Back to the Future Tech: Is 2011 more like 1955?
In 1985’s Back to the Future, we travel through time with Marty McFly in a nuclear-powered DeLorean. Marty can do what man has desired to do since the beginning of time: control his destiny. In the first movie, Marty goes back to the past in order to save his parent’s marriage, and consequently his existence. In the lesser first sequel, Marty travels into the future to modify the paths of his children. While these films are obviously fanciful, they do present an interesting question. In the year 2011, would we consider ourselves to be nearer to the technology found in Hill Valley in 1955, or the second film’s futuristic vision?
First, we should ask ourselves where we thought we would be by 2011. Of course we’d have flying cars and hover boards by now, wouldn’t we? Yet here we are, still driving fossil-fuel burning cars, riding scooters and bicycles, all the while wearing fairly normal clothes. Basically, if you took a step back and investigated the way we conduct our lives, much of the technology we use today existed 70 years ago. The television had been invented. Cars already had modern features like air conditioning and radios. Movies were shown in color. The Wizard of Oz, made in 1939 has special effects that rival many independent moviemakers today.
Many movies in the past, however, have prophesied some of the advances we use today. Arnold Schwarzenegger was caught carrying a gun through a full-body x-ray machine trying to board a plane in Total Recall. Airports are now employing very similar tech. In Minority Report, Tom Cruise deftly moves from image to image, mirroring the type of touch screen technology, 3D monitors and holograms that will exist – if they don’t already – in the very near future. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pan Am flies the common man to outer space. Virgin Atlantic is making that possible today for that same traveler, though they need to shell out $200,000 for a seat.
We might not have flying cars or hover boards, but we do have Jetson-like videophones. We can Skype to the 4 corners of the earth and chat with relatives or friends for hours for free. We can clone animals. We are in ethical debates over genetic engineering. We use lasers in everything from astronomy to surgery. Yet if you were to look at life all around us, does it look more like 1955 than 2055? We’re really no nearer to being able to fly to work as Dorothy was to returning to Kansas when she first arrived in Oz.
Where does that put us? The future is truly happening everywhere. Its seen in video billboards, the Internet tracking our every website click or online purchase, and 3D TVs and binoculars. We can still go to the movies – only now it might break your budget if you have a family of four. Still, the old axiom is true: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Chevrolet is still producing gas-powered convertibles, Universal is still making bad sequels, and you can still watch Back to the Future. Only now you can watch it on your phone.