It has been twenty-nine years since the Back to the Future trilogy appeared in theaters across the nation. The film is considered one of the best-selling films of all time.  There is no mystery as to why.  The movie gave Generation X and Y (those born between 1960 and 1994) insight into millennial life. However, the question is “Did Back to the Future provide the world with the right information?”

In Back to the Future II, Michael J Fox as Marty McFly, borrows a hoverboard from a young lady.  A hoverboard is similar to a skateboard and scooter, except it flies.  In today’s society hoverboard exist, but they are currently being tested by technology enthusiasts. The movie showed the DeLorean flying.  No one owns a flying car, yet, although flying cars are currently being made and tested by car companies. Are we still not convinced the movie was accurate?

There is a scene in Back to the Future II where Marty almost gets eaten by a three-dimensional shark which escapes the theater.  In today’s society, three-dimensional movies are the preferred way of viewing movies. Do you remember when Marty McFly viewed a screen that showed a man and he was talking to it?  This is teleconferencing, which is how most people communicate in today’s society.  We can turn on our phones and/or laptops and video chat with our friends, family and/or colleagues.

There is one final thing the film got correct.  The idea of glasses that allow the wearer to escape into a virtual world is no longer a concept for the future.  These glasses are similar to Google glasses, except Google glasses allow us to search Google while away from your phone or computer.  With Google glasses, we are not escaping into another world. We have discussed everything the film portrayed correctly, but what about the information that was not accurate.

In the movie, Marty’s sneakers laced without him having to touch them.  These sneakers were Nike brand. Although Back to the Future II showed self-lacing sneakers, Nike has not made any attempts to produce these sneakers.  There is another scene where Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, pushes one of the sleeves on Marty’s jacket and every zipper closes and the jacket readjusts itself.  Unfortunately, jackets have not become this advanced. We should remain hopeful. There may come a day when our clothes will magically appear on our bodies. The idea of a flying dune buggy is not displayed accurately. This one is difficult because flying cars are currently being made, which means a dune buggy may fly one day. Therefore, this information may have been accurately portrayed. One final idea that is not correct is the concept of instant pizza makers. In today’s society, we don’t have instant pizza makers. If we decide to make ourselves a personal pizza, then it can take between twenty and thirty minutes (depending on our oven) to make.

Back to the Future II has shown millennial life in a positive way. We can assume the director, producers and actors did have the right thoughts about modern day society.
Would we give up our technological advanced world? Probably not, but at least, the world has come much further since twenty years ago.

By Rashai Lee

Source:
CNN

Image courtesy of Anthony Catalano – Flickr License