After reading Octavia Butler’s ‘Kindred’ I could not help but be reminded of the classic film trilogy ‘Back to the Future’ which also deals with familial lineage and time travel.
In the first film Marty McFly travels back to 1955 from 1985 and accidently has his teenaged mother fall in love with him. This, in my mind, paralleled the relationship between Rufus and Dana. Throughout the rest of the movie, Marty tries desperately to unite his father and his mother, so that he may secure his fate. Somewhat similar to the task set for Dana as well.
Towards the end of the first film, Marty finds himself sitting in a car with his mother Lorraine. Marty is surprised to see that she drinks, smokes, and actively pursues boys. This is similar to the way that Dana wants to see Rufus as a good human being, even though he repeatedly shows that he isn’t.
When Marty finally returns homes to 1985, at first he feels a sense of displacement and surprise. Everyone in his family has changed, although they have changed for the better. To them he was never gone, yet Marty was a full week older, much like Dana and Kevin’s travels, though less exaggerated.
Much like Dana, Marty too faces hardships through his travels, however not nearly as extreme as antebellum South slavery. Whereas, the extent of Marty’s hardships were facing Biff Tannen and his kin.
I think by the end of the book and the end of the trilogy the main characters took away the same messages. They learned not to take the past for granted, that history holds valuable lessons for everyone, and that it might not always have been the way you heard it. The other lesson, for all intensive purposes was said best by Doctor Emmet Brown: “you’re future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.”
Haha…
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome comparison that I did not think about. Another movie that comes to mind (after reading your post) is Click. Though (in my opinion) not as good as Back to the Future, Click shares the same moral that your post talks about - learning to not take the past for granted. In the movie, the main character is so focused on having a good future that he does not take time to bask in the present. In a way, Kindred can be seen in this way too. Dana is so involved in her present and trying to push her "current" ideals onto Rufus, that she doesn’t (at first) acknowledge her origins. By going back into time, she can pause for a minute and realize all that has happened to make her "reality" worth what it is. I like that your post used another medium that expresses the same idea that Butler is trying to show in Kindred; it almost becomes more relatable.
I'm really glad you brought this up because I thought that throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteAnother parallel you didn't mention is how Lorraine had a crush on Marty(her son-to-be), similar to how Rufus almost raped Dana(his great-great-great granddaughter-to-be). Only the people of the future know they are related to the people of the past.
BADASS COMPARISON! Having grown up with Marty McFly, I feel so dumb that I couldn't make this comparison so easily. With every allusion to the present in the past, Marty reacted the same way: with shock (like realizing his mother liked to get a little loose) then understanding (like Biff still bulllying his dad). Dana, too, had reactions similiar; she was surprised on Rufus's behavior and the brutality of the South , but then slowly processed a deeper understanding. History is a nifty little tool; by using what has happened, we can better acknowledge the present and even future. Dana and Marty both carry this back with them to their respective presents.
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