The hurtful comments of the writers of ‘Lost’ for which they are accused of racism: “I have never heard anything like this in my life”

Anyone who has lived through the beginning of the 21st century, and who has been the least bit close to the contents of television and pop culture, will quickly list ‘Lost’ as one of the most famous television series of the last decades.

However, what some do not know is that the long serial drama hosted numerous controversies behind its cameraswhich will now be published in a book entitled: ‘Burn it down: Power, Complicity and a call for change in Hollywood’from the author Maureen Ryan. In his work, a whole chain of events is recounted that exposes the cruelty, abuse of power, misogyny and racism (among others) that have been experienced throughout the history of American film production.

The author has advanced an excerpt from her book in Vanity Fair. In this, he analyzes the abuses that took place on the filming set and in the scriptwriters’ rooms of ‘Lost’, accompanied by testimonies from actors in the cast and members of the writing team.

Some of the figures leading the complaints are Harold Perrineauactor in the series and whom we have been able to see in movies like ‘Matrix Reloaded’; Monica Owusu-Breen, screenwriter of ‘Lost’ and other titles such as ‘Marvel, Agents of SHIELD’; and Melinda Hsu Taylor, screenwriter and producer.

In the case of Perrineau, commented on the progression that his character, Michael Dawson, had been experiencing in the series. Despite having a leading role in the first batch of episodes, during the second season the presence of her character was gradually mitigated, until it abruptly disappeared at the end of it. In the third she would only appear in one chapter, in the fourth she would return more regularly in several chapters, and in the sixth she would appear in a single episode.

In his interview with Ryan, the actor commented that this had happened immediately after having spoken with the showrunners, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuseabout the stereotypes that were being represented and about the fact that non-white characters were being demoted to the background.

In response to this, the producers released Perrineau from her contract as a main cast member.

The matter worsens when Ryan talks to other members of the team. Owusu-Breen and Hsu Taylor they exposed a series of racist comments, bullying and power plays that had become commonplace within the writers’ room.

“All I wanted to do was write a few good episodes for a great series. That was impossible with that team,” said Owusu-Breen, who co-wrote the third season. “There was no way to cope with that situation. Part of the thing was that they didn’t like characters from other races. When you get home and before seeing your children you have to spend an hour crying to release all the accumulated stress… It is impossible for you to write anything good later.”

The writers also commented that this whole hostile environment was well known within Hollywood circles. However, this was tolerated because the series was an international success, especially by the usual standards of the time.

“I can only describe it as hazing,” continued Owusu-Breen. “It looked like high school, but relentlessly cruel. I hadn’t heard anything like it in my entire career.“

Among some of the comments that the screenwriter rescues, the following stand out:

“There was a lot of bullshit, and a lot of racist bullshit, and laughter. It was ugly. I was like, ‘I don’t know if they’re taking it as a joke or if they’re serious.’ But it wasn’t funnyOwusu-Breen kept remembering.

These brief examples are part of a long list of cases that are listed in the author’s work.

One of the two showrunners commanding, Damon Lindelof, has recently commented on his version of the whole situation. The producer admitted that “there was a high level of insensitivity” during the production of the series, and that had “failed” as bosswhen it comes to maintaining a positive environment for workers.

“My level of inexperience as a manager and as a boss… My role was to moderate a creative environment and make risky decisions, but preserving safety and comfort within that process… I failed in that task.”

Ryan points out that his book’s mission is to demonstrate that “one of the fundamental pillars of the industry is that those responsible for the greatest successes often escape the consequences when it comes to their actionsattitudes and forms of management.”

Behind-the-scenes stories from other popular shows are also exposed in Ryan’s book. like ‘Saturday Night Live’, ‘The Goldbergs’, ‘Sleepy Hollow’… And interviews with performers like Evan Rachel Wood (‘Westworld’) or Orlando Jones (‘American Gods’).