English

Generally, the drama of La Jetee is cantered on a male character that seems to be living in post-World War Paris. The male character is at the time a prisoner of some unidentified captors. He is also a subject of certain experiments that are aimed at using the future to try and get some solution to deal with the problems that are being faced during the present times. In trying to accomplish his mission, the character is instead taken back to the memories of his past. In this essay the main concern is the illusion of movement and time lapse that is perceived by both the audience of the film and characters in the film. In the film, the illusion of movement and time lapse can be clearly seen to be perceived by both the characters in the film as well as the audience. The characters of the film can be seen to be trapped in time. The film begins with a young male character that is standing on the pier. He gets some impression in his memory when he sees a woman as his inspiration, moreover, “science fiction can be used for goals and ideas in life that people can achieve through their imagination and curiosity and also the relation of other visions that can be effective in our lives to solve problems”; For instance ,when you think about time travel I see a good vision of the how problems in the past can be solved in the future that also relates to our daily function in life and our interaction with science. For instance, complex equations that already have been solved by very old thinkers and scholars. It has been stated by Colin Milburn in his article that “the genre has been generally understood to adhere to the worldview of modern science, in attitude and vision if not in actual details of consensus knowledge.” (Milburn, 562). This means that science fiction genre often serves as a tool to understand technology and science even if the element of science fiction appeared as going back in time, because it helps solve problems. A lot of scientists today have solutions on them because they were already solved in the past but even with the availability of all this information some scientists have still not figured out how the old scholars found these solutions of complex equations which I think are all done by vision and putting themselves through the process of time travel ahead of their current time to think outside the box.

In addition to that, the male character in La jetee sees a man die while he is trying to catch up with the woman that he has just seen. The face of the woman develops some strong impression in the memory of the male character. The important significance of this is that it acts as the film’s foreshadow of the moments that the male character will encounter as the film is coming to an end. It is also seen in the film that later when the young man grows older and meets the woman that he once saw in his dreams, they both get involved in a relationship. Moreover, the second scene in the film the characters are seem to be trapped in time when they make a visit to the museum. It can clearly be seen that the animals in the museum are generally trapped in time and there is no way that these animals can change which I think relates to the idea am trying to make about science fiction is that it can be used to determine solutions for problems like wars, humans and animals’ rights and all that can come to the mind and vision and can be worked through in the past and the future. As said by Calvin Milburn “an identifiable science fiction text or group of texts may be a source of “inspiration” or “influence”” (Milburn, 565). This means that humans can borrow information and images from the science fiction novels and books and apply it into their life. It is a great source of information. In the final scene of the film the male character tries to go back to the pier that he had visited initially as he tries to look for the women he had seen there, but he is killed by the people that held him captive. This scene shows that the main character could have borrow the information from his past dreams, however hi was trapped in still image, he was trapped in past. It comes to the characters’ realization here that the man he saw die during his childhood was actually was him. This scene can be clearly seen as a portrayal of some cyclical aspect of time. This therefore emphasizes that time is something that is inescapable and that is why the male character is trapped in time and cannot escape it (Kawin 16). Nevertheless this short scene shows that people often get signals from the past which concern their future and if they are able to borrow from it will help them solve their problems. This is exactly the main purpose of science fiction, which through time travelling to the past allows people to find solution for their issues.

Time lapse and movement has also been achieved in the film based on the way in which the film has been edited. It is important to point out, that fade-ins, fade-outs, and dissolves have been used in the movie mainly for the purse of provoking some feeling of time lapse for anybody that watches the film. In addition to that, these three strategies are more gradual and transitions compared to a cut and also can be used to suggest relatively longer time lapse. Dissolves are repeatedly employed in the film for the purpose of creating a feeling of time elapse in a visual atmosphere that could have otherwise appeared to be still. Fade-outs and fade-ins have not been used as much as dissolves in the film, but have been employed in the few instances that involve some longer transitions between the different sections of the film. One other important point that is worth noting here with respect to these strategies is that dissolves happen to me relatively more dynamic compared to fade-in and fade-outs, and thus can be able to effectively extend the film’s perceived mental break in between the shots. Time lapses were necessary to determine the transition between sections of the film and to verify in which time period is the main character in during each scene. Nevertheless Bradley Monton speaks of theory where there is no time elapses and where there can be only one past. He said in his article that “A theory which is backwards-deterministic is a theory where, given the future history of the world starting from some time, there is only one past allowed” (Monton,64). This means that past is only one, because it already happened. The only thing that can be hanged is the future, because it is built on past events. It is also up to people if they are going to learn from the past mistakes and solve their problems or continue on with their miserable life. Since science fiction is based on science it gives people the ability to choose out of many theories which can help them solve their problems.

The inclusion of the sound also plays a very significant part in the illusion of movement and time lapse in La Jetee, because it allows viewers to verify the time frame past or the presence. One important observation that the audience of the film can see is that it is only the sound that is the film’s truly continuous element. It thus acts as the film’s primary source of rhythm and temporality. Voice appears in three different forms that include voice-over narration, soundtrack, and the sound effects. The sound effects in the film are generally minimal and have been used to represent the various familiar concepts, such as footsteps or airport sounds. The sound is generally coordinated with dissolve. It can be seen that as the man story of the film transitions from the past to its present time, the film tends to construct some sense of mental rhythm and continuity through the sound and visual editing that has been done to it. The film’s soundtrack plays the important role as the editing framework that aids in the shaping of the various mental transitions between the story’s sequences. A good example of this is evident in the film in the sequence whereby the film’s main character is in his past. During this time the film music is introduced to run along the film’s voice-over. And as the character false back due to exhaustion, it appears that there is a shot of a face of a woman that dissolves to his face while he has been taken to the laboratory. The music stop playing during the moment that dissolve is taking place, but starts over again when the character is returned to the past by the scientists. Theodore Sider also distinguishes time in his article. He gouts that “Lewis resolves this paradox by distinguishing "personal time" from "external time" (Sider, 330). In this instance “external time” is the past and the “personal time” is the amount of changer which the traveller underwent. This means that each time a person travel back in time it brings changes to the presence and the future. The importance is to learn from the past but not interfere with it. Science fiction allows both, but only when chosen properly it will help solve problems.

One important point that is worth noting with respect to this is that the sequence generally plays the purpose of preservation of visual continuity. This is because the next scene begins as the face of the same woman appears again as it dissolves from the face of the man in the laboratory. Despite the involved temporal and spatial disruptions as well as the stillness of the film’s images, the illusion of time lapses and movement is generally preserved by this sequence. The film also does not employ the use of voices and direct analogue among the characters. In the laboratory when the main character is exhausted there is a hold to the music that was initially playing. There are however some voices that are heard speaking. The one thing that sticks out with respect to this voices is that they seem to be incomprehnsible and inaudible as they tend to overlab with one another as well as with the film’s voice over. The some one instant, however, when there some one voice that is made to stick out as it is aimed at ensuring that the audience pay attantion so that they can can see what is going on in the film and story of science fiction. Neither the film’s main character nor the woman makes not direct speech generates some feeling of detachment from the present in the film’s audience. The audience also develop a feeling of the illusion that the caharcteras are frozen in time due to the voicelessnes and lifelessnes in the film’s characters. This teaches us that people also get frozen in time, where they are unable to hear voice of others. This happens very often when individuals think that their life is hoples and there is nothing that can fix it. They don’t listen to others. This is a projection that science fiction is making from real life sytuation onto the fiction world. Yet at the same time these are true projection which can be guidanc to solving future problems. It shows that rather then being stuck in time people should listen to advices, fix the problem and move on.

There is a point in the film whereby the male main character is trying to talk to the woman. His speech, however, is not delivered with the speech of the man. In addition to that, the narrator does not make a direct delivery of the speech. The narrator instead points out that the character is hearing himself saying the content of the speech. Here, it can be seen that the character perceives his own speech in an indirect manner is an illusion of time lapse in which the main character seems to be distancing himself from the presence. This makes it as if the main character is generally experiencing his reality from a distance. It has been pointed out by Theodore Sider that people living in presence walk on “plane” and people travelling to the past walk on “line” (334). This distinguishes the various time periods. The use of word “plane” means that it is a blank page which has to be filled with their live events. The word “line” defines the time line which has already been created based on someone’s past. This is how past can be distinguished from the presence and how a character can distance themselves from presence as well. Very often when people are depressed or are experiencing some life trauma it looks like they are watching their life from a distance. They distinguish themselves from the presence. This means that they are present physically but not mentally. Science fiction shows how in an easy way people can distance themselves and rethink their decision based on the past events. Out of the individuals can draw a proper conclusion and fix their past mistakes.

Another important aspect of the film and science fiction where there is a creation of the illusion of movement is in its live-action sequence. This arises when the film’s narrator gives an explanation about the film’s main character. He points out that the main character does not know whether he moves to her, whether something drives him to her, or whether he has made up his mind to move to her, or whether it is just a dream for him. This life-action sequence is constituted by a woman that blinks. It is important to point out that the moment before the woman blinks there are a number of slow dissolves that serve to show the woman sleeping in bed. These dissolves are generally numerous to an extend that it portrays the woman as though she was moving and alive. In the same way the film’s main character cannot comprehend if he makes the move or has already made the movement, the film’s audience similarly are not able to distinguish on whether this woman is moving or still. This creates the illusion of movement and time lapse in the film.

In conclusion, the illusion of movement and time lapse is one of the science fiction elements that have been used in the 1962 film which also I believe relates a lot to our daily lives and interaction with chemistry and science in relation to the idea of the movement in the past to the future, La Jetee. The film’s characters are generally trapped in time and the audience are similarly trapped in the stillness of the images that are used in the film. The film manages to use the illusion of movement due to its zoom-ins and zoom-outs thought out the film. Other aspects of the film that enhance its movement and time lapse illusions include use of fade-outs, fade-ins, and dissolves; use of sound to create an illusion of movement in the minds of the audience despite the film’s still pictures; and the lack of direct dialogues and discussions among the characters as a way of showing the film’s illusion of time lapse. All in all, this is a science fiction film in which the audience are left creating illusions about movement and time lapse all through the course of the film. Nevertheless those time lapses and illusions show the audience that science fiction is a tool which shows people how different perspective of time and time travelling can interfere with their present live. It shows that people can learn from the past and be able to solve their problems. This means that they can distance themselves and get trapped in a moment to look on a problem from different perspective. In the La Jetee movie there are many sci-fi element, which show people that problems can be solved

Works Cited

Kawin, Bruce. Time and Stasis in "La Jetée." Film Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Autumn, 1982), pp. 15-20. University of California Press.

Bradley Monton. Time Travel without Causal Loops, The Philosophical Quarterly (1950-), Vol. 59, No. 234 (Jan., 2009), pp. 54-67, University of St. Andrews Scots Philosophical Association

Theodore Sider.
The Monist, Vol. 88, No. 3, Time Travel (JULY 2005), pp. 329-335, Oxford University Press


Milburn Colin, “Modifiable Futures: Science Fiction at the Bench”, Isis , Vol. 101, No. 3 (September 2010), The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society