Back To The Future II vs. The Real Future

By Laura L.

Many of us have seen the Back To The Future trilogy. And, while watching Back To The Future II, some of us have wondered, “Is that really what things will look like in 2015?” Flying cars, hoverboards, weird-ass sunglasses. . . 2015 is only six years away, and I’m about to break down what the makers of the trilogy, back in 1989 (when the movie was released), thought would happen, as opposed to what will most likely happen.

Flying Cars

Screencap by Hollow-Art

What they thought would happen: Traffic on the ground. Traffic in the air! Traffic, traffic everywhere.

What will most likely happen: There is traffic everywhere, but I think we’ve gotten screwed on the “in the air” part. All during childhood, I was led to believe we’d see flying cars in the future, but as it turns out, the most futuristic thing that’s happened in automobile technology has been the hybrid car. (Or maybe satellite radio in the car. Or GPS. Hmm. . . ) Besides, how can we have flying cars when their fuel economy hasn’t improved since the Carter Administration?

The ’80s Cafe

Screencap by Hollow-Art

What they thought would happen: ’80s nostalgia’s gonna be HUGE!

What will most likely happen: Well, they were right, but ’80s nostalgia is already starting to fade out, paving the way for ’90s nostalgia. Instead of a Max Headroom-esque menu, perhaps have monitors with 56K (or 14.4K, if you wanna get real) connections on phone lines to let you know what the specials are.

Futuristic Fashion

Screencap by Hollow-Art

What they thought would happen: Spandex is forever! The clothing of the future is gonna be form-fitting—the tighter, the better. Oh, and men will wear two ties, not one.

What will most likely happen: With the aforementioned ’90s nostalgia on the horizon, flannel shirts and babydoll dresses are bound to find their way back into the closets of America’s youth. Whether jeans will still be skinny remains to be seen. I seriously doubt that leggings, which are now back in, will stay in by 2015 (speaking of skintight clothing). As for ties? Unless things change drastically in the next few years, men will be fine with just one tie, and by “fine,” I mean “tolerant.”

Hoverboards

Screencap by Hollow-Art

What they thought would happen: They’re like skateboards, but they’re in the FUTURE! Someone’s gotta invent this!

What will most likely happen: Skateboards will remain sans-hover for the time being. [Ed.—Actually, as of October 21, 2015, there are three different hoverboards in existence, according to this WIRED article. Even Popshifter can’t predict the future .]

Video Telephones

Screencap by Hollow-Art

What they thought would happen: See, it’s just like today’s phone calls, except they’re all on video!

What will most likely happen: They actually tried to market a videophone to us in the early nineties. It failed because people still like talking on the phone in their underwear. (They also cost over a grand each.) However, cellphone cameras, webcams, and Skype have picked up where videophones left off, giving one the ability to correspond virtually face-to-face wherever, whenever.

Giant TV Screens EVERYWHERE

Screencap by Hollow-Art

What they thought would happen: GIANT TV SCREENS WILL BE EVERYWHERE!

What will most likely happen: Okay, this has actually happened.

Billboard sized televisions appear along many highways and interstates and “normal” sized TVs have sprouted up in this decade like Starbucks did in the late 90s: in banks, subway terminals, malls, and even dentist’s offices.

Screencap by Hollow-Art

One big thing Back To The Future II failed to predict was the emergence of cell phones. 2015, and people were still shit out of luck if their cars broke down in the middle of fucking nowhere. They couldn’t even come up with some teleportation gimmick! If only director Robert Zemeckis had any clue just how much of a sci-fi wet dream cell phones would become. Hell, the iPhone probably has an app for instantly making coffee wherever, and if it doesn’t, it should. But is this anywhere in Marty McFly’s 2015? No, sir.

Next time you see a movie set in the not-too-distant future, take notes, then compare them to see if they measured up when the real future meets the not-so-real future. Of course, if we are to believe the conspiracy theorists, the world will end in 2012, so you’d better get cracking fast.