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.

[–] movienchill31 (222) 6 years ago

I would think the music, tv programs, and social media would be a shock

I mean back in the 60s 70s 80s and 90s we had family oriented shows(The Dick Van Dyke show, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Andy Griffith, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, A Different World). Now reality tv has taken over and that's pretty much what's on tv.

Music, like tv, was family oriented and didn't tell you everything and left things to the imagination. Now, R&B is pretty much nonexistent and rap is even worse. Pop and autotune has taken over. Back then you actually had to have TALENT and could SING. Now, they handing out contracts to anybody. I could probably get one and I can't sing worth a lick.

Yeah sure there was internet in the 80s but not the extent that is now. Social media has taken over, so communication face to face is pretty much nonexistent. You either talk to them over the various social media outlets or texting on cell phones.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Old, old thread now but my pair of pennies...

They might be surprised at how LITTLE some things have changed. They WOULD be shocked at the size and sophistication of home entertainment systems, but once they turned it on they would see TV series with familiar names... Hawaii Five-O, Lost in Space, Roseanne. The music would sound not-out-of-place since pop music hasn't really evolved dramatically in the last 30 years. Even fashions -- clothes, haircuts, etc. -- would be comfortably similar to what existed back then.

Global warming/climate change would be a big shock I think. Rivers that no longer reach the ocean. Hurricanes and wildfires of apocalyptic proportions... the stuff of dystopian sci-fi novels dating back to the 60s and 70s. Hell, last night on the news I watched a tornado of fire... A TORNADO OF FIRE that grabbed then melted a fire hose... created by the intense winds of wildfires in BC, Canada. Straight out of Damnation Alley. The way we just shrug as civilization closes in on its end would probably shock them.

The Internet would be the hugest change for them. It has literally transformed EVERYTHING. The ability to bank, take pictures and edit them, communicate via text and voice, instantly see news in real time, the concept of social media and influencers, watch movies and listen to music, get directions, plan vacations, get directions, etc... and most of this can be done easily using a Star Trek-like device that fits in your pocket. That would blow them away...

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

They would demand to know where all the hoverboards and flying cars are.