Does anyone else remember those old Back to the Future movies with Michael J. Fox? The movies revolved around a DeLorean that had been converted into a time machine.
Biff Tannen, the movie's villian, manages to get his hands on a sports almanac from the 21st Century and you don't have to use too much imagination to figure out what he does with it. Tannen makes a fortune betting on sports events and builds a giant casino, complete with cheezy museum devoted to the "Life of Biff Tannen," the man who has an uncanny gift for picking winners.
USS Nimitz, Photo courtesy United States Navy
But, so far, is Biff Tannen really much different from Mr. Owens in The Final Countdown where the aircraft carrier Nimitz is transported back to Pearl Harbor in history [right as Japanese planes roar in to attack] and back to modern times again. Mr. Owens gets "left behind" when the ship returns to the 20th Century and you see him meeting the ship at the end of the movie, stepping out of a large black car. Presumably Mr. Owens played the stock market very well having come from the 20th Century.
Here, I might add, who wouldn't have used such information for gain. I mean, who hasn't dated a check a bit earlier at least once in his life to "look" timely.
Biff Tanner clearly uses his new-found fortune to manipulate the lives of others. Mr. Owens appears to have restrained himself and while enriching himself caused no one else any harm. Who wouldn't want to own Mr. Owens' stock portfolio?
Both movies do a great job of examining the ethical considerations of altering history and are worth mentioning in light of any attempt to "bend time."
Special thanks to: Temporal Anomalies in Time Travel Movies Website written by M. Joseph Young.
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