Today Is 'Back to the Future Day'

And Doc Brown has a 'sweet message' for all of us
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2015 6:03 AM CDT

"I always hated—and I still don't like—movies about the future. I just think they're impossible, and somebody's always keeping score." Strange words from Robert Zemeckis, who directed all three films in the Back to the Future franchise, but as CNN notes, he has a point. Oct. 21, 2015, is "Back to the Future Day"—the day in Back to the Future II to which Doc Brown, Marty McFly, and Jennifer Parker time-travel to save Marty and Jenn's kids—and everyone is already hyperanalyzing the film's predictions as to how the world would present itself when 2015 arrived. What it got right, per CNN: giant-screen TVs, Jetsons-style videoconferencing, hands-free video games, and media drones. Big misses: hoverboards, flying cars, devices that put you right to sleep, and self-adjusting clothes, Gizmodo notes. (The Chicago Cubs win the World Series in the movie, so we'll stick a "TBD" on that.)

So how does one celebrate Back to the Future Day? The Independent has put out a guide so you can avoid "looking like a complete idiot who knows nothing about futuristic films." And Spotify has created a "Back to the Future" playlist of songs that were popular on Oct. 21, 1985—which the Guardian points out doesn't make a whole lot of sense, since that date isn't relevant in any of the movies, but we don't want to be a Biff about it. As for anyone feeling let down that our prophesied future didn't totally come to fruition, Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) has put out what the Week calls a "sweet message" in which he says that although the future is "different than we all thought … don't worry. It just means your future hasn't been written yet. No one's has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one." (NBC offers 10 tips for celebrating.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X