Time Travel

"The Time Machine" by H.G Wells

" The Time Machine was a science fiction novel written by H.G Wells in 1895. This was one of the first books in the science fiction genre and impact time travel. In the book the Time Traveler is a scientist who invents a time machine and travels to the year 802,701. He later invites his friends over for dinner and tells them of his travels. The story is a frame story with one of the guests being the narrator who retells the Time Travelers story. When he travels in time he discovers a society with two classes, the Eloi and the Morlocks. At first he believed that the Eloi conquered the Morlocks and by doing so created equality in the classes. However, he soon realizes that the Eloi are the descendants of the upper class and the Morlocks are the descendants of the lower class. Wells uses these two classes to criticize the way of the current society and Social Darwinism. He points out the current problem in society of the upper class dominating the working class in the name of "survival of the fittest" in order to lead to the development of stronger generations. Wells argued that survival of the fittest is not survival of the wealthiest and was against the idea of Social Darwinism. He explains this by showing that the Eloi, the descendants of the upper class, have become lazy, weak, fragile and unintelligent due to them not having to work for anything. On the other hand, the Morlocks are the descendants of the lower class who are the ones who operate the machines or the world are beast like, strong, and intelligent due to there need to work hard to survive. Through this this book Wells is able to express his opinion on how society is wrong and needs to be changed before it ruins humans.

"Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy

"Looking Backward" is a science fiction novel written by Edward Bellamy and published in 1888. The book explores time travel with the main character Julian West , a nineteenth century aristocrat, ending up in the year 2000. Julian suffered from insomnia and had built a sleeping chamber underground where he had a doctor who put him in a mesmerized sleep and then would wake him. One night while he was in his sleep his house burnt down and he was presumed dead due to no one knowing of his chamber. Julian and his chamber where only discover in the year 2000 when Doctor Leete was preparing that area for a construction project. Julian has remained the same all these years because of his state of mesmerized sleep. Doctor Leete wakes him and takes him in. Through out the book Julian discovers that the 21st century is very different from the time he left behind. He sees that the economy is based on publicly owned capital and that the government the government controls production and divides the products equally between the citizens. On top of that he discovers that people have freedom to choice there careers and retire at the age of 45 and that everyone can get a college education. Julian earns how much better things can be then he experienced them back in the 19th century. Through Julian's perspective and experience the author makes a point on how the current society of his time is wrong and cruel and that steps should be taken to change it.

"Back to the Future"

" Back to the Future" is a 1985 film directed by Robert Zemeckis. In this film Marty McFly is a teenager in the 1980's. He is friends with a scientist, Dr. Brown , who invented a time machine and ended up sending Marty back to the 1950's after he was shot by the people he stole plutonium from for his time machine. In the 1950's Marty messes up the meeting of his parents and must now make sure that they fall in love so that he exists in the future. He must also save Dr. Brown's life after his shooting. He does this by warning him of what will happen which leads to the Doc being prepared with a bulletproof vest. Marty tries to correct his mistakes in the past so that his future is not altered. The movie portrays the topic of how delicate are choices are and how they can affect the people around us.

" Timecop"

Timecop is a 1994 movie directed by Peter Hyams. The movie centers around the fact that time travel has been established . The government develops a Time Enforcement Commission (TEC)in order to stop criminals from changing the past. In the film Max Walker is a policeman who is recruited by the TEC after his house is invaded and his wife is killed. He is assigned the task of investigating the Senator but experiences setbacks from the government working against him. Walker travels through time to to fix the future and in the end is able to save his wife from being killed. The time travel aspect in this film shows how people in high positions can use dangerous technology to ultimately change the lives of many people. It also shows how new advancements effect society as a whole.