Lost on Tech Stocks

In college, I remember my professor telling me that The Wizard of Oz wasn’t really about a girl and her dog who get blown over the rainbow. He said that the story is really a political allegory all about the events of the 1896 presidential election. Since my professor was a former 60’s radical, I just assumed this was some weird LSD/banana peel flashback. I mean, this was just too weird to be true. It had to be a coincidence, like playing Dark of the Moon during, well…The Wizard of Oz.
But slowly, my professor convinced me. He said that L. Frank Baum was mocking the politicians of his day in the guise of an innocent children’s story. The Scarecrow represented the farmers (Baum thought they didn’t have any brains). The Tin Man (factory workers) was heartless. And William Jennings Bryan was the Cowardly Lion who was trying to make it to the White House (Emerald City) on the issue of the gold standard (yellow brick road). Gold is measured in ounces. Oz. Get it? I don’t know who Toto was, but I’m sure he fit in somewhere.
I couldn’t believe it. I felt like my whole childhood had been robbed. Instead of watching the Wizard of Oz, I had really been watching Agronsky & Co. Is anything sacred? Ever since then, I’ve been a cynic. Later, I went to business school and now I do this. You see, the scars never heal.
Now I looked for hidden meanings in everything. Nothing is what it seems. I look for codes in Spaghettios. I was way ahead of this da Vinci person. And now, dear reader, I’m going to share my most brilliant discovery with you. The hit television show Lost is not what it seems. The more I watch it, the more I realize the truth. Lost is an allegory about…tech stocks.
dun dun DUNN!!
Now, this isn’t some “crazy” theory typed out by some “weirdo” on the Interweb. I have “proof.” If you watch carefully, every character is oddly similar—too similar—to a tech stock. The connections are down right eerie. My firm belief is that the producers of Lost are sending us a message. What it is, I know not. All I can say is that I report, you decide.
Let’s look at the characters one-by-one. We’ll start with Dr. Jack Sheppard who is quite obviously a thinly-disguised Microsoft (INTC). Dr. J is the center of the island. He’s the leader and we understand that his fate is tied to the fate of the survivors. Jack is basically an older version of Charlie Salinger on Party of Five. He’s the prissy drama queen who’s in charge. But instead of his parents dying and bravely leading his family onward, it’s a plane crash, and he’s bravely leading the survivors onward. Instead of Jennifer Love Hewitt, we have Maggie Grace. Instead of Scott Wolf, we have sand.
Not only is Microsoft the largest tech stock, it’s easily the most influential. If MSFT says something, others might grumble, but they’ll go along eventually. Jack is arrogant and bossy, but everyone knows that he’s smart. Being a doctor on that island is like making software in today’s economy. At the end of the day, no one can question Redmond. Also, Microsoft would have some of the best flash back scenes. Jack’s father is IBM (IBM). There’s a whole Oedipal subtext floating around.
Hugo “Hurley” Reyes and Google (GOOG). Hurley is everyone’s favorite character. He’s the most fun; Hurley is laid back and funny. But even he has a dark secret. Like the Google Dolls, Hurley is filthy rich, and he has some odd connection to the series of numbers (Google’s algorithms!). I could even see Hurley arguing TNG plot lines with Sergey and Larry. Also like Hurley, Google is a bit overinflated. That fit is just too much. But like Google, we have no idea what the future holds. What does it all mean? In the end, Hurley/Google is an enigma, but we can’t help liking him.
Warning: Plot spoiler.
This concludes Part I of my Lost/Tech Stock Theory. I’ll have more as the market/season develops.

Posted by on October 30th, 2005 at 10:59 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.