In 1971, there was an experiment conducted by a Stanford team (led by a Dr. Philip Zimbardo) called “The Prison Experiment”. Two groups were arbitrarily chosen from a group of college students, one to play “prisoners” and one to play “prison guards” in a realistic prison-environment. After less than a week, it became apparent that the “guards” were taking their roles to heart and acting incredibly sadistic and inhumanely towards the “prisoners”, forgetting that they themselves were part of the experiment and being observed. The experiment was broken up shortly thereafter, and Zimbardo’s research today is criticized as highly unethical. It is often analyzed in Psych 101 type classes as evidence to the baseness of human nature (very “Lord of the Flies“).
In last week’s episode of LOST, Locke & Eko discovered the Pearl Station, where not only did the participants watch the button-pushers in the Swan Station, but were watched themselves (there are cameras pointing inwards). There was a second orientation tape, this time stressing that participants of The Pearl need to understand it is of utmost importance that they record all the actions of those in The Swan, but are given no extra information as to what the function of “pressing the button” is, just that the Swan participants think the job has meaning.
For some reason, this brings me to think of the Stanford Prison Experiment, though not to such a cruel or harsh level. The Pearl participants are made to think they have the upper hand over The Swan participants, and are given a job where they are observers (sort of like omnipotency?). Very Skinner Box, once again.
Would they forget that they too, are being watched — and who is watching them? Does their own task of observing and recording have function (I’m not fully convinced either task does, to be honest)? Is there some sort of viscious circle or feedback loop, where the actions from within the Swan influence those within the Pearl, and vice versa?
You always ask the questions we’re all thinking but you never have any answers Cecelia
There are a couple of big differences between the two hatches. The Pearl recipients get to leave after 8 hours and only serve a tour of duty of three weeks. Compare that to the Swan tours. We can’t tell for sure that Locke and Eko explored the whole thing but there didn’t seem to be any hall ways or extra rooms attached. No faux sunlight like in the Swan. Of course, those things wouldn’t be needed if you were only at work for 8 hours. So is there another door/entrance? And more importantly, if there is, were either one of them marked “QUARANTINE”? The Swan and Arrow both were marked. You would have thought that between Locke and Eko, one of them would have thought to look!
It may seem like a minor detail, but if the Swan and Arrow were marked “Quarantine” and the Pearl wasn’t, that could be a big psychological factor right there. Maybe there is a time threshold for contracting the “sickness” that is just over three weeks, necessitating that the Pearl workers can only serve for that limited timeframe. You could hardly let people come and go every 8 hours with the word Quarantine on the door.
Personally, if I had to choose, I think I’d rather push the button in the Swan. The work at the Pearl seems rather dull.
I definately agree that the hatches are linked. What if the real “test” is of the character of the workers at the Pearl. Let’s assume (yes I know, “Dark Territory”) that the Pearl workers watched over all the hatches and they have strict instruction that they are to record only. After about a week or so, they start to realize that every time a person does so-and-so at the Arrow, so-and-so happens at the Staff, which makes a horrible thing happen to the people in the Flame, which can only be stopped when the people at the Swan punch in the code. How long could the people in the Pearl sit back and just record it all, without breaking the rules and trying to get involved?
Too many questions…
i still find it strange that the camera in the pearl was facing inward BUT EXPOSED. the tape states that no other participants are aware of being recorded, and doensn’t mention to the pearl participants that they specifically WILL be recorded. so it’s been bothering me for days now why the camera recording them is exposed?
1 of 2 things. either it was live and the “watchers of the watchers” wanted them to know they were also being documented. or it wasn’t live and it was exposed to suggest to the watchers that they were being documented, even though they weren’t.
but either way…why? what does that mean? driving me nuts.
I believe that the camera in the Pearl was not supposed to be exposed. A part of the ceiling had been removed by force to expose both wiring and the camera. Maybe the former inhabitants of the Pearl realised that they were being watched as well? That could explain why it seemed to have been abandoned.
I too get the impression that the camera was exposed because the inhabitants discovered it. Perhaps that prompted their putting an end to going along with the program. It looks like someone tore the place up sometime along the way. (They replaced the monitor with one that appers to be from the Swan.)
It is odd to think they have no sleeping quarters. And where do they prepare food? We all have so many questions to wrestle with! (That is the best part isn’t it?)
It seems clear that the computer continues to monitor Swan so someone must be watching from Pearl, but when? and what purpose does the phneumatic tube serve now (other than to have sent John’s map into the great unknown?)
The Orientation video shows a number of folks “working for” the DeGroots so there must have been a group who did not participate in hatches other than Pearl and perhaps they will feel like they are better then the others. Unless working in the Pearl is the last tour of duty. (But I would sure be pissed if I had been in the other hatches before coming to Pearl.) This sure plays into the theory that the Others are the leftover subjects of the DeGroots psych experiment. So that probably means I am not correct.
Thanks Cecilia for more thoughtful questions!
Great post Cecilia. I read about the Stanford experiment some weeks ago but at the time it felt more connected to Prison Break than Lost. After seeing The Pearl though, the similarities are more apparent.
As stated above, maybe the The Pearl inhabitants discovered that they where being watched, abandoned the experiment and “freed” the other test subjects (and maybe even became The Others). Why they then didn’t manage to tell Desmond about it being an experiment is the big question. Maybe the indicent (smoke monster?) stopped them?
jimseas–I wish I had all the answers, but I most certainly don’t when it comes to this show.
Leslie also pointed out some other interesting details (though it may just be that not every corner has been explored yet and shown to us)… also note that the duration of the observation is much less than that of the hatchmonkeys who press the button (only 3 weeks, compared to the many years the Swan participants have to wait for “replacements” according to Desmond).
Strange… and sorry but I can only raise more questions rather than answer them (I think you’d have to talk to JJ and Damon/Carlton to get those).
Oh, and here are transcripts of the orientation video for those who want to review it:
[quote comment="2248"]i still find it strange that the camera in the pearl was facing inward BUT EXPOSED. the tape states that no other participants are aware of being recorded, and doensn’t mention to the pearl participants that they specifically WILL be recorded. so it’s been bothering me for days now why the camera recording them is exposed?
1 of 2 things. either it was live and the “watchers of the watchers” wanted them to know they were also being documented. or it wasn’t live and it was exposed to suggest to the watchers that they were being documented, even though they weren’t.
but either way…why? what does that mean? driving me nuts.[/quote]
Hey Nate. Welcome! I saw your first post on a previous article but will reply to this here. I think this is a good question you’re asking, about whether the higher ups just WANT the watchers to think they’re being watched, or whether they really are. It goes to the heart of the matter for them: does anyone read what they write in all those books or are they just part of the behavioral aspect of the experiment?
I do think they would be suspicious of being in an experiment already, however, since they know they’re watching others who are UNaware of being watched. This leads me to believe that they would not really be too bothered by a camera obviously pointing at them. Might stop them from pickin their noses or goofing off too much, but if anything, they might be MORE diligent at their job. =]
Some other posters have mentioned that the camera may have been hidden rather than exposed on purpose, and then ripped out at some point when discovered. I think the damage to the ceiling, the dust everywhere, debris, seems more likely to have been caused by the plane hitting the ground there on that circle in the dirt (not a “?”). BTW: Did anyone else but me think that circle represented a pearl?
Hi,
I feel very sceptical about this new Pearl hatch, I mean, unlike the Swan, it was more reassuring than frightening to discover it. It seems like the island is a cool place where you get TV : at the end of the day, why would the losties be so scared by the “others” ? They never spoke to them, maybe they are funny people playing hide-and-seek on their weekends coming from Fidji’s …
Sorry for being negative, I love Lost but the fact it always rises questions and never answers become a bit too simplistic for the audience. So far, I can’t see any reasons why observing people would be dangerous for anyone, on the contrary it looks fun !! As John says “all this is a joke” : I believe so and I can’t see no clues to think differently (can you ?), everything seems so useless (writting down observations … God what a stupid activity !!).
What fascinated me was the story about the psychic’s daughter : do you think he also lied to Claire, when he told her to go to LA or try to raise her child ? If yes, he’s part of the Dharma initiative.
But the problem with the Dharma initiative is I can’t see the point of their activity : ideology, religion, crazy-shrinks ? All this seems non-sense and would either deceptive or disappointing.
On Rising too many questions, you always risk to disappoint the audience, I am afraid it’s gonna happen …
i have heard a few people make the comment that the show raises more questions than it answers, and this may be so. but to say that they “never” answer them, i believe, is false. there are many questions that have been answered, normally a few every episode.
what i believe people are really saying is “why don’t i know what i want to know yet”, and that…in and of itself…is a good indication that the show is doing exactly what it should.
the show answers all kinds of questions, and i really don’t think that it’s gone too far at all without answering the major ones. i would agree that this second season took a while to get going…but in the end it’s going to pay off. the writers have already said we would see the walt story resolved (or at least know what’s going on there) and we’re apparently going to be finding out a LOT about the others in the next 2 episodes as well.
i personally don’t see many people (at least comparitively) turning the tv off and giving up lost because the writers want to make us ache for the answers before they give them to us.
they’ll come.
I’m sure that I shouldnt be posting this here, but thehansofoundation.org has just put a press release up asking us to not believe anything in the “Bad Twin” book. Whats interesting is that if you go to the parent folder of that, you will see the PDF whose link is below, as a cease order for selling the book…
http://thehansofoundation.org/press/extra/uploads/paris/legalmiller_final.pdf
Yeah Nate I really agree with you, but my point is “of course they can answer questions but HOW … ” ?
This is one thing to rise big questions, very mysterious things in order to create suspense, but it’s another one to answer those questions by being as creative and coherent as the audience expects.
My point is that through the Peal hatch (latest), it conveys me the feeling that the authors may be floundered, repeating the same schemes again and again … I hope not and that this time the question mark and the new hatch would have a more fascinating sense than just like “John you must believe me that is something craaaazy !”. Well who can convince you by telling you gotta, that’s not the way it works I think.
All I am saying is I am crazy about Lost but I am neither convinced nor fascinated by the Pearl hatch because it just sounds like another “joke” (like the previous Swan which already exists and is cool) : I hope next clue will be better, or at least that Pearl will turn out to be something else that just an experience of some stupid Asian swindler come on the island to spend his holydays twenty six years ago …
agreed.
I remember watching a movie many years ago. William Shatner was in the movie and it was about an experiment that tested the subject’s response to an authority. The subject was told to (I think) press a button or turn a knob that would administer a shock to another person. I don’t think the shocks were real, but most of the subjects in the experiment would obey and apply the maxiumum voltage even though they heard a lot of screaming and loud banging. Reading this and seeing the word ‘obey’ on the sublymonal site made me think of the movie. I found a Wikipedia entry on the experiments here
Did anyone notice that the asian guys name in the pearls orientation video was different than the one he used in the swans orientation film? Why would he use two different names?
Love the show and your posts. Lots of insightful additional questions.
[quote comment="2336"]Did anyone notice that the asian guys name in the pearls orientation video was different than the one he used in the swans orientation film? Why would he use two different names?
Love the show and your posts. Lots of insightful additional questions.[/quote]
Maybe it’s not the same guy… his twin brother, maybe?