Imagine time traveling as a tourist, but only to observe the biggest disasters in history. It sounds morbid, but I guarantee many people would be on board. Some would say it's for science, others would say for the truth, and others would simply say they want to be entertained. Truthfully, we've all driven slowly by a car crash and gawked. As bad as the situation was we couldn't take our eyes off of it. It's like we're in awe of destruction while at the same time saddened by it (if there has been a loss).
"Timescape" aka "Grand Tour: Disaster in Time" is about just that: people from the future go back to various dates in the past to observe large scale disasters. Ben Wilson (Jeff Daniels) discovers who the tourist group is though they try their best to keep their origin and intentions hidden.
Are these disaster tourists bad people? I don't know. It could be said that they are because they are marveling at the grave misfortune of others. Sure, they can't stop the catastrophe, but that doesn't mean they have to revel in it. On the other hand, it can be argued that they're not bad at all, they're merely observing what was going to occur anyway. It's no difference than someone rewatching a disaster on TV, except that they're watching live and in person.
I think the biggest issue is that being present and knowing that disaster is going to strike yet doing nothing to help save as many lives as possible doesn't sit well with us as human beings. Even if you know that meddling with the past could have a catastrophic effect on the future, how many can just watch as others die? Good, bad, or in between; if anything, "Timescape" gives us that to chew on.
"Timescape" aka "Grand Tour: Disaster in Time" is about just that: people from the future go back to various dates in the past to observe large scale disasters. Ben Wilson (Jeff Daniels) discovers who the tourist group is though they try their best to keep their origin and intentions hidden.
Are these disaster tourists bad people? I don't know. It could be said that they are because they are marveling at the grave misfortune of others. Sure, they can't stop the catastrophe, but that doesn't mean they have to revel in it. On the other hand, it can be argued that they're not bad at all, they're merely observing what was going to occur anyway. It's no difference than someone rewatching a disaster on TV, except that they're watching live and in person.
I think the biggest issue is that being present and knowing that disaster is going to strike yet doing nothing to help save as many lives as possible doesn't sit well with us as human beings. Even if you know that meddling with the past could have a catastrophic effect on the future, how many can just watch as others die? Good, bad, or in between; if anything, "Timescape" gives us that to chew on.