"Back to the Future" Day

The day is upon us, the day we've all been looking forward to for years – unlike in 2012 when that pesky Mayan calendar had us all wondering if the world was going to end – "Back to the Future" day. Wednesday, October 21, 2015. The day that Marty McFly traveled to in 1985, 30 years in the future. 

"Back to the Future" is one of my all-time favorite movies and trilogies. It's one of those movies that my brother and I watched over and over again when we were little. Marty McFly was my very first crush. It was not someone more dashing like Han Solo or Indiana Jones, but the boy-next-door cutie pie who just wanted to play his guitar and camp at the lake with his girlfriend… yet was ultimately swept up in Doc Brown's drama as the second-ever time traveler. Einstein The Dog was the first. 

And it's been fun over the years to see what the movies predicted; what they got right, and what they got seriously wrong. 

I'm sad that there are no hoverboards – or maybe there are, but they're not available to the masses. I kept holding out hope for that one. Though I have seen those electric scooters around – the ones that look like hoverboards, are more like Segways, but not as ridiculous-looking. If that's the closest we're going to get, I'm cool with it.

The strangest thing to happen has been the prediction of the Cubs winning the World Series, which hasn't happened since 1908, and they actually made the play-offs. The other crazy thing was that they were supposed to have played a Florida team, which didn't exist at the time "Back to the Future 2" was released, but does now – The Florida Marlins. 

Other things they got right were Hollywood's obsession with sequels (Jaws 19 never happened, but the idea rings true) and the fact that entertainment and media is absolutely everywhere, as is advertising. 

But let's be honest, most of it was wrong. There was the implication that as technology became more advanced, and we were bombarded with media from all sides, kids would become more stupid. It was made apparent that Marty and Biff's children were obviously much dumber than their parents, and Biff wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with. And it's true that our kids are growing up in a much different environment, with social media and tablets that offer hours of entertainment to hold in their hands, but I don't believe it's making them less intelligent. Social media does have its drawbacks, but I think the technology of 2015 is also letting kids be more creative and imaginative, able to think outside the box in a way that people never used to. 

Also the fashion, they really got that one wrong. If they would have stuck to the fashion of 1987, when the movie came out, that would have been more accurate, as '80s and early '90s fashion has made a reappearance lately. Though whether or not that's a good thing is an entirely different question. 

"Back to the Future" Day

No one is wearing double-ties, thank God, and Michael J. Fox and Elizabeth Shue are both looking much better than their fake-older-selves from the movie. 

Also, sadly, we have no flying cars. 

And finally, the other strange thing that could happen, apart from the Cubs winning the World Series, would be if Donald Trump keeps being the frontrunner Republican for the upcoming election. We would face a serious consequence, and that's the bizarro time-line in which Biff is the guy that runs things. Do not let this happen, America, do not let this happen. 

If you want to get into the spirit of things yourself, "Back to the Future" will be showing in theaters around town, at exactly 4:29 p.m. on Wednesday. Gear up your flux capacitor and go to where you don't need roads. 

 

"Back to the Future" Day

 

 

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