2015…You Had One Job

Was the Back to the Future movie a big reference to today’s world of technology?

2015s+Modern+skateboard+rolls.

2015’s Modern skateboard rolls.

Imani Roberts and Jamie Tadiaman

 

This year is 2015, the moment of time we’ve all been waiting for was predicted over the past 30 years, we have overcome a lot in technology. In the classic movie, Back to the Future Part II, released in 1989, the main characters Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to the future, more precisely, the year 2015. The film made various predictions about the future, some of which have and haven’t come true.

The movie depicts the future as a highly technological world. This prediction was spot on since the world we live in today is filled with advanced technology. The film features devices such as Smart TV’s, live video communication, and technological eyewear. Today, we have flat screen televisions that can connect to the Internet, Facetime and Skype, which allow us to talk to people ‘face to face’, and eyewear such as the Google Glass.

While some things from the Back to the Future Part II movie have arrived, others are still yet to come. Hoverboards are present, but you can only use them on certain surfaces. Hendo’s hoverboard is going towards the right path and uses magnetic technology to make the board ‘hover’.

The NIKE MAG featured in the film, which was sold in auction for Parkinson’s research by Nike and the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2011, was a replica from Back to the Future Part II. Though Nike has attempted to give the public the famous self-tying shoe prior to Marty’s arrival, Canada’s Powerlace is already here. As the user presses their heel onto the pressure stand, the foot would fit as it steps into place.

Flying cars have already been invented, but they are not like how they appeared in the movie. Companies such as Terrafugia and AeroMobil have created working prototypes and are trying to get them out to the public. We probably will not have this product available to us anytime soon, because the companies face problems. The pricing of a single car is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and safety of flying. While the thought of flying cars is cool, it seems a lot more complicated and more expensive than having regular cars.

In the movie, the people of the future have abandoned locks and keys in favor of biometric identification or fingerprint technology. Fingerprint technology is already here, more or less. Devices such as the iPhone are built in with a fingerprint scan technology, which can be used to unlock your phone and make purchases from the iTunes and the App Store. Thumbprint activated locks similar to the ones seen in the movie have was invented and have been available for sale. Unfortunately, they are not very common since a single lock can cost from $200-$500.

There are many gadgets and gizmos that Back to the Future Part II displayed but have never arrived. Tired of awkward heat and chills? Sadly, weather-control is currently still not in existence.

Now, many may ask, what may be keeping us away from the possible ‘Back to the Future’ world? First of all, the technology presented is highly priced. Hendo’s hoverboard costs $10,000, which may not be affordable to everyone’s budget. Also, most of the products are not advertised. Therefore, the public would be ignorant if it existed.

While it has been very convenient to us, many people fear the power of technology. For example, many people have experienced identity theft or have been hacked. According to the studies by the Identity Theft Resource Center(ITRC), reports of hacking have doubled since 2007.

The movie depicted 2015 as high-tech and problem free, but in reality we are far from that. The world may not be yet ready for most of the technology seen in Back to the Future Part II and is still experiencing various issues. Hopefully in the near future, we would be able to live in a world similar to the one featured in the movie.