MovieChat Forums > Back to the Future Part II (1989) Discussion > If people in 1985 could see the world to...

If people in 1985 could see the world today?

posted 10 years ago by crockett_john
100 replies | jump to latest

What do you think would be most surprising? I don't think the movie makes an actual attempt to predict the future, but instead attempts to be pretty extreme in its depiction of 2015. We have a lot of technological advances that might have been hinted at or even predicted by scientists back in the 1980s, like personal computers being in practically every household, but I don't think they would have predicted the extent to which we rely on smartphones, tablets, and the Internet in general.

Here are some I think would be surprising:

- The downfall of printed news. Newspapers stil exist, but they're not really a source of braking news any more. By the time an event is covered in a newspaper now, it's already an old story.

- President Obama, not because he's the first black president, but because the political climate in 1985 was a lot different from what is now and I think people in 1985 would be amazed that someone with his values/political views would ever get elected, especially with things like the Affordable Care Act.

- The fall of the Soviet Union - this happened not too long after the movie came out, but I don't think this was something that would have been easily predicted in 1985.

---
I'm just expressing my opinion.

You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.

[–] Mr_Hollywood_North 9 years ago

If the date is October 21st 2015, the newspaper headline should read:

Canada gets new PM.

Our next scheduled general election will be on Monday, October 19th, 2015.

--Justin Trudeau, the son of former Prime-Minister Pierre Trudeau, was elected to a narrow majority government yesterday. (The final results will probably only be known after midnihgt. Making it Tuesday, the 20th.) Shown during his victory speech with wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Mr. Trudeau has vowed to surpass his father's legacy.--

The USA Today paper would probably report on international news.

[–] pksoze22 9 years ago

The big ones first

The President being black would be a big deal, especially one who is ideologically the opposite of Reagan.

The Soviet Union being gone is another big one.

The fact that Castro is STILL ALIVE and now we're having diplomatic ties with Cuba.

The Fall of the Twin towers and involvement in two wars.

Smaller changes that would still be shocking.

The different types of internet devices such as phones, iPads, Kindles.

The Internet itself actually.

Flat Screen TV's and the sheer amount of channels to watch.

Things that they would be disappointed that don't exist.

No Flying Cars

No hover boards.

Can't control the weather.

[–] silvercometred1 9 years ago

"The Fall of the Twin towers and involvement in two wars."

That's what I was going to point out. Of course the Cold War was active in 1985; but the USA wasn't involved in a "shooting war" in 1985. I think the wars we have been involved in since 1990 and then the attack on New York and Washington resulting in our current wars would be a big shock to people of 1985.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bond_98 9 years ago

Frankly i think Technology and compurters has changed more than anything else. Yeah there no cold war. But the Russians have been replaced by terrorist. I don't think that if you took someone from 1985 and put them in 2015. That they would be as shocked as if you took someone from 1850 and put them in 2015. Otherwise Cars, Planes, Appliances, Furniture and others are all more or less the same was they were in 1985.

[–] ziggystar86 9 years ago

Well Russia are again scaring their neighbours, so that's not that different.

[–] Volley2020 9 years ago

People of '85 would be most surprised at how terrible our space program has been since... 1985.

Virtually nothing got done and we still haven't been back to the moon, or sent those first colonists to Mars. Shuttle Challenger disaster in '86 and Shuttle Columbia disaster in '03 between 1985 and 2015... yikes.

I suppose the biggest surprise of all would be how similar 2015 is to 1985, besides the instant international communication, world wide web, and lack of VCR's. People still drive cars, clog up the freeways, and work 8-5 everyday with 30-60 minutes for lunch. It's not the future they thought would happen...

[–] Makarov-324 9 years ago

Yeah we need more space stuff going on.

I think people from 1985 would be amazed by the Roomba.

[–] ziggystar86 9 years ago

People of '85 would be most surprised at how terrible our space program has been since... 1985.

I find that as one of the most dissapointing things. I really hope there will be Mars travels in my lifetime.

[–] Volley2020 9 years ago

Yeah, me too. As a kid I totally expected astronauts to reach Mars by the time I graduated from High School. I was so very wrong!

[–] cold_sky 9 years ago

I remember in 85 the catch phrase on the east coast was "high-tech". We kids would say that about anything. "Oh man that's so high-tech."

No idea what today's catch phrases are, but I think that "yolo" thing is finally passé. 

[–] inefekt 9 years ago

You could ask, if you walked out of the premiere of BTTF2 as a teenage kid back in 1989 all excited about the prospect of the future, of flying cars and hoverboards but then got knocked over by a car and stayed in a coma for 26 years and finally woke up in 2015. Upon awakening you still think it's 1989 but the nurse tells you "sorry sir, it's actually the year 2015, you've been in a coma all this time". Still a kid at heart you'd be incredibly excited (perhaps a bit groggy and sore from being in a coma for so long!) and you wouldn't be able to wait to get out of the hospital to see the future, the same future that you only (effectively) saw yesterday. Would you be disappointed at what you saw?
There's no hoverboards, no sky highways, no flying cars, no bionic implants, no home fusion reactors, no sleep inducing gadgets. We haven't mastered fusion energy, we can't get bionic implants nor can we control the weather. There's no holographic signage.
No! No! No! This can't be happening! What have you people been doing all these years?

Actually hold on a second, we do have hoverboards, they only work on metallic surfaces but we have them.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/142464853/hendo-hoverboards-world s-first-real-hoverboard
We have flying cars but they're still in the prototype stages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Aeronautics_X-Hawk
We have electric cars. Have you ever seen inside a Tesla? Your 1985 teenage self would be positively giddy.
Look at the jump in computer graphics, sometimes people don't know whether I'm watching sport on TV or I'm playing NBA 2K15 on my PS4!
What about the internet? There's too many things you can do online for me to list here, it's pretty incredible to be honest. That teenage kid would spend weeks exploring the web.
Compact discs? Pfft, everything is stored in flash memory now! Smart phones would blow you away.
There's tons of technology like exoskeletons, mind controlled artificial limbs, artificially intelligent robots like ASIMO, spaceships landing on comets, rovers sending HD images from Mars and people working in an international space station.
I think that kid would be equally disappointed and fascinated with how the future actually panned out.

[–] longcooljolie 9 years ago

Inefekt, I really enjoyed the way you responded to this thread. For awhile now there have been variations of this thread at various places on this board and again I try to use my imagination and think about what my then 26-year-old self would think had I been beamed 30 years forward into 2015.

First of all, I'd be very anxious over the prospect of going into the future. Remember that most visions of the future from the 70s and 80s were dystopic like the movies Omega Man, Soylent Green, Blade Runner and others. Who knows what kind of a hell hole I'd be getting beamed into!

My first thought after the rush of re-entry would be great relief that at first glance the United States looks pretty much the same except for a few more glassy skyscrapers in the bigger cities. But then I'd be disappointed that cars are pretty much the same and still run on gasoline. In 1985 I would have thought at least that we might be using garbage for fuel or that there might be some floating roadsters like in Star Wars.

Shopping and consumerism would be a big shock, especially at the fact that Wal-Mart, which was still a regional chain in 1985, had become the giant behemoth it has.

Other people have mentioned the lack of a space program, but to me the writing on the wall was there in 1985. The Space Shuttle to me always seemed like a very expensive jet ride into zero gravity.

And one thing that my sixth grade teacher predicted has kind of come to pass. He said that with all the modern conveniences and urban sprawl that people would get lazy and fat in the future because everything would be done for them. Well.....-

[–] MaximRecoil (4173) 7 years ago

Actually hold on a second, we do have hoverboards, they only work on metallic surfaces but we have them.

That was possible in 1985, and far earlier than that as well. It is just electromagnetism.

We have flying cars but they're still in the prototype stages.

In 1985, flying cars had already been around for decades. They weren't mainstream then, and they are no more mainstream today. They will never be mainstream as long as they depend on human pilots. Being a pilot is a highly specialized job, and it always will be. Just because you call something a "flying car" doesn't mean it's not an airplane by FAA standards.

We have electric cars. Have you ever seen inside a Tesla? Your 1985 teenage self would be positively giddy.

We've had electric cars since the late 1800s. They were once even fairly common, enough so that there were public charging stations in cities such as New York City.

What about the internet? There's too many things you can do online for me to list here, it's pretty incredible to be honest. That teenage kid would spend weeks exploring the web.

The internet has been around since 1983, and the precursor to the internet (ARPANET) had its origins in the 1960s. Granted, the internet is a lot better today. It didn't start to become mainstream until the World Wide Web, cheap PCs, and a user-friendly operating system came along, i.e., in the mid 1990s.

Compact discs? Pfft, everything is stored in flash memory now! Smart phones would blow you away.

No, not everything. Music is still widely sold on CDs, and movies are still widely sold on optical discs which look like CDs, i.e., DVD and Blu-ray discs. And "smart phones", while being technologically impressive, are a bane of society. People can't keep their face out of them for 5 minutes, even when they're in public or guests in someone else's house.

There's tons of technology like exoskeletons, mind controlled artificial limbs, artificially intelligent robots like ASIMO, spaceships landing on comets, rovers sending HD images from Mars and people working in an international space station.

Experimental novelties and/or trivia, i.e., nothing that affects the day-to-day lives of the vast majority of people.

I think that kid would be equally disappointed and fascinated with how the future actually panned out.

Mostly disappointed is more like it. Even big TVs and a lot of channels are nothing new. TVs as big as 60" or more and over 100 channels were available in '85, i.e., rear-projection TVs and satellite TV. The only thing that's really improved in that area is the picture quality of the source material, i.e., the best we had for home use in '85 was LaserDisc and NTSC television broadcasts. It's not that much higher quality didn't exist in '85 (and far earlier); 35mm movie film is on par with today's digital HD formats, and 70mm movie film blows today's HD formats out of the water. However, those were (and are) pretty much only available for viewing in movie theaters.

[–] devoelodi 9 years ago

I think they would be happy to know that we abolished all lawyers.

[–] aimot 9 years ago

Well, I was 26.y.o. in 1985 and only thing really surprising in last 30 years was Soviet Union falling apart. All other things - computers everywhere, mobile phones, internet, 3D movies etc was not so surprising at all, it seems normal techincal progress.

If anything "surprises" that world is still so "underdeveloped ".
We still use same type of cars, trains and planes.Space techology is anxient, same chemical rockets from Von Braun era, small ISS , which is just like modernized Mir station ,where people even cannot wash their clothes or take a shower.No manned missions to Mars or even to Moon.No world peace, not even peace in Europe, which seemed very solid in 1985.

2015 is not so great after all.

[–] neslover89 9 years ago

While a lot has changed, a lot has not as well. People still get up and go to work a 9-5 job with a 30 minute to hour break. We still drive cars on highways and interstates with traffic jams and speed limits. There's still the family unit of a mother/father/children. However, it was predicted that every home would have a computer and they do. I think they would be more surprised at how we have such widespread use of cell phones and how they're pretty much just little computers. Back then just having a cordless phone was considered futuristic. I think they would also be surprised at how fashion is still flamboyant and flashy as it was in the 80's. The 90's fashions were more minimalistic and not so flashy compared to the 80's and the 2000's was all about being perfect (perfect straight/shaggy hair, perfect skinny/toned stomach, minimal but somewhat flashy clothes) also they would probably be surprised at our pop culture and how incredibly cheap it's gotten. People Like Kim Kardashian wouldn't be seen on the cover of every magazine, if seen at all. Back then people worked for their fame and recognition. Today you can do nothing and pretty much get famous. The media and paparazzi followed singers and movie stars back then. Andy Warhol knew there would be mass media that would make everyone famous though with his term "15 minutes of fame"

[–] absolutenick 9 years ago

The monumental jump in technology would amaze most people. Everyone having instant access to the world with a smart phone is amazing. Being able to stream movies and other content directly to your smart 3d tv and using the dvr is another amazing advancement but other than those basic things there really isn't that much different in a persons day to day activities.

Sorry Brother.

[–] TaRaNRoD (1579) 6 years ago

When it comes to technology, maybe living throughout the evolution might seem quite normal progress.

It would be another game if a person simply goes in a coma for 30 years and then wake up. With this unexpected long gap, that would definitely amaze that person.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I lived through the period in question , i was quite amazed , even tho not comatosed most of the time.
The march of advances of technology has been staggering . Surely it cant continue?
I cant even think of any tech we dont have now .
except purely ludicrous things from star trek , like replicators and transporters.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I was 11 year old in 1985 and I think what would amaze me most is that I don't have to go to a video store to rent a movie (even if time traveling flying cars now existed I think I'd still be most impressed by not having to get off my ass to rent Under Siege).

[–] TwoThousandOneMark 9 years ago

1985ers?

- Smartphones, everywhere. Nevermind the internet itself, yet being able to be connected via mobile phone in your pocket would be amazing to them.
That goes for music consumption, photography, etc all in our pockets.

- Car technologies. While we're not flying, we are driving the safest, most technologically savvy automobiles in history.
Think cars haven't changed much? Watch 1985 tv/film & see all the boats sitting by the curbs.

- Banking. Essentially a (paper) cashless society.

[–] Darth_Ferior 9 years ago

So what would people in 1985 think of the world today.

No more supersonic flights across the Atlantic (Concorde)
No more space shuttles - nothing to replace them
No more hovercraft travel between the UK and France.

They may think we're going backwards.

Here in the UK I imagine they'd think today's fashion was boring compared to what it was, and that we'd all become too soft, as the eighties was a violent period.

With today's movies I guess they would be disappointed with the lack of vigilante films which were so popular back then, but what would they think of the lens flares, unsteady cameras and people jumping from rooftop to rooftop?

They would probably say our television has too many reality shows and science fiction (science fiction was frowned upon in the eighties, at least in the UK)

Music - the eighties was the age of keyboards, what would they think of the rap that appears to have taken over?

Main point was people were worried about nuclear wars back then, I guess there'd be relief that nothing like that had happened, although there would be fears of terrorism in the future.

I guess what would impress them is the many hand held gadgets, such as mobile phones and tablets.

[–] blaque108 9 years ago

Good question OP.

I would say they would be surprised by the cell phones and computers. Especially with these cell phones and I-Pads.

I think they would be amazed by some of these battery operated cars (smart cars)

I agree with Darth about the TV, Movies, and Music. I think they would be amazed with the flat screen TVs and this high definition stuff. They would be amazed at how TV has changed and the music and how music artists don't really write music on paper anymore but type it in on their cell phones. Also how DJs barely use record players anymore to DJ just use an I-Pad or cell phone again.