Lost as Hypertext

[axcho]

I'm not familiar with the TV series Lost, but I found this article comparing it to hypertext stories in an interesting discussion that may have relevance to the design of interactive stories.

Lost as Hypertext

In Lost, the connections between characters form the essential hypertext content, which is emphasized by the structure of flashbacks that give the viewer privileged information about characters. I’d like to posit that hypertext as seen in Lost is an example of a narrative technique which cross-references character, theme, genre, and elements of parody[2]. Paramount are the connections unfolding between characters, ranging from mundane, apparently coincidental meetings in the airport, to more unlikely and in-depth meetings, reaching back through their entire lives and the lives of their families. The flashbacks that comprise backstories are interwoven with the present-day plot, and the two story components are generally structured to illustrate a common theme, with a character realizing something about him- or herself, or making a decision in context with previous decisions.

Maybe some of you are familiar with the series? Any thoughts?

[JordanMagnuson]

Thanks for sharing, Alex. I'm familiar with Lost to a point (I think I watched the first 2 or 3 seasons). On the one hand, this seems pretty basic: tell a story where you interweave the past with the present to form unified and interesting characters, etc. On the other hand, I think we can learn a lot by analyzing things at a basic level,  and this seems like an interesting starting point from which to discuss nonlinearity.