Primer: Consequences of Time Travel

The central theme to Shane Carruth’s Primer is one about how the advancement in technology can potentially lead to unpredictable events caused by the technology. As Abe and Aaron discover the time-travel capabilities of their invention they begin exploiting it to make money in the stock market. However after they begin time travelling they soon observe odd things happening. They discover the father of Abe’s girlfriend (Rachel) in a vegetative state caused by time travel. Abe and Aaron never revealed to Rachel’s father their machine, implying that his discovery of their machine could have been made through their doubles. It is also revealed later in the film that Aaron’s double actually drugged the original Aaron. Here the audience see’s the negative consequences of the duos invention. They created a machine that they did not entirely understand or could predict and thus became victim to unforeseeable “side-effects” of time-travel. In the end the two part ways as they cannot agree on what to do with the time travel device reinforcing the idea that it is impossible to predict all possible consequences of a technology and the great potential new technology has to disrupt and even harm our own lives. 

Primer

The film Primer presents a version on the stereotypical "time travel adventure." Abe and Aaron create a time machine device, and as they discover that it actually functions properly, they build bigger protocols until it can readily transport people. In the beginning, the excitement about this new discovery is clear. The two travel through time and there are seemingly no negative retributions. However, as they continue to use this time machine, the consequences of time travel begin to emerge. This film poses a warning that time travel is dangerous, and that the continuum of time and space is not something that should be altered or played with by humans, or any other species. Because the whole concept of time and travel is vastly unknown, it should not be explored. Time travel will ultimately lead to dire consequences. Thomas Granger's comatose state is a prime example which suggests the dangers of messing with time. Because there are so many things unknown about time and how it works, playing with this abstract idea will lead to dangerous, if not fatal, incidences. This reminds me of a part in the third Harry Potter book that deals with the issue of time travel. Hermione and Harry use a time turner to go back in time to help Sirius escape. However, they had to be very meticulous as to not change anything else. This is the butterfly effect. Changing one little thing will alter the rest of history.

War of the Worlds Broadcast

In War of the Worlds, the narrator tells of the invasion of Earth within an hour-long commentary on the instances of it happening. The realism of the commentary is astounding considering that the whole thing was simply a prank, but the uses of the scientists switching out to talk about strange events talking about explosions on Mars, and the “proof” made this broadcast much more realistic. The broadcast played on people’s fear of the unknown, despite the advancements in technology, there is still so much unknown. This unknown fear can be seen through the “alien technology” and “heat ray” that was fired at many on comers. The threat and realization that humans may not be the only powers on the planet, frightened people to the extreme, thus their crazed reactions and responses.  Furthermore, the use of radio as the only source of communication made the response much more violent – it had always been considered a reliable source, so why shouldn’t it now? These issues all led to the widespread panic of the War of the Worlds broadcast.

Limbo (9)

The moment the game Limbo starts there isn't a single rule or description of what the player should do, the player ultimately has to figure everything out by themselves, excluding what the controls are. The entire demo sets a very dark eerie atmosphere, in which this little boy is running through an isolated forest that is basically pitch black. Through the course of the game the player begins to learn how to direct this boy in order to maneuver past the traps that has been set up to kill him. As the game progresses, the player begins to feel a connection towards the unknown boy as we become disappointed or angry when he dies by the bear traps, rock, or spider. We want to help this boy to achieve his goal, even though as players we're not quite sure what it is. Finally, I noticed that notions of nature was definitely a key aspect in this game, which plays on the theme of the Gothic

Limbo(Blog #9)

I actually enjoyed playing the Limbo Demo. From the beginning, we see that the character we play as is a small boy in a foggy black and white forest. Although I was not entirely sure of the goal, I just moved on forward. I then had to go through various obstacles that were fun yet challenging at the same time. I liked the fact that some of the obstacles required me to think outside of the box. For instance, there was one particular obstacle that got me frustrated – getting across the little pond without drowning. I won't reveal how I got across it, so everyone else who hasn't played yet could figure it out. I really enjoyed how this game made me feel involved, which reminded me of metafiction.

The War of Worlds Broadcast

“The War of Worlds” Broadcast is a unique example of listeners being truly brought into the realm of the supernatural without any notion that what they are experiencing is not reality. In 1938 a radio station re-enacted a portion of “The War of the Worlds” as a Halloween Prank, but because the broadcast lasted an hour listeners that tuned in after the short introduction didn’t know that the broadcast was a prank. As a result the listeners believed a Martian invasion had occurred and thus experienced the supernatural while in the realm of reality. The manner by which the broadcast is portrayed creates a sense of false relaxation in the listener followed by anxiety and fear. Initially the broadcast is filled with joyful music and occasional interruptions with news about odd occurrences in space. The news is short-lived; however, and the programming returns quickly to playing music, causing the listener to believe there is no need for alarm. But as the act progresses the news interruptions become more frequent and the reporters have a sense of anxiety and bewilderment in their voices.  It is important to note that the scientist that are portrayed are initially reporting that they have full understanding of the occurrences but as the broadcast progresses the scientist are unable to explain the apparent “alien” invasion. The fact that scientist, the voice of reason for society, are unable to explain the assumed alien beings creates a sense of fear in the listener. The lack of confidence in both the reporters and scientist causes the listener to enter into a state of panic. Thus through the use of sound the creators of the broadcast were able to create a supernatural occurrence in the realm of reality. 

Limbo

Limbo is a virtual world. It is a computer game where the player is attempting to go forward through a wasteland. At first, the player doesn't have any clue about what is going on, but as the game progresses the player learns how to direct the character through the maze of obstacles. I played with my friend Paige. When we got to the spider and it stabbed the character he died. We screamed, partly from surprise and partly from horror. We had been working so hard towards some unknown goal that we had become emotionally involved, and the disappointment from the loss of the little guy caused us the players to react. The game is a type of meta-fiction. It requires the player to bridge the gap between reality and this new fictional world. The game allows the player to bridge the gap more effectively than most books or movies do. The player has to physically push buttons to make the character move and the player has control over the character's well-being. It is not such a jump of imagination to put yourself in the little characters shoes.