Nostalgia in Back the the Future
Most people have seen or heard of Back to the Future: the famous sci-fi movie from the 1980s that became an instant Hollywood success. The film offered multiple perspectives of different time periods throughout the 20th century, and each of them had unique characteristics and interpretations of the landscape and interactions that took place during those times.
In this essay, I will focus on how the director portrayed 1985 and 1955, and offer my opinion over the interpretations of both time periods, as an outsider from the year 2020.
If you compare the two photos, it’s clear that the directors of the films had their own visions of what societies in the past and the future looked like. In the year 2015, cars were represented in a futuristic style, with flying cars being the main point of interest. The skies were filled with these vehicles and traffic among the clouds. Everything around Marty McFly was moving in a quick pace, leaving audiences fascinated with what they saw moments earlier. 1955, on the other hand, was much slower paced, which portrayed these times as a simpler era.
Let’s take a closer look at the years 1985 and 1955, the 2 years that the directors focused on in the first Back to the Future film.
There’s not much to say about the year 1985. Since the film was released during this particular decade, lots of details and environmental landscapes were accurately depicted. Cars were up to date, clothing appeared normal, infrastructure was modern and the pace was serene. The audience is directed to focus on Marty McFly and his relationship with girlfriend Jennifer. An interesting parallel to keep in mind is the appearance of Marty’s parents. Specifically, Linda McFly appears quite overweight, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and overall, in really bad shape. When Marty McFly meets with his good friend Doc Brown, Doc reveals the famous time machine inside the car, known as the DeLorean. At this moment, the audience is brought back to the past, where we spend the majority of the film in.
As the DeLorean reaches 88 MPH and travels back in time, not only does the clock go backwards, but more interestingly, it slows its hands down.
As soon as the year 1955 comes around, everything comes to a stop, literally. Marty Mcfly finds himself in the middle of farmland, with no idea of where he actually is.
The plot goes as follows: Marty meets the younger version of Doc Brown, in hopes of getting Back to the Future. But, by getting hit by a car in his old town, Marty has to save the relationship of his never-meeting parents. After a series of encounters with Biff Tannen, the antagonist of the film, Marty ultimately prevails by getting his parents to fall in love at a dance, and returning back to the future through a genius set up by Doc Brown.
You got that?
Well, let’s take a closer look at where the film takes us during this 2nd act. At first, the audience gets a look of the nice, scenic area around Town Square. The cars are vintage, everyone is interacting closely with each other, and everything is fine. Marty goes inside a 50’s Cafe, with a bartender and worker chatting together, and getting along. Regardless of race or sex, everyone is having a good time, until the arrival of Biff.
Later on, the main focus of this part of the film shifts to the Saturday night dance, where Marty is planning for his mom and dad to meet. As a sequence of events takes place, mom and dad eventually slow-dance together. Music plays in the background, and everyone, once again, enjoys their time.
Aside from the chaos caused by the antagonist and the plan to return to the year 1985, the directors portrayed this era as a simpler time, where everyone was enjoying themselves, music, and life.
“Well, you’re safe and sound now back in good ol’ 1955.”- Lorraine McFly
Robert Zemeckis, the director of the film, was born in 1952. Unsurprisingly, directors Bob Gale and Neil Canton were born in 1951 and 1948, respectively. Part of their childhood was in the 1950s, which makes perfect sense towards their interpretation of the era. A metaphorical example is this: 1985 Linda McFly had many struggles with weight and addictions in her life, whereas 1955 McFly had no worries whatsoever. Although 2014 was not very long ago, I personally miss that time, because when someone looks back at the past, they remember more of the good things that took place during that time, or that year.
Especially in 2020, everyone around the world has experienced some sort of challenge. They romanticize years like 2016 or 2017, labeling them as “simpler times”, when in reality, we are just fed up with the present. We know 1955 wasn’t a great time for African-Americans, yet, the film made it appear as if it was. Ultimately, we carry feelings similar to these today, with a false perception of the past.
Nostalgia was undisputedly the driving factor for Back to the Future, and it remains powerful to this day.
