Technologies Coming True - Literature review Example

Technologies Coming True The documentary en d The World’s First Time Machine and directed by Ben Bowie attempts to explain the essence of time in a way that seeks to give crucial answers to the possibility of moving into the future and in the past. The 2003 documentary is focusses on an actual experiment conducted by Professor Ronald Mallet. The professor of theoretical physics teaches at the University of Connecticut. Mallet invented the famous Time Machine which, he argues, has the power to connect events in the past and even in the future. One of his assumptions is that he could, indeed, connect to the past and communicate with his dead father, or that he could link up with the future and connect with people trying to talk to him. According to the professor, time is flexible and it could be manipulated by twisting space. The documentary explains the possibility of using a circulating light beam to twist space and close time to a loop. The key challenge is to get laser power to twist space. The professor uses the principle of flexible time to send particles into the past. The documentary explores the link between energy, space, and time as developed by Albert Einstein. However, the professor acknowledges practical challenges that would make it impossible for the machine to connect to the past from the present moment. Various conditions have to be met in order for the professor to challenge the aspect of time as it appears in reality. It might be important to notice that some of the issues that connect to the questions about time are actually based on the acknowledgement of the bridge between the theoretical explanations and the practical difficulties involved. The acknowledgement of the difficulties involved in the practical possibilities of the time machine effectively distinguishes this documentary from many science fiction movies, which have always insisted on the possibility of uniting the past and the future through some technological implements born out of their own imaginations. The documentary separates the possible from the impossible by use of illustrations, theories, and explanations. It might be important to assess the similarities and contrasts between the grounds established in The World’s First Time Machine documentary and the imaginations that run through a science fiction film such as Back to the Future. Whereas the documentary attempts to provide facts about the workability of the time machine, the film begins from the imaginative point of view that already affirms such workability and proceeds to explore the capacity of the machine to influence humanity and human destiny. The science fiction film, Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis, effectively expands on the growing fascination about the possibility of man moving back and forth in time. The film is centered on the exploits of Marty McFly who manages to reverse the misfortunes of his family and friends by accidentally using a time machine invented by his friend Emmet Brown, a renowned scientist. McFly’s travel into the past is made possible after some Libyan terrorists kill the doc for having stolen their plutonian, which he used to power the time machine. McFly eventually learns that he is displaced from the present moment of 1985 up to the distant past of 1955. At this point, he meets his parents before they have begun dating and ensures that they are together in order to ensure the sustainability of the family. He is also able to prevent some of the happenings in the past because he had prior knowledge of them when he left 1985 towards 1955. For instance, he is able to protect his future father from the accident, which had brought him and his mother in love at the first place. He also meets the young Doc and convinces him to make possible his travel back into the future. During their encounter in the past, he warns Doc in a letter about his future murder at the hands of the Libyan terrorists. Doc wears a bulletproof vests and he is able to avert death. The second dramatic twist of fate takes place after Doc decides to take the time machine into the future. It is in the future that things turn out to be positive. McFly’s family regains its happiness, unity, and success at the moment when they reach the future. In essence, this film is based on the idea that man could create a technology to that would offer him control over time and destiny. The ability to control fate appears to be the overarching concern in the science fiction’s obsession with time. However, parts of the film lack logical explanations, hence, throwing the entire idea of the possibility of a time machine into confusion. For instance, it is not logically tenable that an individual could meet his parents before they are married. The very act of moving to some future where one never in fact lived destabilizes the foundations upon which the workability of the time machine rests. The mismatch could be explained both in terms of the film director’s intentional desire to create a paradox that would arrest the imagination of the viewers and prod them to reflect deeper into the claims of science versus the practical potential of some of the issues that have been explored about the potentialities of technology. One would argue that the film sought to provide some sense of balance between the seemingly possible and the obviously impossible. Generally, works of scientific fiction do not seem to attend to the limitations of technology as they all proceed from the premise of science as a solution to mankind’s real and metaphysical woes. The film is anchored on the theme of time displacement. The capacity to go back to the past and also stretch one’s existence into the future is often motivated by the desire to mend historical mistakes or take control of the shape of things in the future. This obsession also ties in with the desire of science to offer solutions and answers to each problem and mystery that confounds and appears to stretch beyond the limits of science. This film celebrates the role and effort of science in providing solutions to issues that imperil humankind. It is also an open attempt to explore at the seemingly limitless potential of science from the perspective of imaginations drawn out of theories and other aspects of scientific knowledge. This remains a dominant challenge that unites the different perspectives that explore the potentials of science as captured from the perspective of technology. Technology is the unifying aspect in the documentary and scientific fiction film. Both works are anchored on the time machine. Time machine remains one of the confounding themes in the field of science. Many theorists and scholars have sought different ways and perspectives, which they might use to explain the possibility of a time machine. The use of time machines to control destiny and fate are the underpinning motives of the film. It is possible to think of this movie in terms of the various possibilities that have been attempted with regard to works of art and fiction. In a very significant sense, both Back to the Future and The World’s First Time Machine are strong representatives of the American culture. One of the defining aspects of the American culture is the drive for excellence and success. Technological advancements remain part of the American culture. Most of the experiments that have sought to solve mankind’s obstinate problems have been conducted within the American culture of the zeal towards the seemingly impossible (Cornea 76). The science fiction film Back to the Future features the dominant themes of success, struggle, and adventure as celebrated within the culture. For instance, the character of McFly and Doc effectively capture the essence of the American culture that ceaselessly seeks to explore. This zeal for exploration and success mirrors the character of professor in Mallet in The World’s First Time Machine documentary. One would contend that the film and documentary reflect the American spirit of success, ego, and triumph. The scientific fiction film bears some inaccurate pieces of information, which are not consistent with known scientific facts. Although much of the theories and explanations explore the possibility of traveling back into the past, they do not actually include possibilities of meeting with the people during their past incidences. In this film, McFly is able to meet and even engage with the people he has known during his present life. Similarly, the fictional aspect about time machine assumes that it is possible to move into the future and correct destinies that are on the path to self-destruction. McFly is able to meet his reformed parents and siblings at some point in the future. Such a possibility, when achieved through some device, would necessarily imply the absence of the present times. It becomes necessary to explore some of the issues that determined the director’s role in developing Back to the Future. Robert Zemeckis retains an active interest in scientific fiction films. His interest emanates from a personal drive and orientation towards science and the imagination it evokes. The developments in the world of science remain a major fascination, which he uses to develop his themes and art (Luckhurst 41). Some of the issues that relate to the developments in the field of science are always related to the major themes that affect the lives of ordinary people. The director mixes influences from his scientific interests with his rich imaginations to build on diverse themes that spurn multiple fields of human interest. A deep awareness of the potential of science to heal the world and an honest appraisal of its weaknesses have helped him maintain both balance and meaning in the production and directions of other scientific fiction films. Works Cited Bowie, Ben. (Dir). The World’s First Time Machine. 2003. (Documentary). Cornea, Christine. Science Fiction Cinema: Between Fantasy and Reality. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007. Print. Luckhurst, Roger. Science Fiction. New York: Polity, 2005. Print. Zemeckis, Robert. Back to the Future. 1985, (Film). Read More