MovieChat Forums > Time Lapse (2015) Discussion > Past CAN be changed (Spoilers obviously)

Past CAN be changed (Spoilers obviously)

posted 8 years ago by Torrible_2013
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I think the past can be changed. Let's imagine the following series of events:

1) Jasper kills Finn just before 8am Wed.
2) Callie sends a message to her past self at 8am Wed to save Finn by killing Jasper.
3) Past is changed. Now Callie receives the message at 8am Tuesday. But at this point she has no knowledge of exactly what happened on Wed. She can only guess.
4) Callie heeds the message and kills Jasper to save Finn just before 8am Wed.
5) Callie sends a message to herself at 8am Wed to save Finn by killing Jasper because if she doesn't, the timeline switches back to the original one where Finn dies. She believes that the photo is an instruction from her future self and now she has to make sure the instruction is sent to her past self.

Whenever a message is posted, the PAST is changed. Meaning when the photo is received, it is already PAST version 2. When the photo was taken (message posted), it is FUTURE version 1. Meaning FUTURE version 1 takes place chronologically (if you view the events from outside both timelines) before PAST version 2. It makes no sense that a photo is developed in the absence of agency. Someone has to take the picture in the first place.

The exact same photos have to be taken TWICE in order to finalize an event (no more changes can be made). This cements both the past and future. Otherwise, the past can be infinitely reset/changed.

Now let's imagine that the past cannot be changed.

Future version 1 (where no photo and hence no message is received):

1) Callie joins Finn at the car.
2) Callie sends a message to past Callie to do the thing she has already done without any instruction from her future self.

How does that make any sense?

I feel that this makes more sense (and avoids the usual time travel paradox):

Future version 1 (where no photo and hence no message is received):

1) Callie doesn't join Finn at the car.
2) Callie regrets her decision and sends a message to past Callie to join Finn at the car.

Past resets. Past version 2:

3) Callie receives message.
4) Callie joins Finn at the car.
5) Callie sends a message to past Callie to join Finn at the car to finalize the event.

[–] carl_johnson-1 8 years ago

Future version 1 (where no photo and hence no message is received):

1) Callie joins Finn at the car.
2) Callie sends a message to past Callie to do the thing she has already done without any instruction from her future self.

How does that make any sense?

If the past can't be changed, you left out a step:

1) Callie receives a message from future Callie to join Finn in the car.
2) Callie joins Finn at the car.
3) Callie sends a message to past Callie join Finn in the car.

Your chart doesn't have the message to the past arriving. It's a closed loop.

The film doesn't have a changeable timeline, because Finn's paintings are pure Bootstrap Paradoxes. Those can only exist in a fixed timeline.