Back To The Future - The Future Is Now (Though Not Always Accurate)

Shhh...be very very quiet.  I'm hunting for a doctor driving a DeLorean and his teenage companion.

Only, I'm not going to shoot them.  That could really destroy the future.

Yes, today is October 21, 2015, and at 4:29pm Hill Valley Time, Doc Brown and Marty McFly are supposed to be arriving from the year 1985!  I'm definitely keeping my eye on them! 

Well, okay, I know that's not really going to happen.  After all, the "Back To The Future" series was a fictional production.  A great series of movies, mind you, but totally fictional.

Of course, back when the original movie came out in 1985, the future was not known.  I was only four years old in 1985, so I had absolutely no idea what the world would be like thirty years down the road.

Of course, we all know that in the thirty years since "Back To The Future" was released, the world has definitely changed.  In the thirty years, we've seen the first African American President elected, the first African American woman to win an Academy Award, and the first time the Boston Red Sox won a World Series in almost a century!

Of course, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  After all, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still trying to stop Shredder, Madonna is still releasing albums, and Donald Trump still has the same exact hairstyle.

So, it got me thinking...how accurate was "Back To The Future" in predicting certain events?

After all, in "Back To The Future II", Marty and Doc Brown travel to today's date!

Now, keep in mind...the second film was released in 1989, so it was absolutely impossible for the cast and crew to know what would have worked and what wouldn't. 

But I've watched that film and made a few notes.  So, what did "Back To The Future" get right, and what did it get wrong?

Let's find out.

PREDICTION #1:  The Cubs win the World Series

Okay, so if you want to get technical, the answer is NO.  According to the film, the final game in the world series was either held the day of October 21st, or the day before.  As of October 21, 2015, the Series is still going on, and four teams are still playing.  Though, interestingly enough, one of those teams is the Cubs...

PREDICTION #2:  Jaws 19 will be shown in theatres on 3D

I know there's been a lot of Jaws movies made, but I'm pretty sure that there haven't been nineteen of them made!  And, check out who made this movie!  Yes, Max Spielberg, the son of Steven Spielberg.  Though he hasn't made his directorial debut yet, I can tell you that this prediction did get one thing right.  Over the course of the last few years, 3D movies have become a big thing.  Not just that, but no longer do we have to wear those red and cyan glasses!  3D technology has really evolved.  Not quite to the levels of "Back To The Future", but it's getting there!

Though if they wanted to really blow people's minds, they should have made the marquee Star Wars themed!  Did anyone believe that in 1985 they would still be making those films?

PREDICTION #3:  We will be able to make phone calls via video

And, thanks to Skype and other various forms of online messaging, we can definitely do all this and more.  Although, the method in which the movie shows us seems a bit unorthodox.  I mean, yes, you could use a television screen (and bonus points for making the televisions flat screen even though the clarity of the image isn't quite there)...but why not just use an iPad or tablet?  Oh, wait.  Back in the planning stages of the movie, the crew never considered the power of the smartphone.  Though, I guess it could be overlooked when you consider that the smartphones back then were Zack Morris phones.  And speaking of which...

PREDICTION #4:  We will have phone booths that look like this

I really wish we did.  My god, those things are gorgeous.  Unfortunately, thanks to smartphones, pay phones are being used less and less, and some places have even got rid of them!  Before you know it, phone booths will become a part of history.  Nice flyer posted on the wall there, by the way!

PREDICTION #5:  Fax Machines will become a part of everyday communication

Only, they didn't.  I mean, finding dot matrix paper in 2015 is almost as hard to locate as finding typewriter ribbon!  These days, if you want to get a message out, we have e-mail, social media, and Snapchat.  Fax Machines are so 1990s.

PREDICTION #6:  We will all dress like THIS.

And more power to you if you do!

PREDICTION #7:  We will be able to purchase a product called Pepsi Perfect

And, as part of a social media contest, you can enter to win a Pepsi Perfect bottle much like this one!  Though, the closest that we can get to getting Pepsi Perfect is to drink a 710mL bottle of Pepsi Max.  And for some, Pepsi Max is an acquired taste.

Fortunately, my taste buds have given Pepsi Max the A-OK!  Though, I wonder if this was meant to poke fun at the New Coke disaster of 1985.

PREDICTION #8:  Mattel will come up with their own version of the Hoverboard and it will be sold in toy stores all over the world!

Only, Mattel didn't come up with the idea.  If anything, that credit goes to Lexus, who came up with a design this past summer.  So, while hoverboards are technically around in 2015, they don't look or perform anything like the one that Marty uses. 

Though one thing the movie did get right?  Neon colours!  They were big in the 1980s, and they seem to be getting a second wind as of 2015!

And, here are some other predictions courtesy of the newspaper of the future.

Sadly, there is no Queen Diana...she died in 1997.
And, it talks about a female president...but we're not quite at the right year for that one.  The closest year we can expect is 2016 - and that's only if Hillary Clinton gets the Democratic nomination.

So, there you have it.  Eight predictions from Back to the Future.  Some came true, some sort of came true, and some missed the mark altogether.  Can you guys and gals add any more that I may have missed?