Back to the Future hits the present

Today, October 21, is the day that you could have - if cinematic and real-world cross-overs existed - bumped into Marty McFly and Doc Brown.


When the oh-so-fantastical world painted in Back to the Future II was released in 1989, it contained concepts and creations that boiled the minds of even the most die-hard Sci Fi fans.

But now that Back to the Future II has essentially become “Welcome to the Present McFly”, we must ask the question – Would McFly and Doc Brown be disappointed with reality’s 2015 compared to the one featured in their film?

Well, on the fashion front, probably. Back to the Future II’s 2015 fashion sense was pretty 80s by today’s standards… but waaay more 80s than the actual 80s themselves. Looking back on the costumes (pictured above), it’s difficult not to think that everyone involved clearly just walked off of a Lady Gaga or Mad Max set. I’m not sure Doc Brown would be impressed with reality’s Kenny Kunene-esque orange Louis Vuitton suits – and Marty definitely wouldn’t have been a fan of the tweed jacket hipster look.

Tech-wise, I reckon they wouldn’t have been too let down thought. Video-dialing phones, 3D cinema, finger-print recognition… reality has it all! Believe it or not, but the fabled Back to the Future hoverboard is also something not too far off. Those with a keen news nose might have already come across a piece of legalise out of Austria yesterday that legalises the hoverboard. We might not have it up for sale on every corner just yet, but Austria has their bases covered for when it is.

One of the biggest pieces of tech the movie’s creators showed off were flying cars. Again, they might not be the norm in 2015’s reality, but cars in the sky isn’t destined for the far and distant future… because we do have them.

The biggest ‘invention’ Back to the Future II has on show is instant (hydrated) pizza. Yes – we are a simple people, and the only thing we want is food more instant than 2 minute noodles. Were the Doc and Marty here right now, though, I think we’d be able to fool them just long enough to make it believable and Pizza Express to thank for their timely ‘invention’.

We may need to fool them with our ‘totally real’ instant, hydrated pizza… but there’s one thing we have that even the wildest dreams of 1989 could not have comprehended – and that is the internet. It’s tough to imagine the world of flying cars and dust-proof paper that we are delivered in Back to the Future II,  but it’s equally difficult to think of a 2015 reality in which the internet as absent from our lives as it is in the film. Cat videos just can’t not be a part of our lives.

Did you dress up or get up to anything crazy to celebrate Back to the Future day? Let us know @TheCitizen_News