What's real and what's not in Time Bandits? Is Kevin just dreaming all this up? If he's not, then what the heck kind of reality do we live in? Well, if you ask this movie, the reality we live in is one in which you can use a map to open portals that will transport you in time to wherever you want to go, to a completely new version of reality. It's a heck of a ride, and we can't say it doesn't expand our notions of what the universe could be...which may be the whole point of it all.
Questions about Versions of Reality
- How do class distinctions in the movie reflect similar divisions in the real world? What does the film have to say about those divisions?
- Which places in the film can genuinely be said to exist in an alternate reality?
- Can you make a case that the film has been all a dream? If so, what do you make of things like the photos and the piece of Evil? Has Kevin's dream become so powerful that it has broken through into reality?
Chew on This
Take a peek at these thesis statements. Agree or disagree?
Reality is a matter of perception rather than concrete fact, and because of that, it is limitless.
Reality is a shifting place, but it does have firm boundaries. Otherwise, why would there be a map?