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How Does Michael Swanwick Use Time Travel In Back To The Future

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In Starlight Express by Michael Swanwick and Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis on DVD, the time travel archetype appears as characters wanting to escape their reality and venture into one that seems more ideal, regardless of if it is in the past or the future. Time travel assists readers in living in the moment and not worrying about the past or future by helping them learn from the protagonists’ mistakes. The presence of time travel emphasizes the vulnerability of humanity as illustrated in Starlight Express and Back to the Future Part I. Marty is trying to get back to 1985 from 1955 with the assistance of Doc Brown, his friend, from the past. In doing so, he accidentally changed events that happened in the past that altered …show more content…

In an attempt to monitor the severity of the situation, doc relies on the photograph of Marty and his siblings from 1985: “Doc: Let me see that photograph again of your brother. Just as I thought, this proves my theory, look at your brother… Marty: His head's gone, it's like it's been erased… Doc: Erased from existence” (Zemeckis). Marty’s brother’s head has been erased from the photograph, which Doc elaborates that it means he has been erased from existence. Marty fears for his existence, knowing that if he cannot fix the ripples he made in the timeline, he and his siblings will cease to exist. Up until this point, he feels invincible knowing that anything he does, he could just fix it by going further back in time. However, after learning about the possibility of being erased, Marty discovers that he and his family are vulnerable to the consequences of meddling with time, and if he cannot fix his mistakes, he will not be around to be able to fix them. Although people from the 1955 timeline of Back to the Future aren’t vulnerable to the same things as Marty relative to time, the Great Albino in Starlight Express represents the vulnerabilities or lack thereof …show more content…

Before traveling back to 1955, Doc is shot (and presumably killed). Before Marty travels back to 1985 from 1955, he attempts to give a note to Doc from the past to try to warn him about that event to save his life. Upon receiving the note, Doc tears it up before reading it because he didn’t want to damage the timeline. Marty wonders why Doc “[had] to tear up that letter? If only [he] had more time. Wait a minute, [he has] all the time [he] wants [he has] a time machine, [he’ll] just go back and warn him” (Zemeckis). Marty wonders why Doc tore up the letter, knowing it could have saved his life, then plots to go to a different time and warn Doc about his fate. Marty selflessly chooses to put himself at risk in order to save Doc from being shot the night he travels back in time. In doing so, he is attempting to alter the events in time regardless of the consequences. Had he not had the advanced technology of the time machine, he would not be able to do this, and Doc would remain dead. But, because he has this new piece of technology he is able to go to save his friend’s life. In contrast, the technology that allows scientists to create humans that do not age or catch diseases in Starlight Express is long

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