Back to the Future Review:

Robert Zemeckis’ film Back to the Future uses many patterns of imagery to established itself as one of the most iconic Sci-Fi films of all time. As Colin McArthur notes in Underworld USA, “The recurrent patterns of imagery can be usefully divided into three categories: those surrounding the physical presence, attributes and dress of the actors and the characters they play; those emanating from the milieux within which the characters operate; and those connected with technology at the character’s disposal” (Screening Space, P. 597). For one thing, both Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly) and Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) have become synonymous with their respective roles, even though neither actor won any awards for their performances. Marty McFly is also a very 80’s centric character and his old school Nikes have become as famous as the film has. While Doc Brown’s isn’t as emblematic of the 80’s, he’s one of the most iconic “mad scientists” of all time. Doc conforms to many stereotypes of mad scientists created by films such as Frankenstein and Doctor Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. He’s ant- social, lives alone, and he works on experiments all the time. Doc’s also very bipolar and his emotions are centered around the success of his inventions; he appears exited and crazed while setting up his experiments but gets very depressed when they don’t work. Christopher Loyd was the most outstanding actor to participate in the film. The film would have nowhere near the same level of suspense and angst of the film were it not for his performance as Doc Brown.

The spacial setting of Back to the Future serves a very function within the film’s iconography as well. The opening scenes reveal many hallmark locations in Hill Valley, California circa 1985 such as the diner and the clock tower. These hallmark locations are, of course, subject to comparison when Marty travels to the same town, thirty years into the past.

However, in 1985, Marty demonstrates his conformability in his hometown by skateboarding and hitching rides on the back of people’s cars to his neighborhood, Lyon Estate. Lyon Estate is another hallmark location of the film because when Marty travels back to 1955 he finds that Lyon estates has yet to be built. Skateboarding didn’t exists in 1955 and, in a notable scene from the film, Marty detaches a child’s homemade robot from a wooden plank with four wheels and uses it as a skateboard to escapes from his father’s bully, Biff.

The technology at the character’s disposal also contributes greatly to the iconography of the film. As Vivian Sobchack points out in her book Screening Space, spaceship’s in science fiction films are “good,” and, “aesthetically beautiful”. The DeLoreon can be viewed as a spaceship that travels through time instead of space. It provides Marty with the means for a positive adventure and the “gravitational demands of earth” (Vivian Sobchack 632). In the year 1985, Marty McFly meets his friend Doc Brown in a parking lot to view his new invention: a DeLorean with a “Flux Capacitor” built into it. The “Flux Capacitor” is essentially the invention which allows the DeLoreon to travel through time. Doc quickly reveals that the Capacitor is powered by plutonium which he stole from Libyan terrorists. When the Libyans show up at the parking lot and gun Doc down, Marty is left with no other means of escape other then to travel back to the year 1955 in the DeLoreon, without the necessary radioactive element to get him back to the future.

Back to the Future is more than a simply iconic film. Despite the corny dialogue, the film’s plot is brilliant and each and every actor embodied their characters to the max. The film’s plot is very reliant upon human problem and solutions that couldn’t occur without scientific content but it sets itself apart from other Sci-Films by remain a feel-good movie all the way through. While the plot of the film remains consistently suspenseful, there’s never any major sense of dread that exists in most films centered around time travel and dystopian pasts. One of the major themes expresses in Back to the Future is the idea that love is the most powerful earthly force and phenomenon. In fact, The Back to the Future theme song is “The Power Of Love” and the idea love is expresses greatly through romantic relationships, family relationships, and friendships. “The Power of Love” first plays in the film after Jenifer writes down her number for Marty on the back of a flier and writes, “I Love You,”. Marty McFly is motivated throughout the film by his love for Jenifer. His objective to return to her in the future remains constant which means that his character doesn’t undergo any major transformations. This love and lust that Marty feels for Jenifer is greatly contradicted by his parent’s relationship, at least in the beginning of the film.George and Lorraine are first introduced as very apathetic characters who’ve become content with their apparently miserable lives. Loraine tells the story about how she fell in love with George while nursing him back to health after getting hit by her father’s car. Marty’s sister roles her eyes and remarks on how seemingly non-romantic her parent’s fist encounter was. Of course, when Marty travels back to 1955 and witnesses his parent’s first encounter, he learns that it was even less romantic since his father was “peeping” on another woman when he fell out of a tree in front of Marty’s grandfather’s car. Things get even more muddied when Marty gets hit by the car instead of George and Loraine falls in love with him instead.

Marty’s radical assumptions about the past are challenged by many the the characters in 1955 but primarily by his mother, Loraine. When Marty meets the teenaged version of his mother he’s shocked by how eager she is to rebel against her own parental units by smoking, drinking, and fooling around with boys (Marty). These are things that the 1985 version of his mother would never condone. Another major theme expressed in Back to the Future the idea that people can change and this is mainly expressed through Marty’s relationship with his father, George. When his mother falls for homestead of his farther, Marty coaches his George on how to win over Lorraine’s affections. In learning how to be a stronger and more confident person from his future son, George’s undergoes more character development then any other character in the film. In the beginning, he’s a push over who allows his boss, Biff, to take advantage of him both at work and in his personal life. In one of the earlier scenes, Marty returns home to see his father’s truck has been destroyed by Biff. Biff refuses to pay for it and also demands that George get his work done for him and drop it off to him the next day, but not too early because he likes to sleep in on Saturday. Biff physically chastises George by grabbing his tie and knocking on his fist against his forehead, saying, “Hello? Anybody home?” repeatedly. Biff also does this right in front of Marty, George’s teenaged son. When Marty goes back in time to 1955 and encounters his father for the first time at a local diner, he witnesses Biff bullying George in the exact same fashion, only now he’s demanding that he drop off his homework for him (because they’re in high-school) the next day, but not to early because he likes to sleep in on Sundays. It’s these type of precise details that give the plot of Back to the Future so much depth and make the story so compelling. It’s hard not to relate to Marty’s frustration with his father’s apathy and willingness to be taking advantage go. Similarly, it’s hard not feel a sense of compassion for George as well as a strong hatred for Biff. Biff is a very stereotypical bully and his character is as iconic as any other in the film. Everyone has known a person like Biff at some point in their lives as he embodies virtually every trait commonly associated with bullies. He’s dumb, arrogant, and constantly becomes enraged to the point that he makes situations worse for himself, like when he slides his car into the back of a truck filled with manure. Ultimately, Back to the Future establishes itself as a feel-good movie when George knocks Biff out and finally gets Loraine to fall in love with him. This effectively solves the issues that Marty created by altering the past and gives him safe passage to travel back to the future, where he finds things are not as he left them.