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These pages assume you have already seen the Perception pages, if you havent, its recommended that you click this link. |
In manic time-travel fashion, I have just watched the whole 112 mins of Back to the Future.
( I shall reword that one day so it makes sense. )
Just incase you havent seen the film Back to the Future (one),
1985 - regarded as the present day.
Problem : The car is wrecked.
Marty has a friend,
What becomes scientifically interesting here is how any of his 1955 interactions will effect the normal future timeline of which he is used to, and of course of which he belongs.
If you have viewed my perception pages (link at top of this page)
Back to the Future (one) manages to follow perception ONE
This follows perception ONE perfectly.
Next we see a caged 1955 Marty trying desparately to don a Cilla Black personna in the vain hope of recreating the moment cupid decided to pierce the hearts of his teeny parents, and all before he dissapears from history.
So, Marty manages to set up a new scenario where his mother, Lorraine,
As a time adjudicator, I wonder what the rush is for, since TIME cannot run out!
This is basically the confusion which Back to the Future (one) has between two perceptions of time travel causality.
One further confusion which exists within this film is towards the end.
This is a splendid example of Chaos Theory, where a small alteration in the past creates a snowball effect which replaces the future with a devastating alternative.
Since the viewer follows Marty on his time travel trip from 1955 back to 1985, we are left witnessing the comparrison of alternate future and shout " what the fuck?! How did that happen?" much like Marty's surprise when upon his return to 1985, he is confused by the summountable change that chaos theory has dealt him. Whereas if we remained in 1955, after witnessing Daddy George McFly gain the self-confidence required to eventually stand up to the bully Biff Tannen, we could watch the 30 years unfold and realise quite clearly how this small alteration has evolved over time into a much healthier future scenario.
In terms of temporal displacement,
If, as it is suggested towards the end of the film, Marty joins this new alternate-1985-succesful-McFly-household but with memories of the previous fucked up version (at the begining of the film), then he has, via perception2, pocketed himself into an alternate parallel reality despite previous misdoings. Which suggests to me that the act of undoing his parents first meeting in 1955 has no effect on his existence at all, since he would just be pocketed into an alternate reality where his parents are strangers to each other, but in which he can still exist. According to perception 2, Parallel's have been made, but since the conception leading to Marty's birth did actually take place within one parellel universe, then despite being pocketed into another reality, his existence should never be challenged. I admit this makes less of an exciting film storyboard, but it does at least make scientific perception sense.
The other alternative, which suggests the urgency of getting his parents back together via a covert romantic meeting, is that as his hand disappears, time shifts around him.
Following this perception, Marty's actions in causing his father to stand up to the bully which lead to a successful McFly household, should also allow timelines to shift around him, which should make him totally unaware of the comparison of success and failure in his returned state of 1985. Since as soon as George alters timelines by deciding to show Bully Biff who really is boss, Marty should instantly remember always owning the black jeep, as time shifts around him. Mind you, the poor git doesnt even realise that when he arrives back to the Alternative 1985 from 1955, His girlfriend (Claudia Wells) has metamorphosised from an incredibly cute young version of Madchen Amick, into, well, erm, Elisabeth Shue. poor chap.
I would like to get on with watching the sequel to this film, so I can analyse and compare the perceptions of time travel between the two, however I have one more nagging problem.
Towards the begining of the film, Dr Brown's dog einstein is sent one minute into the future.
The dog upon his future arrival, can make a clear comparison of how lives have altered during that missing minute, since the people left behind continued their lives, albeit for a single minute, but what is clear is that the dog was missing during the time journey and only reappeared as a result of the time machine's rematerialisation a minute later. This all makes total sense, however it leads onto a paradox or at least confusion of perception towards the final scene of the film.
When Dr Brown, after visiting the year 2015, experiences Marty's unfortuneate destiny, he decides to travel back to 1985 to collect the young Marty and take him into the future to pose as his own son and undo a mistake in the hope of re-writing a more happier future lifestyle.
By removing Marty from 1985, and transporting him into the year 2015, then just as einstein the dog dissapeared for that one-minute trip, Marty should then rematerialise into a 2015 future where he has been missing for 30 years.
With all these paradoxes taking place, it is quite clear that the writing of this film is primarily based on Perception one.
The main problem with Back to the Future is that despite being a gripping-action-packed and thought-provoking film, the writers on many occasions have totally confused the scientific perceptions that lead to contradictory repurcussions with time travel.
Thankfully, from mere memory, the second film manages to pick a perception and stick with it.
Oh dear. What have I turned into?
I love this film, because it evoked my TT way of thinking.
I have a lot of respect for this film,
mainly because it was the 1985 spark which set me upon this mind teasing course,
but also because it is interesting to allow such a film to intrigue the scientific mind,
and then allow the mind of which it gave birth to, to turn full circle,
nitpick and attack the original film which birthed it.
I feel I must provide a small synopsis of the storyboard.
A kid, Marty McFly, leads a reasonably happy lifestyle.
In the usual psychological-textbook style of an immature egocentric teenage lad,
His main goal is to "get it on" with his girlfriend in the backseat of the latest cool-black 4x4 hot automobile, which is obviously out of his possesional reach due to his parents sluggish careers.
However, testosterone pumps, and his dads lousy family car will do for now.
The local bully at dads firm has crashed it.
Daddy McFly, also known as George, in true timid style,
still allows himself to be bullied by 'Biff Tannen'
the guy who not only wrecked the car, but also bullied George since high school 30 yrs ago.
A wild eyed Doctor of crazy inventions, Emmet Brown.
Marty meets Doc Brown at a parking-lot late at night,
where he witnesses and partakes in a Time travelling experiment which sends Marty back to 1955.
The trip to 1955 was a mistake, so Marty's more immediate goal is to somehow get back to his usual timeline of 1985.
which present 3 possible perceptions of time travel interaction and causality,
Then it becomes apparent that Back to the Future (one) somehow confuses itself with my first and second definitions of past interactions.
(which basically states that past interaction and CHANGE is allowed albeit with paradoxical results).
Proof of this is seen by Marty's interaction with his parents first meeting in 1955,
He prevents his teenage-mother's father hitting the young George McFly with his car.
Which as history first played out, as being the rather pathetic moment
in which these two young 'parents' first fell in love.
Since Lorraine (marty's mum) fell in love with George (marty's dad) because of the 1955 car incident,
and Now Marty has prevented this occuring,
then Marty has in effect prevented his parents ever gaining the romantic engagement that eventually leads to his own birth.
The permission to interact and alter the past,
basically to be able to fuck it up creating paradoxes everywhere,
so much so, that the next thing you know is that you no longer exist.
falls in love with his hopeless timid father, George.
Whilst he plots this scheme, time is running out!
Marty's hand becomes transparent and actually dissapears,
since his existence is being undone from the timeline.
Marty now belongs in a No-mans-land. He no longer exists.
Which leads to either a paradox which collapses the space time continuum
(as Back to the Future 2 states),
or more likely, he has fallen into perception TWO
where a slight alteration in the past creates a parallel reality for you alone.
By a strange stroke of non-fate, the timid father George, in his teenage form,
actually stands up to the bully Biff Tannen in 1955, second time around that is.
As a result, the alternative future (1985) George McFly household now becomes a succesfull confident abode, where Biff is the underdog, the mom is thin (??), and Young Marty possesses that cool-black 4x4 hot automobile.
it would appear that Marty has managed to re-sculpt a more appealing future than that of which he first belonged.
This surely fits the second perception of TT.
Where history interactions are allowed, neglecting paradoxes but more-so creating parallel realities of which Marty now visits and decides to belong.
Time is linear (a straight line) which has been altered causing changes that should directly effect the existence and memories of all those involved. With a linear time perception, Marty should pop out of existence as soon as he interferes with his parents first meeting. He would never be given the chance to plot a new teeny-parent interaction at all. Very paradoxical.
Where is the dog for that missing minute? Well, its very clear that the dog doesnt exist for that minute. Only stationary bystanders who are left behind in the normal time-line experience that minute, infact as Dr Brown so clearly puts it - Einstein (the dog) has skipped over that minute to instantaenously arrive at a point in the future.
This is the problem.
This implies a future where Marty, being missing for such a long duration, cannot have had a family, nor an idiot son, nor an unsuccessful future lifestyle, yet the sequel denies this. Total paradox.
I am like those guys who dress up in Star trek uniforms arent I?
I never meant to take this film so seriously, I swear!
Ironically it has caused me to bite the hand that feeds.