WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ—Great Scott! Back to the Future Day is finally among us. This means that the “Back to the Future” film this day is based on will now take place entirely in the past—talk about a time warp.
October 21 marks the day that Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) traveled to the then-future of 2015 in the DeLorean created by Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) in order to fix the past, present and future. But before returning to 1985, Robert Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future Part II” promised 2015 a new, updated look.
Although we’re still waiting on self-drying clothing and a traffic-free sky highway, some of the movie’s predictions are uncanny when compared to reality. Here is how some of the film’s versions of 2015 stack up 30 years later.
Hoverboards
The film features perhaps the coolest, if not the most predictable invention found in almost all futuristic films—hoverboards. Reality has come close to every teenager’s dream with the Chic Smart Self Balance Scooter, which allows the rider to glide with just two wheels and their weight. The scooter is even waterproof, but taking a cue from Marty and skating across ponds is not recommended just yet.
“Jaws 19”
The movie playfully teases the classic shark horror film by showing its 19th iteration in theaters, with a 3D shark almost devouring Marty on the street. Although Steven Spielberg’s son, Max, has not hinted at a “Jaws 19” film (…yet), the “Jaws” franchise is stronger than ever as it celebrated its 40th anniversary last summer. There is still hope, especially since 2015 has turned into the year of the remakes, including some of Spielberg’s most popular creations being made over.
From the looks of it, students at Monmouth would not mind seeing another “Jaws,” even if it is not the 19th sequel.
“It’s one of my favorite movies and after swimming with sharks twice, they are still my favorite animal,” said Kevin Moedt, a senior communication major. “It would be awesome to see a new ‘Jaws’ film.”
Video Calls
The video calling capability that “Back to the Future” considered futuristic is something that we take as standard today. Companies such as Skype, Oovoo, Apple’s FaceTime and even Snapchat put this prediction to bed faster than we could hit the “accept” button. Televisions today are even equipped with applications for video calls, making getting fired like Marty not only much cooler, but more likely, too.
Regular phone calls, on the other hand, are just a day in the past. It seems Drake had it right all along with the lyrics in his new song, “Hotline Bling.”
Nike’s Self-Lacing Shoes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Wa5L-fkkM
Marty slips into his self-lacing shoes in the movie version of 2015. Even though laceless shoes were originally thought to be the future, Nike wanted to one-up its competition with self-lacing shoes. Nike tweeted “see you tomorrow” on October 20 to Michael J. Fox, heavily implying the release of the first pair of Nike Mag, the self-lacing shoes worn in the 1989 film. The shoes can be found in New York City for “Back to the Future” Day, according to USA Today. USA Today also noted that Nike has been in the works with a patent for “power laces.”
Will these shoe trends catch on to students that are Marty’s age today? Considering the positive feedback online and on campus, it is possible.
“You don’t have to tie your shoes anymore!” said Phil Chidichimo, senior political science major. “Not to mention, the shoes themselves were so cool.”
Pepsi Perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrwRdzFP-fY
Marty bought a special type of futuristic soft drink–Pepsi Perfect–in Cafe 80s. By the real 2015, Pepsi has added over 250 low-calorie drinks to its catalog, and on October 5, the company’s YouTube channel premiered an advertisement for Pepsi Perfect with their slogan, “The Future is Now.” The limited edition Pepsi Perfect bottles went on sale today in honor of Back to the Future Part II and sold out faster than ever expected according to the company’s Twitter.
With both hits and misses, it will be interesting to revisit the predictions from the “Back to the Future” trilogy years from now and see if they have come true.
