WORDPLAY EXTRAVAGANZA - DR. CHANG'S SPEECH HONORING HUGOI've said it once, I'll say it again: Wordplay is EVERYTHING on LOST. If events on LOST are bringing you down, go back and reconsider what you've HEARD. Scratch that paint off, folks! There's GOLD underneath!
Team LOST has dropped lots of words before, but I can't think of any other time where they've dropped SO many SO quickly. Since this speech (taken from the first minute of "Everybody Loves Hugo" is about Hugo/Hurley, let's assume we'll be finding out more information about him and his role in the story.
Dr. Chang's Groovy Slide Show Speech
Fade-in to a smiling Hurley with a farm behind him.
- Chang: In a world of conflict and strife, there is but one fact we can all agree upon. Everybody loves Hugo.
Pictures (synced with V.O.) show Hurley as a baby (CUTE!).
- Chang: Born to humble surroundings, Hugo Reyes has always been a beacon of light for all who cross his path.
at Mr. Cluck’s Chicken, Mr. Cluck Chicken places with the Eiffel Tower, a snow-capped mountain, the pyramids of Giza.
Hurley in a black suit (white shirt) and yellow construction hat shakes hands with a small group of peeps, all in black with hats. A guy in a Mr. Cluck’s Chicken costume looks on.
- Chang: Hugo's lifelong love affair with chicken led him to acquire and then expand the Mr. Cluck's chain into a worldwide phenomenon.
Hurley wearing a Humane Society shirt [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] holding a teeny dog.
- Chang: The exponential growth of Hugo's success was startling. But financial success wasn't the end. It was the beginning. Hugo and giving became synonymous.
Hurley poses with 5 kids and Chicken Costume Guy [CCG] in front of Elephant in a zoo habitat [Get it? Habitat! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] (That’s the Honolulu Zoo, btw . They really need to update their elephant habitat!) Hurley poses with SAME 5 peeps at a ceremonial “cutting of the construction tape.” The 5 peeps, on with huge scissors, CCG [with the FACE blacked out!], and new guy with his hands in his pockets in front of a playground [Hurley not pictured].
Hurley poses in front of a big building. Lookit all the RED. A sign reads “BOX” next to him. Hurley cuts a big red ribbon w/same kids from zoo pic, same 5 peeps and CCG.
- Chang: Parks, playgrounds, hospitals, the Mr. Cluck's House for Children... the philanthropy was unparalleled.
Hurley in a “FEED EVERYONE” shirt poses with CCG in front of farm with sign saying, “Mr. Cluck’s EXPERIMENTAL FARM.” Final Image: Hurley in a black suit tips his hard hat to the camera.
- Chang: Which brings us to this evening and the opening of the Hugo Reyes Paleontology Wing at the Golden State Natural History [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] Museum. A lasting beacon of culture that bears the name of one of our city's greatest benefactors.
Dr. Pierre Chang at a podium in what looks like a dinner event thingy. Dr. Chang has not aged ONE day since we saw him in “The Incident,” which SUPPOSEDLY took place 30 years prior.
Spotlight on Hurley (red tie, blue suit) at a table with his mom, Carmen (in black and white dress accented with red. Cool red flowers in her hair). She looks skeptical as she claps along with everyone else. Hurley smiles and nods thanks as he gets a standing ovation.
Wordplay: It's Not Just For Crossword Puzzles
Let's take a closer look at the words (SPECIFICALLY chosen by the writers of LOST) used to describe Hugo/Hurley.
- We all agree upon: This is interesting. What we've always seen on LOST are the two sides/worlds in opposition. The flash world and the island world. The Others and our losties [remember: "A Tale of Two Cities?"] This tells me that Hugo is accepted in both worlds AND by the TWO different groups of peeps that occupy these two worlds (HUMANS and the OTHERS). This is good news! If everyone can agree, maybe they can unite or cooperate and save themselves in the coming "war."
- Humble surroundings, startling exponential success: Hurley wasn’t a CHOSEN one or preordained or “special” like John Locke’s been told over and over again. What I mean is, Hurley has never been marked for “destiny.” He’s been in on-the-job-training. By the end of this episode, we see that Hurley is coming up with a plan, and our losties are trusting, following and listening to him.
- Financial success not the end. It was the beginning: This one is tricky. I think that the task at hand, the thing that our have to do to make everything okay in the end might be a start up of a "new world" order, almost like starting from scratch.
- Beacon of light: Like a lighthouse, maybe? Lighthouses are FIXED MARKS in the DARKNESS that guide you home or help you avoid shipwreck. Jacob’s lighthouse is the endpoint of Jack’s journey of enlightenment. A BEACON is continuous signal in a fixed location used by travelers to orient themselves. If you are LOST at sea, for example, a beacon is pretty handy. A beacon can also be a tool for "gathering" peeps together. It beckons them ("Come into the light!"). It draws them in. The Looking Glass station was basically a beacon that allowed the submarine to return to the island. A beacon is also something you can use to help others people find YOU. I'm thinkin' Hurley’s job is to be the beacon, to illuminate the safest path home.
- Cross: Think "cross-over" as in, cross over to the other side or cross over between TV shows. When one fictional TV world intersects with another, it's called a crossover. Intersect is another good word to think about. The island is some kind of intersection between these two worlds. I think this is what needs to happen on LOST in order for the good guys to "win." These two sides, these two worlds have to blend somehow. [Also: Double-cross, cross to bear, cross=angry]
- House for Children: Children are an issue on the island, but I"m puzzled by this. If you can't have children/offspring, you die out -- plain and simple. To house someone is to give them shelter, usually at your own expense.
- Hugo and giving became synonymous: This seems pretty straightforward. HOWEVER, LOST is NEVER straightforward! I looked up a few synonyms for the word "giving," and besides "charitable," it also means: "deliver, hand, pass, put into the hands of; hand over, make over, deliver over, pass over, turn over," as in "I'm giving this to you" (Thesaurus.com). If Hugo and giving are synonymous, it could mean he'll be the turning point for the merge that's coming: the merge that will avoid 1) destruction and 2) war. I think Hurley is the peacemaker here.
- Synonymous: Another VERY interesting word! When two words are synonymous they LOOK and SOUND completely DIFFERENT, but they have the SAME MEANING, and they are INTERCHANGEABLE. It’s another allusion to Hurley on the island and the flash world. He's Hurley/Hugo on the island and Hugo in the flash. If Hurley shows up too (via memories), it shouldn't be a problem. These two guys are the same. [Think of Hurley as T-shirts and Hugo as business suits]
- Unparalleled: THIS is my favorite word drop! We’ve seen at least two of everyone (even Desmond as of “Happily Ever After”). Hurley, however, is Unparalleled – THIS flash Hurley and island Hurley are the SAME Hurley. I’ve noted in the past that Hurley is the only character who’s exactly the same guy the entire show. His situations have changed, he’s grown some confidence and taken more and more of a leadership role, but this is still HURLEY whether you call him HUGO or not. That is really frickin’ important because it means that Hurley’s is The Guy. He’s supposed to be the leader/guider now because he’s got all the abilities and now, under Jacob’s guidance, he’s got the skills. It’s time for Hurley to take his place and start doing his job. [Of everyone else on the island, Desmond is the only other one of our losties who's the same person in his flashes and on island -- UNTIL he gets zapped!]
- Path: This one is pretty obvious. You'll need to be on the right path to get where you want go. The path to "enlightenment," path to freedom, path to the other side.
- Surroundings: Good synonym for this word is ENVIRONMENT. When we go into a more in depth explanation of what the island and the flashes actually are, this will make more sense. For now, tuck "environment" in your brain's back pocket. To surround something is to contain it. Seen any containers lately? Like a wine bottle maybe? If you've got someone surrounded, it means they can't 1) leave, 2) win, or 3) continue fighting without being annihilated. You've got the drop on them. You have CHECK-MATED them. It's time for them to decide: Do they want to die or surrender?
- Love affair: Love, love, love. The great love affairs here have been more than obvious. Feeling LOVE is what triggers Charlie and Daniel in "Happily Ever After."
- Experimental: I don't have a doubt that research experiments (that were probably abandoned in an unethical, inhumane manner for financial reasons) have something to do with how this world was created and what's wrong with it now. [In the undershow, Mock Locke is actually quite angry about this and rants at Ben after Jacob dies.]
- Farm: Remember how Eko told John Locke he was a Hunter? In Locke's flash, he had to choose between being a hunter and being a farmer. I'm still on the fence about this one. [Also: Funny Farm = The Nuthouse]
- Feed Everyone: This is other one of those tricky wordplay words. Keep everyone from going hungry? Sure. But a feed can also be a signal or information feed. If you are being fed by someone else, you are receiving supplies that keep you alive and allow you to thrive and grow. Feeding everyone means no one is cut off. EVERYONE is on the GUEST LIST for DINNER.
- Culture: When Darlton described the primary conflict on LOST in a recent interview with Wired Magazine, they agreed that it's "chaos versus order," and it's been "there all along." Science v. faith has obviously led ourlosties down the path, but Order v. Chaos trumps Science v. Faith. Both science and faith are based on universal rules or principles. Order and Chaos AREN'T. Just like Good v. Bad and Light v. Dark, Order AND Chaos are both in the eye of the beholder. I think what we've seen on LOST is the group struggling to end the old world order battling the group or individuals struggling to maintain it. Given the clues we have here, there's a large combined faction that seems to be cool with working something out. [Culture is also in the eye of the beholder. Culture can also mean "our way of life." A culture of something is the observed (often accelerated) growth in a controlled, artificial environment (like bacteria).]
- Humble: This is not a positive word. When you humble someone, you take them down a notch. You devalue them, usually because they think they are more or as important than you are and you disagree. You"put them in their place." [WHERE THEY BELONG - Get it? Jacob tells Ricardo that the "darkness" is contained where it belongs.] If Hugo came from humble origins, it's likely he's from the "wrong side of the tracks."
- Acquire and expand: Remember "Manifest Destiny?" It's the philosophy that YOUR culture/society has the right and the edict to explore, exploit or pillage anywhere you damn well please. It was also the coin phrase Jefferson used to convince Americans not to freak when he bought everything from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean FROM NAPOLEON [Louisiana Purchase]. "It is our destiny to be in charge of everything available within the given limits" ["Sea to shining sea"]. Given that LOST has hammered the idea of Destiny with a capital D AND that Desmond wants Oceanic 815's manifest to "show them something," I think it's not much of a jump to think acquiring and expanding might be the primary issue of the war. This is a territorial war - NOT a war between good and evil. ["The universe is expanding."]
- Worldwide: This makes me think of worldwide web. Hm. Remember we are looking at two TYPES of worlds: the island world and the flash world. Here's the kicker: NEITHER is a complete, contained, mutually exclusive unit unto itself. Whatever's about to change, it will affect everything. ["Everything's going to change"]
- Phenomenon: This word means, "An observable fact or event," or A PERSON, THING OR OCCURENCE YOU CAN PROVE IS REAL TO SOMEONE ELSE (Holy CRAP that's cool!). It's "an object or aspect known through the senses rather than by thought or intuition" which means, if I can see it, you can see it too. We can agree that it exists. (For example: You can't see the movie in my head. This is good news if you are Matthew Fox). The more common use of phenomenon is to designate an observable fact or event that as rare, significant, unusual, or abnormal. "That girl's a phenom!" means she is an aberration, but usually in a good way, kinda like a child prodigy (at playing piano, maybe?). LOST is considered a phenomenon because the show has broken all the rules and still been successful (i.e. made BIG BUCKS).
- Bears: Polar bears! HA! Remember, Hurley's comic book had polar bears on the attack! To bear something is also to carry it OR to tolerate it. Ever heard the phrase, "It was more than I could bear"? We have the right to "bear arms." We also have the right to bear the responsibility for what we do with our "arms" while we are bearing them. To bear witness is to "provide evidence for" or "to testify in a court of law." I've also used it heard like this: "You all can bear witness (because y' all were watching and listening) - he confessed with his own mouth to me!" That means you guys can VERIFY I'm telling the truth because you were there when my story happened.
- Name: Wordplay with names is really rampant this season. Illana calls everyone (but Richard and Jacob) by their LAST names. When Desmond gets zapped, he ends up in a flash where peeps have the same first names, but different last names. Interesting. [Hurley/Hugo - two names that refer to ONE guy.]
- Our city: In "A Tale of Two Cities," we learned that the Others have set up a nice, cushy little neighborhood where Dharmaville used to be. By that time, our losties had set up camp on the beach and at the caves. Two sides: yours and mind. We could be looking at a merger here. Instead of one side triumphing over another, we could see the two sides cancel each other out (like James/Sawyer says: Let them fight it out. I'm outta here.). This might be a good thing in the end, because then their war won't hinder the merger process (the creation of a new world).
- Benefactor: Turns out, I love this word. If you are a helper, donor (includes donations of organs, tissue, or your entire bod to medical science), sponsor, provider, rescuer, liberator, bondsman (yeah - even the sleazy guy who puts up your bond money for you), accommodator, savior, deliverer, improver, (one who makes or facilitates improvement - one who FIXES or UPDATES - Get it?) humanitarian, Good Samaritan or fairy godmother, you are a benefactor. You can give a little or a lot. You can give money, cheese or roof tiles. It doesn't matter. You can be anonymous or print your logo on everything. If you are providing any type or level help for someone else, you are a benefactor. Given every other hint in Chang's speech, it's pretty clear - Hugo is SIGNIFICANTLY contributing in a POSITIVE way for a group or groups to DO SOMETHING.
- Paleontology: Today, USGS paleontologists are using the knowledge they gain in their study of fossils to answer important questions such as: (1) what was the world like in the past, (2) what were the forces that made the world change, and (3) how could these forces impact the world in our lifetime and that of future generations (USGS) . You can't study fossils unless you look at the EARTH. It's all about the geology.
WOW! And that’s only from the first few seconds of this episode! FYI: If all this wordplay business still doesn’t bounce with you, consider this: Besides the visuals and soundtrack, the only other way Team LOST has to give us hints and clues about the mysteries as they tell us this story (on the show itself) is through the script. Why would the visuals and soundtrack be stacked high with many layers of meaning and clues, but not the script?
Wordplay is everything on LOST. Learn it. Live it. Love it. (Trust me.)
Party on, LOST Fans!
