I have searched online at various dictionary sites to find definitions of the terms “universe” and “timeline”. They vary from site to site, and don’t necessarily relate directly to universe and timeline in regards to a series of movies. There have been discussions on this board, recently and in the past, in regards to these two terms in relation to GAR’s dead movies. Members here seem to have different ideas as to the very definition of these terms, and how the GAR films fit into these definitions. In this thread, I would like to offer what I think the proper definitions are, and how I think GAR’s films fit into them. I would be interested to see how many members agree with me, and if they don’t, how they define the terms, and their thought on how the films fit into them. I would think that there would be less disagreements as to the definition and more disagreements as to how the films fit, but we shall see.
UNIVERSE – This term is used to define the rules of the world/scenario that exists with a film, or series of films. Most films are made/set within the “real universe”, meaning the world in which we live now. A romantic love story, for example, is set in our universe, meaning the characters in the movie live on planet Earth, there are countries like the United States and England, gravity exists, we use money in exchange for goods and services, etc. It exists in the real universe. Could characters from these types of movies interact with each other? Yes, they could, if they were to meet. Other films are set in universes different than our own, sometimes with minor differences, sometimes major. The Friday the 13th movies for example are set in a universe very similar to ours. Everything is the same, United States and England exist, gravity exits, etc. with one difference: there is a guy who can not be killed, can walk as fast as others can run, he kills people and then cleverly arranges the dead bodies after the fact, etc. (You could say another difference is that the characters act totally dumber than we do in this universe, but that is a movie technique, not a universe “rule”). Could George Clooney’s character in “One Fine Day” meet up with Jason Vorhees? No, they exist in different universes. Could Clooney meet Clint Eastwood’s character in “The Bridges of Madison County”? Yes, they exist in the same universe. I am not implying there should be a movie showing them meet, only that they could, because they exist in the same universe. The question here is "do the GAR movies take place in the same universe, or different universes?" I say they have to be the same. Gar created a universe that is just like ours, except that the dead can rise and want to attack the living, To say each film exists within a different universe suggest that GAR created 4 different universes, very similar to each other, with minor differences. To answer the question “How come the cemetery zombie from Night moves so fast, but in Dawn, none do?” is either answered by saying it was imperfections in the movie making process, or that GAR purposely created separate universe. What do you think?
TIMELINE – This term is very similar to universe, but different. It does not mean that a series of movies necessarily follow a certain order in relation to each other, only that they exist in the same timeline. For example, you could have a movie showing the story of Hitler, and another movie looking at a story of what would have happened if Hitler had been killed in the middle of WWII. Both would exist in the same universe, our own, the “real universe”. One would be a movie based on fact, a story we already know, the other would take place in a “different timeline”, one in which Hitler would be killed, and how that would affect the timeline of events that follow. It would still exist in our universe, but the timeline would be different. The fact that events that did not happen are in the movie does not mean it is in a different universe, only that the timeline was changed. Like in Star Trek, if you go back in time and mess with some event that has already happened, it changes the “timeline”, not the “universe”. So in GAR’s films, are they taking place in the same timeline, or not? I say they are. When they happen in relation to the timeline can be argued…. does Dawn take place 3 weeks after Night, or not? Do the events in Land happen after the events in Day, or not? Does Land take place three years after Night, or not? These questions are open to interpretation. But to suggest that the films take place in different timelines would mean that it is possible that after Night ends, the zombie plague could in fact end right there, and the world would return to normal, and that in Dawn, that is a whole new epidemic that has nothing to do with the events in Night. This would mean that GAR decided to start a new timeline with each film, and that new “rules” would exist in each film, and that imperfect movie making techniques are not the cause of minor differences. Which do you think is the case?
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Originally Posted by radiokill
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