The Mystery Box

J. J. Abrams, American film director, composer, and screenwriter talks about why he is so invested in mystery. He was heavily involved in Lost as its co-creator and was involved with many other movies and TV shows which contain mystery. Abrams says that his love for mystery started with his late grandfather, Harry Kelvin, who owned an electronics business and would unscrew and open all kinds of electronics and got the young Abrams interested in all sorts of crafts.

Abrams then was given a Super 8 camera by his grandfather and later got a synthesizer which he used to make things. Abrams was also into magic tricks and his grandfather sometimes took Abrams to a magic store, Lou Tannen's Magic, in New York City. Abrams bought a box from that store but realized that he had never opened it. Abrams then realized that the reason he had never opened the box was because that it represented his late grandfather and also the unopened box represented the hope and potential of what was stored inside. It created endless possibilities which drew Abrams even closer to the endless possibilities stored in the mystery genre.

Abrams realized that mystery boxes were in whatever he did, like Lost. Mystery boxes were always present at points in the story whenever there were questions. These mystery boxes brought content and character to the screen.

I loved Abrams sense of humor throughout the whole video. He also liked how he used many references like "Star Wars", "E.T.", and "Jaws". He also had a very rich childhood where he molded his dreams into reality, something not many kids have the opportunity to do. His overall speech is something that I will forget in the back of my mind but It will surface itself again.