Time Loops in Film — An Educational Tool
Until scientists use their vast collective knowledge to unravel the mysteries of the universe, we mortals are relegated to theorizing and postulating about the possibility of time travel. The prospect offers a multitude of questions and paradoxes that will jumble your brain into a smorgasbord of confusion, anger, and longing. How will we ever learn what happens when you live the same day over and over again? The only way to answer this question is to abandon your academic inclinations and just watch a bunch of mind-bending time loop movies. There is much to be learned.
You Can’t Save the One You Love . . .
Example: The Time Machine
If your going back in time for some selfish altruistic reason like true love, or more likely you just want to relive that crazy, drug-fueled extravaganza where you got some serious strange, get ready for some serious disappointment. Any attempts to reignite the flame of romance with your newly deceased significant other will be doused in the cold harsh reality of time loop film theory. NB: A relationship that only develops once you’ve traveled back in time is fair game. See Source Code and Groundhog Day below.
. . . But You Can Save the World
Example: Source Code
Sometimes the only way to save the world is to go back in time and make some minor tweaks and adjustments. Even the Man of Steel knows that this tactic is completely viable if you fail on your first try.
A brief aside …
One little problem with Source Code that I’ve been thinking about recently [SPOILERALERT] is the happy ending. Colter Stevens saves the city, gets the girl and gets to continue living. But what about Sean Fentress? The guy whose body Colter steals. He’s dead. I guess no one really cares about a guy who is just a reflection in a mirror.
Be Spirited
Example: Christmas Every Day
I won’t do you the gross disservice of running you through the plot details of Christmas Every Day or its completely unnecessary remake Christmas Do-Over. Let’s just say that if you are reliving a holiday over and over again, you need to shape up and shed your inner Scrooge (not a bad example by the way) and embrace holiday spirit. A perfectly reasonable reason for a time loop to develop is an utter lack of holiday cheer. It’s disposing of this poisonous disposition that proves to be the difficult solution.
You Have All the Time in the World
Example: Groundhog Day
How long did Phil Connors spend in his Groundhog Day time loop? Originally director Harold Ramis had this to say:
I think the 10-year estimate is too short. It takes at least 10 years to get good at anything, and alloting for the down time and misguided years he spent, it had to be more like 30 or 40 years…
But further research over at obsessedwithfilm has confirmed the more likely number of around 34 years. If it takes you this long to realize that you have to follow the previously learned lesson, then you definitely have plenty of time to pick up some new skills and talents. It’s almost like you have your own version of The Matrix where you can learn anything that you’d like to, except you have to put in all of the work. The real question is whether you will devote yourself to a useless skill like ice sculpting or a more practical one like playing card throwing.
Confront Yourself
Example: Primer
It’s a slippery slope. One minute you’re going back in time to make a tidy profit in the stock market, the next minute you are spending your whole life doing damage control in an infinite loop of paradoxical time realities. If you are confronted by an alternate version of yourself there a few things that you should know. There’s no need to be afraid of the past you. You’re the more experienced one, and he can’t possibly sneak up on you because you would remember it. Your future self may be a little bit more crafty. He’s got omniscient knowledge of the past and the element of surprise working for him. On the plus side, at least we know for a fact that he doesn’t kill you!
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