A poster of the film Back to the Future 2.
In 1985, Doc Brown transported Marty McFly and his girlfriend Jennifer to October 21, 2015 via a time travelling DeLorean. That was 30 years ago - or almost, because
Back to the Future 2 was set in 1985 but actually made in 1989 - and the future has finally caught up.
GIF courtesy: giphy.comThe events of October 2015 form a relatively short episode in the film itself but have long been a focal point of fan attention, it being the only 'future' from the hit trilogy to look forward to. Some of the tech imagined by director Robert Zemeckis and writer-producer Bob Gale does exist, if not in exactly the version envisioned in the film - we do have fingerprint identification, flat-screen TVs, video conferencing, 3D holographs and wireless video games, no hands required.
GIF courtesy: giphy.comWhat did
Back to the Future 2 get wrong about 2015, then? The answer is - mostly everything. To start with, time travel - nobody's gotten around to inventing the 'flux capacitator' that enables the DeLorean to travel in time.
GIF courtesy: giphy.comDoc Brown, where art thou?
Here's some other stuff that the film version of 2015 had, some of it cool and some of it not:
Flying cars"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." In the film's 2015, it's not just the DeLorean that flies, traffic on the 'skyway' is pretty heavy at times.
Automatic clothingClothes that adjust and dry themselves? Yes, please. Can someone invent 'one size fits all' ASAP? No more waiting in line at the changing rooms or exchanging sizes.
Self-lacing shoesNike, hello? Keep up please.
GIF courtesy: giphy.comDehydrated pizzaIt goes in shrunken, it pops out full-sized. You could carry your pizza around with you in your pocket till you are ready to eat. While the real 2015 does have a lot range of dehydrated food that come in packets and are ready to eat in moments, pizza with toppings isn't on the menu. Nor has Black & Decker remembered to invent a 'hydrator' in which to rehydrate the dehydrated pizza.
GIF courtesy: giphy.comSeriously bad fashionSome of the fashion of 2015 is fairly dreadful (too many of those street style 'stars' just leave us puzzled) but at least we haven't been reduced to wearing the double ties that Marty McFly's future self shows up in.
Fax machinesThe real future doesn't have fax machines every which way you turn. Instead, we use e-mail, SMS and WhatsApp.
Here's a two-in-one scene from the film with Marty's ties and the faxes:
Jaws 19Steven Spielberg - sorry, make that Max Spielberg - never did get around to making Jaws 19. No giant holographic shark has scared us witless at theatres this year.
GIF courtesy: giphy.comTurns out, the real 2015 is sadly deficient in cars that fly, pocket pizza and the monster movie of monster movies. But here's what we do have:
The hoverboard? GIF courtesy: giphy.comThe hoverboard is here people, courtesy Lexus, just in time for October 2015.
These smart-specs? We have Google Glass.
Image courtesy: @googleglass Oh, and Elijah Wood?
GIF courtesy: giphy.comWe have Elijah Wood.
It's been nice knowing you, October 2015.