In Arrival, Louise has advance knowledge of her unborn’s daughter’s far-future death. In Slaughterhouse-Five the stakes are probably a bit lower: Billy Pilgrim’s sanity is questioned, but the concept rings similar enough to the extent that you could consider the Heptapods something of a tribute to the Tralfamadorians.īut the most famous science fiction franchise of them all, Star Trek, also dealt with non-linear aliens assisting a human with notions of personal grief. By giving Louise the “gift” of seeing time differently, the Heptapods are able to communicate effectively to her, and thus prevent a worldwide meltdown. This idea is almost identical to what happens to Louise in Arrival.

In the book, Billy hangs out with aliens called the Tralfamadorians, creatures who see time as an “illusion.” As Vonnegut writes: “When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks he thinks is that the dead person is in a bad condition at that particular moment, but that the same person is fine in plenty of other moments.” Throughout the book, it’s revealed Billy’s time-skipping isn’t the direct influence of the Tralfamadorians, but that “they were simply able to give him insights into what was really going on.” In fact, aliens with very similar philosophies can be found in Kurt Vonnegut’s most well-known novel, as well as the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.įamously, the second chapter of Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse-Five tells the reader that “Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.” From there, much like Louise in Arrival, Billy Pilgrim experiences certain memories in his life out of order. Sure, Arrival is based on a science fiction short story called “The Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, but the idea of “timeless” space aliens predates the story and the new film. And it probably works so well in the film because it’s a classic and thoughtful science fiction premise. In the end, the justification for why everything happens in Arrival hinges on this notion. In fact, the Heptapods basically see through time, since they don’t believe the concept of linear time exists. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) realizes that one of the biggest stumbling blocks to communicating with the many-tentacled Heptapod aliens is the fact that they think about the “passage” of time completely differently than she does. But it also sneaks in another sci-fi premise too: the kind of time travel that takes place in your mind. The rare serious science fiction film, Arrival explores the near impossible task of presenting a feasible depiction of first contact with true aliens from another planet.

Story of your life arrival