Flight of the Navigator (1986) & Slaughterhouse-Five (1972): Unexpected Journeys | EP06
- Sep 10, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 9
Time Dilation in Sci-Fi
In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we continue our journey through the time travel subgenre by exploring two films that play with time in unusual ways.
Rather than focusing on traditional time machines, both films explore the idea that time can behave unpredictably — whether through relativistic space travel or a character experiencing life out of chronological order.
First we discuss Flight of the Navigator (1986), the family sci-fi adventure about a young boy who mysteriously disappears and reappears eight years later without having aged. The reason: a journey aboard an alien spacecraft that has subjected him to extreme time dilation during faster-than-light travel.
Then we explore Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), George Roy Hill’s adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s famous novel about Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes “unstuck in time,” experiencing moments of his life in a non-linear sequence across past, present and future.
Together these films show how science fiction can explore time not just as a destination, but as a strange and unstable dimension of reality itself.
Because here on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we explore the history of science-fiction cinema one subgenre at a time.
Listen to the full episode below:
What We Discuss In This Episode
In this episode we talk about:
• The idea of time dilation in science fiction
• How space travel can alter the experience of time
• Non-linear storytelling in Slaughterhouse-Five
• Alien perspectives on time and existence
• Why time travel stories often experiment with narrative structure
Flight of the Navigator (1986) – Time Travel Through Space
Directed by Randal Kleiser, Flight of the Navigator tells the story of a young boy named David Freeman who mysteriously disappears in 1978 and reappears eight years later having not aged at all.
Scientists soon discover that David’s mind contains star charts and technical information connected to an alien spacecraft.
The explanation lies in the physics of his journey: travelling across vast interstellar distances at extreme speeds caused a form of time dilation, meaning only a few hours passed for him while eight years passed on Earth.
The film combines family adventure with science-fiction ideas about faster-than-light travel and the strange effects of relativistic physics.
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) – A Man Unstuck in Time
Based on Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five takes a very different approach to time travel.
The story follows Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes “unstuck in time,” jumping unpredictably between different moments in his life — from his experiences during World War II to encounters with aliens on the distant planet Tralfamadore.
Rather than using a time machine, the film presents time as something fluid and nonlinear, reflecting the perspective of the alien Tralfamadorians, who perceive all moments in time simultaneously.
The result is one of the most unusual and philosophical time-travel stories in science fiction cinema.
Time Travel Without a Time Machine
Both Flight of the Navigator and Slaughterhouse-Five demonstrate that time travel stories don’t always require a machine.
Sometimes time itself behaves unpredictably — whether through the effects of extreme space travel or a character experiencing life outside the normal flow of chronology.
These kinds of stories push the time-travel genre in fascinating directions, exploring how our perception of time shapes our understanding of reality.
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About Journey Through Sci-Fi
Journey Through Sci-Fi is a podcast exploring the strange, visionary and world-changing history of science-fiction cinema.
Each series focuses on a different sci-fi subgenre, examining the films and ideas that shaped the genre - from classic cinema to modern science-fiction storytelling
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