MovieChat Forums > The Butterfly Effect (2004) Discussion > Didn't the whole time travel involve a p...

Didn't the whole time travel involve a paradox?

posted 8 years ago by huginn12
6 replies | jump to latest

Its been years since I seen the movie so correct me if I wrong

Isnt the only reason he kept a diary was because he suffered black outs which was caused by his future self reading the diary

He suffered a black out and writes about it because he was told to and then years later reads the diary entry which caused the black out

Isn't this some kind of grandfather paradox where instead of killing your grandfather you save your grandfather when he was a baby

[–] Matt-G-1 7 years ago

Funnily enough, in the Director's Cut whenever he goes back, if he makes a drastic change, that diary entry disappears. Kinda added to the urgency near the end as he was running out of options and also why he asks for the video as he is told he never kept any diary. If you haven't seen the DC I would highly recommend it. As far as I can tell it clears the paradox up. I think.

[–] CapnDred 7 years ago

I totally missed the fact that the blackouts were CAUSED by him reading the diary in the future.

Is that implied or explicit?

I didn't think about it too much and just had some vague idea that they happened when some completely life ruining turning point was reached.

[–] gcarras 7 years ago

I've felt that, after the first time (when he's with that chubby goth Thumper and that girl-"So ya pass out on ALL your dates") that, as he went offscreen, that he, as a college kid, went to his DORM room, fell asleep and just dreamt the rest..

PROFILE PIC:Courtney Thorne-Smith.

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

Why do they always cut important scenes

[–] avortac4 (3458) 3 years ago

My take on it was that the 'blackouts' are sort of 'pointers' or 'anchors' in time, that he can access. Of course, it's still a bit paradoxical, as he had to do something during each blackout -before- he reads the journals as adult, so to be able to then come back to those points and to change the future erases what he did during the blackouts originally.

However, this doesn't happen with the 'father strangling him'-scene, so it's hard to explain, other than bad writing.

[–] gcarras (2727) 5 years ago

A higher power helped him. It was God. (Not really faceitious. We know he works in mysterious ways that we don't need explaining by.)