Since you’re on the Internet reading this, you’ve no doubt seen the flood of posts celebrating the fact that today — October 21, 2015 — is the date that Doc Brown, Marty McFly, and Jennifer Parker travel to in Doc’s DeLorean Time Machine in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II. Starting tomorrow, the beloved film trilogy will have taken place entirely in the past.
But why is it beloved? Why is everyone talking about it? As of the time I’m writing this, trending topics on Twitter include #BacktotheFuture, #IfIHadAHoverboard, and #2045NewsStories — a chance for people to do what Part II attempted to do for us in 1989 — and on Facebook, both “Back to the Future Day” and “#PepsiPerfect” — the soda that Marty orders from Cafe 80s in 2015 — are trending in the top 10. People are fully embracing the hype and nostalgia of this ’80s classic.
Personally, I’ve been obsessed with Back to the Future since I first saw the film when I was 10. As I type, I am sitting here wearing a Back to the Future shirt and the fancy future hat Marty wears in the film, as well as listening to the film’s score by Alan Silvestri, all while sipping coffee from my Back to the Future-themed mug. On the wall behind me is a sort of “shrine” to the trilogy, featuring two posters, three DeLorean time machine models, a couple of action figures, and…well, too many items to list here, really. (Although I should mention that one of the posters and a picture from the film are signed by Christopher Lloyd — Doc Brown — and I have a mini-hoverboard display signed by Bob Gale, co-writer and producer of the films.)
I’ve long tried to nail down exactly what makes this trilogy so endearing to me with little success. I can list individual parts of it that I love — the textbook examples of setup and payoff, the jokes that make me laugh every single time I watch, the way Michael J. Fox’s Canadian accent slips out every once in a while, the way 2015 Biff slaps 1955 Biff on the back of the head for his “make like a tree and get out of here” joke, the smile on Doc’s face when Clara tells him she loves him, etc. — but those are small things that are part of the greater whole. What is it about these films that make them so great?
For one, they’re relatable. When director/writer Robert Zemeckis and writer/producer Bob Gale conceived the idea for the first film, they asked a simple question: Would we have been friends with our parents in high school? And honestly, who hasn’t thought about that? My mom was on the drill team and my dad played football; I was in the marching band. Would our paths have crossed? Would we have liked each other? None of us can really answer this question, but Back to the Future gave us a chance to explore the possibilities. Of course, one of those possibilities was “your mother [becoming] amorously infatuated with you instead of your father,” but let’s not talk about that.
Aside from asking that question, the film shows that no matter how different we see ourselves from our parents, we’re ultimately just like them. Marty, like his father, lacks self-confidence and fears rejection. It encourages us to look inside ourselves and identify those traits we share with our parents so that we may better understand their motivations and appreciate where they are in life.
These films are also about love. We see Marty and Doc’s love for each other as friends, Marty and Jennifer’s love for each other as a couple, and George and Lorraine’s love for each other as husband and wife, and we’re even treated to the development of Doc and Clara’s love for each other. We’re taught that happiness comes from love, as most clearly exemplified by the stark difference between George and Lorraine’s relationship at the start and end of the first film; at the beginning, there is clearly very little chemistry between the two because the basis of their relationship is pity from when Lorraine’s father hit George with the car rather than love. But because of Marty’s actions in 1955, the two are actually given the opportunity to truly fall in love with each other, resulting in a happier, more successful life at the end of the movie.
Lastly, they’re about hope. We’re shown a 2015 that is idealized and optimistic, filled with wonderful technology that makes life better and more streamlined. Obviously, we don’t have those things today, but that doesn’t mean hoverboards and flying cars are forever out of our grasp. Because it’s a story about time travel, Marty is able to literally change his future for the better by interacting with the world around him. But here’s the thing: You don’t need a time machine to change the future. Look at your life and ask yourself, “Do I like where this is going? Will my life on its current course be what I want it to be in the future? Am I doing what it takes the make the world a better place?” And if the answer is “no”? Change it. Make a lifestyle change. Rekindle a relationship. Do what it takes to create a better future for yourself and for others. At the conclusion of the trilogy, Doc tells Marty and Jennifer, “…Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is what you make it, so make it a good one.” Words we should all live by.
“If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” Go out there and make the future a nice place to live.
Chad can be found on Twitter @chadadada and formerly at ChadLikesMovies.com, which he’d gladly return to should there be enough interest!
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