Time Travel is Always Horror

Time travel is an often the stuff of movie heroes who fix the past and save the future in some yet to be explained machine. But, I don't think any human could truly handle the horror of manipulating time at will. Well beyond just the butterfly effect, the very action implies a loss of humanity. This video essay will analyze and put forward a theory as to why time travel makes a story horror.

The Time Machine by HG Wells popularized the concept further, while also introducing the idea of a machine which made it possible. It follows an unnamed story-teller explaining his trip to the future, where he met the Eloi and Morlocks, and where he witnessed the end of the world we know, finding true meaninglessness. He's a man lost to time, unable to fit into any world after his adventure, as Wells introduces a strange philosophy of hope
Life is Strange, a hit video game all about the butterfly effect, follows Max Caufield and Chloe Price, as they try to solve a hidden mystery in Arcadia Bay with Max's ability to rewind time. In a story way, the game shows how this ability makes Max and Chloe irresponsible and childish, and in a meta way, shows that the unlimited nature of rewinding time is deeply unsatisfying.
Madoka Magica, the dark magical anime, has many great themes between Homura, Mami, Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyoko, but today the focus is on the time-skipping first. Wishing to save Madoka, Homura is thrust back in time, where she loops endlessly to try and save her love, turning her from a shy, caring girl into a cold and manipulative killer; traversing time has removed her most human traits. Yes, Urobuchi went all philosophy on this one too.
Steins;Gate follows Okabe (Kyouma) the mad scientist who accidentally invents time manipulation (d-mails) with his Phonewave. By sending hidden texts back in time Okabe alters the present, leading to utter chaos and seemingly unintelligible results, presenting the case that no amount of preparedness or calculation can handle the inherent chaos of time and its inmplications.

This is a video essay analyzing those stories, presenting the time travel theory that it is inherently horror, and explaining how humans are incapable of surviving it, at least as themselves.

Gameplay footage for Life is Strange from KnightWalkthroughHD:    / @knightwalkthroughhd8128  

0:00 Introduction
2:16 The Time Machine
17:30 Life is Strange
29:06 Madoka Magica
44:35 Steins;Gate
1:00:32 Outro

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