What does precognition looks like in the short term?
February 4, 2010 6:47 AM Subscribe
What are some for media depictions of seeing briefly into the future, especially in terms of probability/what could have be?
How have various directors, artists, etc. portrayed precognition of a few minutes into the future? Less about seeing the future in general terms, and more about seeing possibilities of what could be. So the Butterfly Effect, not Nostradamus.
Simple depictions of several possible outcomes for a situation are good too, a la Run, Lola, Run. But I'm looking for depictions of specific people and/or events, not fate of humanity/world business.
I'm looking more for the presentation itself; explanation, effects, etc. aren't particularly of interest.
Visual media is ideal, but books are fine as well. Thanks!
How have various directors, artists, etc. portrayed precognition of a few minutes into the future? Less about seeing the future in general terms, and more about seeing possibilities of what could be. So the Butterfly Effect, not Nostradamus.
Simple depictions of several possible outcomes for a situation are good too, a la Run, Lola, Run. But I'm looking for depictions of specific people and/or events, not fate of humanity/world business.
I'm looking more for the presentation itself; explanation, effects, etc. aren't particularly of interest.
Visual media is ideal, but books are fine as well. Thanks!
The TV show "That's So Raven" has one of these every episode. That's the premise of the show. Raven stops and the camera zooms into her eye to have a glimpse of the future - which she tries to change and inevitably actually causes to happen. Jump to 6:08 in this clip.
posted by yeti at 7:18 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by yeti at 7:18 AM on February 4, 2010
Knowledge of the future is often discussed in Doctor Who--specifically when the doctor talks about what can, and cannot, be changed.
Cheesy teen SF writer LJ Smith has a precog as the main character of her Dark Visions trilogy--in her case, she draws the future.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:35 AM on February 4, 2010
Cheesy teen SF writer LJ Smith has a precog as the main character of her Dark Visions trilogy--in her case, she draws the future.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:35 AM on February 4, 2010
I immediately thought of the Nicolas Cage movie Next. But the more I think about it, the less I understand the question. The Butterfly Effect was about alternative presents if some event in the past was changed. So basically any (backwards) time-travel story uses this trope: Back to the Future, Star Trek IV, Quantum Leap, Terminator, etc. I would also include stories like It's a Wonderful Life or Mr. Destiny, where an angel or whoever shows the main character what things would have been like if something had gone differently.
Your question was about precognition, though, meaning a glimpse into the near future given some choice in the present, which makes me think of Minority Report (already mentioned), Paycheck, The Matrix series, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, and similar clairvoyant superhero stories. A particularly funny example from the British show No Heroics is the character Timebomb, who can only see 60 seconds into the future and pretty much just uses the power to get laid.
Obviously, both kinds of stories deal with the "downstream" effects of changing some thing "upstream," but I feel like there's a difference. Or are you interested in both?
posted by albrecht at 8:03 AM on February 4, 2010
Your question was about precognition, though, meaning a glimpse into the near future given some choice in the present, which makes me think of Minority Report (already mentioned), Paycheck, The Matrix series, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, and similar clairvoyant superhero stories. A particularly funny example from the British show No Heroics is the character Timebomb, who can only see 60 seconds into the future and pretty much just uses the power to get laid.
Obviously, both kinds of stories deal with the "downstream" effects of changing some thing "upstream," but I feel like there's a difference. Or are you interested in both?
posted by albrecht at 8:03 AM on February 4, 2010
Next with Nicolas Cage had some really fun ways of depicting precognition. From walking confidently through a firefight next to crouching feds (because he knew where the bullets would come from) to having him "split" into multiple persons as he tests each future path. The movie is "meh" at best but has a bunch of different ways to demonstrate the main character's precognition.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 8:08 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by [insert clever name here] at 8:08 AM on February 4, 2010
Santiago from Heroes: Destiny does exactly this. You can watch all four episodes here.
posted by geekchic at 8:28 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by geekchic at 8:28 AM on February 4, 2010
Time after Time.
The conceit is that HG Wells actually invents a time machine. Jack the Ripper uses it to escape into the future (SF in the 1970's) and Wells follows him. Wells meets a girl and wants to show her that his time machine works, so they jump forward one day -- and see a newspaper headline showing that she'd been murdered by the new Ripper.
Then they return, and try to avoid that fate.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:06 AM on February 4, 2010
The conceit is that HG Wells actually invents a time machine. Jack the Ripper uses it to escape into the future (SF in the 1970's) and Wells follows him. Wells meets a girl and wants to show her that his time machine works, so they jump forward one day -- and see a newspaper headline showing that she'd been murdered by the new Ripper.
Then they return, and try to avoid that fate.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:06 AM on February 4, 2010
Wasn't there a tv show about people who would get tomorrow's newspaper today and would try to change the bad things?
Ah yes. Early Edition. So maybe that fits?
posted by bDiddy at 9:13 AM on February 4, 2010
Ah yes. Early Edition. So maybe that fits?
posted by bDiddy at 9:13 AM on February 4, 2010
Response by poster: Great, thanks for the suggestions all!
posted by Nelsormensch at 9:10 PM on February 7, 2010
posted by Nelsormensch at 9:10 PM on February 7, 2010
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posted by pupdog at 6:51 AM on February 4, 2010