Back to the Future (is Now)
October 21, 2015
Today, October 21, 2015, is the future—or so it was way back when in the old days of 1989. Late in that now distant year, a movie directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox captured people’s imagination: Back to the Future Part II. The first half hour of the film, which is a sequel the 1985 hit Back to the Future, features a leap forward into the year 2015—October 21, to be exact. Today. As science fiction movies have always done, Back to the Future Part II made bold (if tongue-in-cheek) predictions on what the future would look like—what we would wear, what we would eat, what we would drive. The film made a lot of other wild guesses about the future, too—or perhaps, “II”. Did any of their predictions come true?
Canadian actor Michael J. Fox portrayed time-traveling teenager Marty McFly in the Back to the Future films. © Robert Pitts, Landov
What they got right: drones walked dogs in Back to the Future Part II. Drones (or UAV‘s) are beginning to do just about everything, so that seems plausible. There are cameras everywhere in the movie, following nearly everything people do. Got that right. The film also features alternative fuel cars and large, flat-screen televisions showing multiple channels; there are video chat systems, motion sensor video games, and wearable technology—all that sound familiar?
There were some obvious swings and misses, however. Flying cars, every sci-fi movie’s favorite future thing, do not exist. They could exist, but they would be impractical. Instead, we have Google and other companies developing cars that drive themselves. That’s futuristic, right? Disappointingly, there are no hoverboards (excepting one or two concepts) in today’s world of 2015. For better or worse, lawyers have not been banished, either. Telephone booths still stand on street corners, and fax machines are stacked around the house and mounted on mailboxes in the movie. Big misses. Hardly could the film creators have imagined how the Internet and smartphones would change nearly every aspect of communication. The movie also predicted the long-suffering Chicago Cubs would win baseball’s World Series in 2015. Tantalizingly close, this too seems like a long shot at best in the real 2015. The Cubs are down 3 games to 0 to the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. Barring a miraculous comeback, this will also be a failed prediction.
1989 was 26 years ago. How well could you predict 26 years into the future? In the year 2041, what will you be wearing? How will you get to work? Will you even need to leave home to work? What will you eat or drink, how will you communicate or play? What will your hair look like? Will you have any? There are a lot of things to think about…
