of "good" and "bad" (though it's not known how those qualities are defined at this time, or if the definition is a moral one for the Others). Most characters appear to be complexly drawn, and not at all one-dimensional.
In the Pilot, Locke teaches Walt about backgammon, holding up a black piece and a white piece, implying that he must choose: "Two players, two sides — one is light, one is dark."
In "House of the Rising Sun," Adam and Eve are found to be carrying a pouch with one white stone and one black stone.
There are scenes which emphasize the contrast of black and white outfits worn by mutually opposed or conflicting characters, such as Jack & Ana-Lucia, when they meet in "Collision" (under the unpleasant circumstances of her having just killed Shannon), or Jack & Locke after an argument in "The Long Con."
Black and white may also be used in items worn by the same person, to indicate internal conflict of dark and light sides. In the Pilot, Kate is wearing black panties and a light bra. Claire has a dream in "Raised by Another," where Locke has one black eyeball, and one white eyeball. Sawyer gets new glasses made by the group in "Deus ex Machina" which are half of a black frame fused with half of a white one.
The bagua symbol of the DHARMA Initiative itself is all about dualism, both in the central yin/yang, and also in the trigrams on the side, which are individually made up of binary code. The symbol is usually seen in black and white, though sometimes black and red, much as the numbers and heiroglyphics of the countdown clock in the hatch.
Item Last Updated: April 21, 2006, 09:26:52 PM by Pandora
