BTTF Day, Reconsidered

It's a mixed bag, but it always is.

October 21, 2015 at 4:58PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The present doesn't resemble the predictions of a 30-year-old movie, ergo we've failed. USA Today:

Certainly not working on new prissy cliches to replace "I'm looking at you, (fill in the blank)" - that would be the job of writers, but new cliches take time to develop. "Where's my flying car" is another cliche, handy for identifying cranky Boomers or people who are mocking Boomer expectations.

"BTTF 2" - which wasn't a very good movie - got a lot of things wrong. Do you want your media to come on enormous optical disks?

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Do you want to wear the double-tie?

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Do you want to get messages by wall-mounted fax?

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Marty's boss is Japanese, IRRC, and I don't miss all the Pamper-dampening about Japan Inc shouldering America off the world stage.

Because if there's one key piece of evidence that leads today's digital sleuths to the guilty party, it's fingerprints.

Interesting how the author notes the movie's inability to predict the Internet and small portable phones, but moves along as if these innovations aren't as significant or needful as self-lacing sneakers.

In the original movie, Marty Mcfly . . .

Wasn't my reaction at the time. I thought it looked quite attractive, especially when you compared the bustling downtown of Hill Valley with the busted version in the 80s.

Speak for yourself, and nevermind the historical illiterates.

Stop using that phrase. I'm looking at you, USA Today columnist.

So everything's silly? That's the take-away here? Every era has its froth and fads, but there are serious themes in every decade. The trick for nostalgists in 2020 and 2030 will be finding as many idiosyncratic visual hooks to identify the times. After the early 90s, it all seems to look the same. I mean, it's not as if IKEA had a baroque period, or iPhones had tail fins.

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