The Butterfly Effect's Impact On Pop Culture
The Butterfly Effect’s Impact on Pop Culture
“The butterfly effect” is an ongoing metaphor that captures the idea of a small change making a substantial difference. This idea was originated by the author Ray Bradbury in his short story, “The Sound of Thunder”. In this narrative Bradbury writes about a company, Time Safari Inc., invite members of the community to travel back in time to kill dinosaurs. On the first trip into the past, they are very careful to not do anything that may affect the future. Although, they are not careful enough. Eckels, one of the passengers, mistakenly steps on a butterfly. When they return to the present, things have changed. Therefore, creating the idea of “the butterfly effect”. Sense this short story has been written, “the butterfly effect” has been used in ways such as films, television episodes, and music. …show more content…
For example, some of the movies this concept is used in are “It’s a Wonderful Life” directed by Frank Capra, the “Back to the Future” trilogy directed by Robert Zemeckis, and “The Butterfly Effect” directed by Eric Bress and J.
Mackye Gruber. In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” an angel shows George Bailey what it would be like if he was never born, and how it would affect all the ones in his life. Likewise, in the second “Back to the Future” movie Biff Tannan gets ahold of a sports almanac from 2015. He then becomes rich and changes Marty McFly’s home town. Once he returns to 1985, he soon realizes he is not pleased with the results of what he has done. One last example, is in “The Butterfly Effect”. Evan Treborn is given the opportunity to change elements of his teenage years. Although he means well by his actions, they seem to often have inferior
outcomes. Secondly, “the butterfly effect” has shaped television. It was used in an episode of “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”. In “The Simpsons” episode, “Time and Punishment”, Homer used a time machine to repeatedly travel back to the time of dinosaurs. Each time he visits he effects something new that changes present time. This is very similar to Bradbury’s short story. Whereas, in the “Family Guy” episode, “Meet the Quagmires”, Death assists Peter while traveling to the 80’s so that he can cancel a date with Lois. This causes Lois to marry Quagmire, and Peter ends up marrying Molly Ringwald. Also, even music has been influenced by Bradbury’s work. The band, “Moonspell”, has an album called “The Butterfly Effect”. Another example is the artist Lowkey. Lowkey released a song with the title “The Butterfly Effect”. This song asks if one could go back in time and change anything, would they. There is also an Australian band by the name of “The Butterfly Effect”. They got this title from “Then Sound of Thunder” and decided to use it for their band name. In conclusion, because Ray Bradbury’s idea of “the butterfly effect” resonates well with people, it has had a powerful impact on pop culture.
“The butterfly effect” is an ongoing metaphor that captures the idea of a small change making a substantial difference. This idea was originated by the author Ray Bradbury in his short story, “The Sound of Thunder”. In this narrative Bradbury writes about a company, Time Safari Inc., invite members of the community to travel back in time to kill dinosaurs. On the first trip into the past, they are very careful to not do anything that may affect the future. Although, they are not careful enough. Eckels, one of the passengers, mistakenly steps on a butterfly. When they return to the present, things have changed. Therefore, creating the idea of “the butterfly effect”. Sense this short story has been written, “the butterfly effect” has been used in ways such as films, television episodes, and music. …show more content…
For example, some of the movies this concept is used in are “It’s a Wonderful Life” directed by Frank Capra, the “Back to the Future” trilogy directed by Robert Zemeckis, and “The Butterfly Effect” directed by Eric Bress and J.
Mackye Gruber. In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” an angel shows George Bailey what it would be like if he was never born, and how it would affect all the ones in his life. Likewise, in the second “Back to the Future” movie Biff Tannan gets ahold of a sports almanac from 2015. He then becomes rich and changes Marty McFly’s home town. Once he returns to 1985, he soon realizes he is not pleased with the results of what he has done. One last example, is in “The Butterfly Effect”. Evan Treborn is given the opportunity to change elements of his teenage years. Although he means well by his actions, they seem to often have inferior
outcomes. Secondly, “the butterfly effect” has shaped television. It was used in an episode of “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”. In “The Simpsons” episode, “Time and Punishment”, Homer used a time machine to repeatedly travel back to the time of dinosaurs. Each time he visits he effects something new that changes present time. This is very similar to Bradbury’s short story. Whereas, in the “Family Guy” episode, “Meet the Quagmires”, Death assists Peter while traveling to the 80’s so that he can cancel a date with Lois. This causes Lois to marry Quagmire, and Peter ends up marrying Molly Ringwald. Also, even music has been influenced by Bradbury’s work. The band, “Moonspell”, has an album called “The Butterfly Effect”. Another example is the artist Lowkey. Lowkey released a song with the title “The Butterfly Effect”. This song asks if one could go back in time and change anything, would they. There is also an Australian band by the name of “The Butterfly Effect”. They got this title from “Then Sound of Thunder” and decided to use it for their band name. In conclusion, because Ray Bradbury’s idea of “the butterfly effect” resonates well with people, it has had a powerful impact on pop culture.