Thanks to a bit of feedback in the Honorary Oakley thread we’ve had a few suggestions for the Oakley this month, and, after some thought and deliberation, it has been decided that the Honorary Oakley for October goes to yet another ‘character’ as opposed to a ‘real’ woman.

Why? Well, the Oakley thread is there so our members can submit their ideas for people they’d like to see posted and honoured here, so it would somewhat of an injustice to ignore those suggestions in favour of what many may see as ‘more worthy’ recipients.

This month in particular was tough, especially as Safia Ahmed-jan (or Ama Jan) was shot and killed in front of her home (and she is someone we need to highlight, for her work and life). So, if you’ll forgive us, we mention her here briefly—though that’s not to say she won’t feature at a later date—despite this Oakley being about someone else. Please take the time to read about Safia, thus the link. In essence she was an Afghan women’s rights leader who spoke out against the Taliban’s treatment of women. When assassinated last week (aged 65) she held the position of provincial director of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kandahar Province. She was leaving her home to go to work when she was shot multiple times. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for her killing. Prior to Safia’s position at the Ministry for Women’s Affairs she was a teacher and school head mistress.

This month’s Oakley is not a ‘real’ hero—which Safia clearly was—but, in the world our Oakley inhabits she was just that, despite rather dubious beginnings. She worked on the side of the law and suffered personal tragedy; contrary to her vigilante actions (which we’ll consider momentarily) she remained a ‘good’ person and a survivor. That’s why this month Ana Lucia Cortez is the ThumbBandits.com Honorary Oakley for October.
Thanks to Danielle and Ruth for the suggestion.

Spoiler Alert: This article will cover Season One and Two of the TV series LOST.

I am the Law!
Ana Lucia is a character not without flaws, and her story throws up an interesting moral dilemma within the framework of the Lost storyline. As a police officer, it is Ana Lucia’s sworn duty to ‘serve and protect’, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Whilst on a call to a burglary, Ana Lucia is shot, saved only by her flack vest. Her unborn child to boyfriend Danny isn’t so lucky, however. The resulting trauma and months of both physical and psychological therapy are hard for Ana Lucia and her boyfriend Danny leaves her during that period. When Ana Lucia returns to duty she has trouble fitting back in and has clashes with colleagues, including her boss, the captain of the police precinct, who also happens to be her mother. Ana Lucia’s moral conflicts come to a head when the man who shot her and killed her unborn child is brought in as a suspect. Ana is asked to identify him in a line-up, but she doesn’t, instead letting him walk. She then tracks his movements and later waits for him to leave a bar, at which time she shoots him in cold blood.

The Missing Link
Ana Lucia is linked to the survivors of Lost in more ways than purely being on the plane. It is the show’s main protagonist Jack that makes up this link, for it is Jack’s father that hires Ana Lucia and takes her to Australia as his personal security guard. You see, Ana has since left the police force and is working in airport security when she meets Jack’s father in the airport bar. He propositions her to join him on a trip to Australia as his personal security and she accepts. Despite Ana Lucia killing the burglar who had initially shot her, she’s still portrayed as a ‘goodie’ albeit with a dark edge, and this is shown in her first job for Jack’s father, when he becomes aggressive towards a woman he claims is the mother of his daughter. Ana Lucia steps in and breaks it up and tries to talk sense into him. However, this fails and they go their separate ways; Jack’s father to the nearest bar and Ana Lucia home to her mother—or so she thinks. The final scenes prior to the crash of Oceanic 815 consist of Ana phoning her mother from the airport in tears and apologetic, telling her mother, “I made a mistake, Mom. You knew, so I got as far away from you as I could. But now, I want to come home, Mom.” This brief exchange shows Ana Lucia’s sorrow concerning prior events in her life, and also her mother’s forgiveness as she states she’ll meet her at the airport upon her arrival.

Island Life and Paranoia…
After the plane’s tail section crashes on the island, Ana Lucia takes up a role of leadership within the small group of survivors. She promises two children that they’ll be okay, but they’re subsequently kidnapped by the ‘Others’. This again shows that Ana Lucia has a softer side than the aggressive persona utilised throughout most of her time on screen. She’s not only fighting with true enemies, she is also, to some degree, at war with herself, because of the guilt she feels over the shooting and the difficulties of having let the children down. In a sense, these events harden Ana Lucia’s character, because she wants to ensure that the small group of survivors stay alive. If Ana Lucia were truly a bad person, she would not care what happened to the other survivors. But she does, and deeply. As if the poor woman hasn’t gone through enough, she then makes the error in judgement of imprisoning one of the survivors that she believes to be an ‘Other’. Although Nathan (the one imprisoned) turns out not to be an ‘Other’ and his eventual death is little to do with Ana Lucia, she takes the guilt of what’s happened, blaming herself for essentially not being good enough to spot the real culprit. Though she eventually uncovers and dispatches the true ‘Other’ in the end, it is only through self-defence.

Although these acts are, indeed, contrary to what the Oakley stands for, her leadership, compassion, and strength are exactly what it stands for. So, in the same way that we can honour someone such as Battlestar Galactica’s Number Six, so too we can honour Ana Lucia. Her leadership in the face of adversity, her strength given to help others survive, and her tenacity in the face of peril should all be commended. It’s just a shame the character was wiped out before she was seen returning to true self, the smiling, friendly character first seen in the airport bar. Looking forward to returning to her mother, to face her crimes and once more find herself. Ana Lucia we salute you!

Well this sucks.. who do I help first!

Ana Lucia Cortez is played by actress Michelle Rodriguez in the hit series LOST