Baack to the Future... Lives UP!

 

Great Scott! Back to the Future lives up!

Let's go back to 1985 and have a blast watching Back to the Future. Neither Jess nor Amanda had seen this movie in a while, and we love spotting things that we didn't pick up on when we watched it as kids.

One of the things Amanda really appreciated in this viewing was the deliberate portrayal of societal problems in all the timelines; neither the 1980s nor the 1950s were an ideal place to live. 

In the beginning of this film, Marty skateboards through the town center; we get a visual of 1980's moral decay. It shows shops that have permanently closed, there's a porno theater in the center of town, and vandals have tagged high school with graffiti. Normally, we review 80's films that present New York City as the big, scary, heathenish hellhole (Coming to America, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), so it's interesting to see small town America getting the same treatment here. 

Skateboarding past the moral decay in 1985

When Marty travels back to 1955, the town looks superficially idyllic. There's a grassy park at the center of town (instead of the 1985 parking lot) and a fresh coat of paint on every shop. It seems like the community is more bucolic... but it's quickly revealed that some of the people are repressed, some are racist (and violent and rapey). We see, via Lorraine's character, that the people drink and smoke in secret. The vices are still here in 1955, but hidden from public view.

Skateboarding through the verdant (but kinda racist) town in 1955

Marty's actions in 1955 change the timeline, and the 1985 he returns to is different but not necessarily better. He crashes the Delorean into the former porno theater, but now it's the "Assembly of Christ" megachurch. His siblings and parents have more money and confidence in the timeline reset, but come across as smarmy d-bags. The screenwriters have spoken about how this is their subtle critique of Reagan's 1980s (and the tying of the Christian right to Capitalism). Life is better for Marty's family, but it's still not great.

So, we enjoyed watching Back to the Future all these years later now that we can spot the nods to political and societal influences. Speaking of time travel, this photo started making the rounds last month and we love it so much:

Listen to all of our thoughts on Back to the Future here, on YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform.