Gilligan's Island and Exile: Page 3



What they do on the island
makes it clear that Gilligan's Island
is a parable, of sorts, about us,
the "descendents" of Adam and Eve,
in the state of exile that is our lives.

One thing they do is they long to be saved.
And while they wait for the one who will deliver them,
they form a miniature society
that is a microcosm of society at large, with:

 

 

a leader 

  

a celebrity

a ruling class

and his wife

a knowledge class
and girl next door

and an oppressed working
 class and younger generation.

 

So Gilligan's Island is
about our own yearning to be saved
from this world of limitations and discomfort
and taken back to the better world
we intuitively know exists.

Each time the castaways almost make it off the island
and are foiled,
we enjoy being amused at their plight
and their foolishness,
which is really our own.

After all, we too are castaways
in a world not of our choosing.
And like them,
we hope for something better.

That makes Gilligan's Island a parable
about hope and hopelessness.

A foolish parable, to be sure,
but a parable nonetheless.


  

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by Ken Sanes.

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