*Bonus Post* - A look back at the DHARMA videos

I just thought it would be interesting to post the two Orientation videos that we have seen so far, so we can watch them side by side for comparison.

The SWAN Orientation video is the first video that we saw. This was on the 8mm film reel that Desmond kept hidden behind the hatch bookshelf. This was the very first glimpse we got into the Dharma Initiative. We learn about their psychological, zoological and electromagnetic experimentation. Also notice the reference to the "Utopian" society. It is explained that this hatch was a former laboratory for electromagnetic functions on "this sector of the island" and that not long after the experiments began, there was an "incident." Since that happened, they now have to push a button every 108 minutes. That is their sole purpose.

Swan Orientation Video


The PEARL Orientation video is the second video we see, when Locke discovers the second hatch on the island.The Pearl Station is number 5 of 6 on the island. Inside this hatch is a monitoring station, where the activities of other Dharma participants are observed, though they are not aware they are being monitored or that they are the subjects of an experiment. Notice that he references the Pala Ferry (which we first saw in "The Glass Ballerina" episode). He tells them to take the Pala Ferry back to the barracks after their 8 hour shift. This would imply that the dock is where the Dharma group goes to and from the islands (one island where they live, one island where they "work"). Also notice that this video is on a VCR tape (as opposed to the previous film which was on an 8mm film reel).

Pearl Orientation Video


The interesting thing about these two videos is that they are conducted by the same man, however he gives two different names. In the SWAN video, he introduces himself as Dr. Marvin Candle. In the PEARL video, he says he is Dr. Mark Wickman. Why the two names? (Candle-WICK?) Also, in the SWAN video, notice that his left arm is fake. It just hangs there the whole time and you can tell it is not his real arm. However, in the PEARL video, he clearly has the use of both arms. This would imply that the Pearl video was actually made first, before he lost the use of his arm. What happened to him that he lost his arm? And why would the Pearl video be made on a VCR tape and then the Swan video made on an 8mm film? BOTH videos show a copyright date at the end that says 1980. If they were both filmed at the same time, why would they be filmed on two different formats? It appears that they were not filmed at the same time because of the doctor's "arm." Was the Dharma group trying to trick the viewer into believing the "Pearl" video was made at the same time as the Swan Orientation? Or perhaps the Pearl video was re-made at a later date (remember how Desmond's first "partner" cut out bits and pieces of the film reel - though we still don't know why he did this - maybe he also did something to the VCR tape. There is something they are trying to hide.

**On another note: I do NOT think that the group who we know as "The OTHERS" is the same group as the Dharma Initiative. We obviously know that the presence of the Dharma group is all over the island (the Orientation videos, the food supplies, the hatches, the logos everywhere) - but from what we have seen of the OTHERS, I really do not think they are part of Dharma. The Others appeared to truly not know much about Desmond and the hatch, or what happened when the hatch imploded ("when the sky turned purple"), and they did not even know about Desmond's sailboat. Also, from Ben's repeated statement that "we are the good ones" implies there is another group on the island (the "bad" ones). I think that we might not have even seen the real Dharma group yet. Because the Others do not wear clothes with Dharma logos (but Desmond did). Clearly there are different "groups" all over the island. I think that maybe the Others may have been part of that group (a long time ago) but somehow separated themselves into two group (of the "good" ones and the "bad" ones). They also could be the children of the original Dharma group, born into a life of "experiments." It may be that the OTHERS are telling the truth, maybe they really are the good ones, and are trying to help the rest of the survivors from being taken into the Dharma group's experiments. They only want the good ones, though. I also still think that Jack's dad is a part of Dharma and that he had to "fake" his own death so he could disappear and go live on the island permanently. I think I've mentioned this in the past, but he could even be Alvar Hanso (who they showed from behind the window in the Swan video).