We Like It, We Love It, We Want Some More of It: The Allure of Time Travel
Time travel has been a growing theme in literature and film since the Father of Science Fiction, H.G. Wells, introduced the idea in his 1895 novel, The Time Machine. Since the novels release, writers and movie producers have drawn from Well’s imaginative ideas and expanded it to unexpected hype. Time travel has evolved over time from a dream into something that many believe is possible. The hundreds of successful movies and novels using time travel have caused me to ask the question, what is it about time travel that is so appealing? To answer the aforementioned question, I have categorized all time travel literature and film into four types that I have named “exotic
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So rather than experiencing stability, security, and satisfaction in the present environment, the feeling is there is more and better elsewhere, and anything less than ideal won’t do. Whether it’s with relationships, careers, or where you live, there is always one foot out the door… This is where the element of fantasy comes in, and with the fantasy comes projection. We’re going to want what we don’t have, and there’s a fantasy that we’ll get what we don’t have, and that the parts that we’re currently happy with won’t be sacrificed in this change. However, what ends up happening is that after the “honeymoon phase” of making the change, we find ourselves wanting to flip to the other side of the fence again because we discover that there are other things that we don’t have, and because the novelty of the change wears off. It ends up being true, that we always want what we don’t have, even if we’ve already jumped the fence several …show more content…
The hindsight bias, as defined in the article Hindsight Bias and Developing Theories of Mind by Andrew N. Meltzoff and Geoffrey R. Loftus, occurs when “people armed with advanced knowledge of an outcome overestimate the likelihood of that particular outcome, in essence claiming that they ‘knew it all along’” (Meltzoff). People who are victims of this very common bias can be drawn to the idea of going to the past to fix all of their problems because they live in the present. Knowing what the present holds, people believe that if they went back in time, they could change the future and, in turn, have a better
In “The Cold Equations”, a short story by Tom Godwin, Godwin did some interesting things with time as he described the unfortunate story of a girl who stowed away illegally on a small spacecraft. The girl, Marilyn, did not know the consequence would be her own death. Unquestionably, in “The Cold Equations,” Tom Godwin manipulated time in order to influence the pace of the plot, because the manipulation and presence of time and deadlines creates suspense, inspires increased interest, and purposefully instills a sense of impending doom.
Human nature tells us to want what we can't or don't have. Everything from people to a toy to a kind of hairstyle – we just always want what isn't ours. Chris McCandless from Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild is no exception. He lives his life as part of an upper-middle class family, is smart, and goes to and does well in college, but he still feels like something is missing from his life. He want something completely opposite of the life he's used to. Chris McCandless spent a lot of time looking for something entirely different from what he already had and while he found true happiness it eventually lead to his demise.
...ourse, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”
Frank Baums, The Wizard of Oz is arguably one of the most popular films made. Even though it was released in 1939, nearly three-quarters of a century ago, the film continues to entertain audiences and speak to them in a personal way. The question that comes to the mind when analyzing this film is: What is it about this film that gives it such timelessness? When reflecting on the film’s timeless qualities, it seems clear the plot is one of the things that enable it to maintain its relevance. Primarily, the plot of The Wizard of Oz is timeless because it is such an excellent example of the heroic journey, both in literally and cinematically. This journey of self-awareness is a metaphor for growth, which is something we all search to discover at some time in our lives.
Travelling through time is certainly easy to imagine. You step into the time machine; press a few buttons; and emerge out not just anywhere – but anywhen. However, in reality things aren’t quite as convenient as science fiction would suggest, as you will understand later on.
Well, that’s what humans look for in life isn’t it? That’s why we take chances, leaps of faith, and take shots in the dark. We go through change and sometimes, it may be a struggle, but that’s what makes us stronger. It’s how we learn. Sometimes we’ll take desperate measures to get through the dark times. We will go through a “zone” or make our way past obstacles to get to what we need to make everything better. It may not be a “Golden Sphere”, but it will make good with what we have. We may be pointless little spec in the Universe, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our lives and make do with what we have. It may not be a Utopia, but that’s okay. We’re human, things won’t be perfect and we will fail, but as long as we have hope, well find
The realm of fantasy does not only exist in stories, myths, or legends but also finds its places in the film industry. Film just like stories can capture an audience. By the use of metaphors, film gives us a visual experience that not only expands our horizons but also creates dimension. In Terry Gillian’s 1981 film, Time Bandits, we see the metaphorical value of his film as they share with their audience the themes of biblical good verses evil along with a secondary theme of man and nature verses technology.
to the fact that not everything is as well as it seems and that this
All three films show alternate and parallel time lines. They express what if scenarios for the viewer. These films show how life can change depending on choices we make or time itself.
The traveler must not alter a historical event that originally provided the motivation to time travel in the first place, as doing so could remove that motivation.
One of the biggest struggles with time travel is the infinite amount of paradoxes, the most famous being the Grandfather Paradox. Imagine traveling through time and getting into a fight and killing the person. At that point in time it was oblivious to you that the man you just murdered was your grandfather, but how? If a man was to go back and kill his grandfather he would’ve never been born thus meaning, he couldn’t go back and kill him so does that mean grandpa is still dead? If time travel were to occur anomalies and paradoxes would spread, all over the world. Also, along with paradoxes there is the possibility that time travel could potentially be dangerous. According to Jeff Tollaksen a professor of physics at Chapman University “Humans may not be able to time travel because traveling at the speed of light would be
...from the future has given us the secrets to do so? Is it because the future has not been acted out yet? Or has it been, and we are simply the past, seeing it as the present? Time travel has been a long debated subject. One such debate is, can it even be done? Many models of the big bang suggest that it can, while the theory of relativity says that it cannot be done.
Time Travel has always struck close to the imagination of the minds. From H.G. Wells ' "The Time Machine" to blockbuster films like "Back to the Future" - for years, time travel was the stuff of science fiction and crazy-eyed mad men but as physicists approach the subject of time travel with new advances in scientific theories and equipment, the possibility of time travel has become a more legitimate field for scientific endeavours. This paper will argue the possibility of time travel and the positive effects that this discovery will bring forth to modern day society: technological advancements.
Ever wondered what life would be like in the future? In the novel, The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells, The Time Traveller is curious to see what the world would be like in the future. He builds a time machine and ventures out into the depths of time and space, precisely the time 802,701 AD where life has become more simple with two types of people, the Eloi, and Morlocks. Time can be very complicated and easy to mess with. This is why the idea of time plays a big part in the theme of the novel.
Growing up in the Smith household wasn’t so bad. We certainly didn’t have all the finer things in life like some of my friends. Now that doesn’t mean we were poor, or we walked around in raggedy cloths. It just put things into a different perspective. For instance, I knew that the shoes I picked out in the beginning of the school year needed to last me the majority of the year. My Grammy often would buy my clothes to help my parents out, and I was definitely grateful. Still I was a typical kid who didn’t understand why I couldn’t have what all the other kids had. For example, the newest skateboard or Nike shoes. At a young age, my dad decided to follow in his father’s (Papa), footsteps and work for the family business.