Back to the Future and the Nostalgia Trap | Video Essay

Back to the Future is a 1985 film that was written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and directed by Zemeckis solo. It tells the tale of Marty McFly as he finds himself trapped in the 1950s and has to play matchmaker to his parents (or phase the consequences of never getting born). It was followed by two sequels in 1989 and 1990 respectively and... is super iconic. Like, super, SUPER iconic.
For many, the trilogy is a fun tale of time travel, pop culture humor, and some truly peak 80s mainstream film action. But, as I discovered upon a deeper look at the movies, there's actually quite a bit of subtle commentary on the nature of nostalgia to be found here. Or, at least, enough for me to string together 30 minutes worth of material about it! Idk man, you be the judge!
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Credits:
Research:
Nostalgia: a conceptual history | PubMed
How ’80s Hollywood and Ronald Reagan fueled each other - and paved the way for Trump | Vox
Video/TV/Media:
Back to the Future (1985)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Family Guy (1999-Present)
Ronald Reagan's Acceptance Speech at Republican National Convention, July 17, 1980 | YT: Reagan Library
Happy Days (1974-1984)
Late Night with David Letterman (1982-1993)
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Warner Bros Classics Promo (1996)
The Last Outpost (1951)
Tropic Zone (1953)
The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy (2010)
Paris, Texas (1984)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Reagan at 1980 convention: "make America great again" (C-Span)
Cattle Queen of Montana (1954)
Johnny Rockets Original Crew | YT: Johnny Rockets
Michael Jackson - Slave to the Rhythm Performance
A Flying Car (1949)
Midnight In Paris (2011)
Ready Player One (Trailer)
Stranger Things Season 1 (Trailer)
Ghostbusters Afterlife (Trailer)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1948)
Music: Super Back to the Future II OST (Super Famicom)
#backtothefuture #videoessay #80smovies

[@tanookiplayer]

The Back to the Future trilogy are my favourite films of all time. It's hard to pinpoint which one is my favourite but its probably the first one. Despite being about time travel it is a timeless classic that I think anyone can watch with ease. This was an interesting analysis on the film about nostalgia & repeating past mistakes.

[@NicheCaesar]

Glad you enjoyed it and yeah, I totally agree that the movies are totally timeless. I had a blast doing my yearly rewatch of the trilogy for this video

[@_OUTATIME_]

Facts

[@dumdumchord]

This is going to be interesting because, while I saw these movies years ago I didn't think anything special about them (but enjoyed them), around 2009 or so I started hearing about it being held in such massively high regard.

[@fightrudyfight5799]

I rarely ever give part 3 a full watch if it’s even on. Now 1 and 2 I’ve watched so many times. It gives me memories of rainy days and not going anywhere so it was always a good watch on TBS. They played them so much as a kid.

[@smkx91]

I agree with you that the first movie has such a perfect plot and casting it really is rock solid. With that said I too have a soft spot for the third one, something about it is just comfy and inviting. Great video essay! Also have you watched the cartoon series?

[@TheBeird]

Nah it’s not real, but bloody hell is it painful. I mean, I look back on the 90’s sometimes with a really horrid longing that brings me down. I’m a Brit but I was caught up in what I believe is called Pax Americana, a lull in the horribleness of history. And it makes me believe sometimes that the 90’s offered us a promise that hasn’t been fulfilled. But that’s the trap right? My nostalgia doesn’t take into account all the shit that lead up to Pax Americana coming to an end. The geopolitical stuff. Doesn’t take into account all the outdated offensive stuff that’s quite ugly to look upon now. Shit, even some of the 90’s movie classics showed a great distrust of the era. Fight Club, Matrix etc. I think you hit the nail on the head with your analysis. Great video 👍

[@NicheCaesar]

I've never heard of the term 'pax americana' before but after reading over it, that is exactly what the 50s is depicted as being, and that is a great name for it. And your comment about the 90's almost being an extension of that? Spot on.

[@lancebaylis3169]

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my dad a little while ago. He told me he'd finally watched the second movie - for years he'd seen Part 1 and Part 3, but apparently never the movie in the middle. Quite apart from the fact this shows us that in some ways Part 2 is maybe the least essential - he managed to pick up a lot of the plot beats in 3 without ever needing to see 2 - his main other observation was that 2 wasn't tonally in complete step with the others, and that the whole thing felt a bit messy and self indulgent. I love all three movies, but I can't deny that his critiques do hold up. Parts of 2 are a bit silly and stretch credibility to its breaking point - I don't think it crosses that line, but it does skirt it a bit.

[@ventriloquistmagician4735]

Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise. -Ecclesiastes 7:10 NLT

[@jenniferpearce1052]

I never thought so deeply about these movies but your take makes a lot of sense! I love the first and saw the next 2 in the theater and never rewatched them. I didn't like the second one. Dystopias are not my thing! The third was more fun. I still remember the glass of nice clear well water! I really need to watch the whole series again. Thanks!

[@NicheCaesar]

Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for sharing your memories of the series! Back to the Future II was actually my favorite one as a kid but, after decades of rewatching it, I actually think it’s the weakest by a long shot! The third one has a lot of great jokes though (like the water gag you mentioned, or Marty noticing some buckshot in his dinner!)

[@johnjay370]

As a guy that can not feal nostalgia. I can not relate.

[@33parra]

really cool video easy, food for thought! Gracias.

[@aeugnewtype]

Nostalgia is definitely a plague on the human race, and seems stronger in American than anywhere else in the world (though Japan is a close second.) Good take and explanation of your ideas and readings here.

[@fruitpunk]

i see what youre saying, but mid 2000s is clearly the best time 😎

[@MisterWessells]

cia and fbi would b on biff top lol b4 he bought them out files would b available

[@johnlee7164]

I wouldn't call BttF a subtle commentary on nostalgia. At least not the subtle part. Black people performing Rock and Roll to white kids at their prom. A black janitor/busboy thinking about running for politics and being completely dismissed and openly laughed at by the white folks in the cafe. Japanese products being seem as inferior in the 50s compared to the Sonys of the 1980s used by Marty himself due to the cool factor. Marty and Doc take out the de Lorean at the shopping mall, which has replaced downtown as the commercial center of Hill Valley. Marty's intro shows how rundown the town center is, even showing more black folks walking around in the background to highlight the white flight of urban residences to gated suburban communities. When he time travels, the mall was just a farm owned by a kooky man who wanted to breed trees and downtown is where all the shops and people are. The character George I think is a partial insert, being that he's a scifi nerd who read nerdy magazines, who is then inspired to write scifi in the present day 80s. And in reality, which George became a popular scifi director who made a looming character with a robot voice? And happens to be Robert Zemeckis' good friend, even getting asked by him to direct Phantom Menace? Who also got into Hollywood by directing a film about the 50s, American Graffiti. What I find also interesting is the other nostalgia bait films' clips that you also included in this video essay don't even have a single minority in them. So yes, BttF isn't subtle. The irony is nowadays there is even greater nostalgia for the 80s AND the 50s. AND the wild west. Which all three movies covered, making them more beloved.

[@NicheCaesar]

See, I’d agree with you, but I still believe this stuff is subtle given how that’s never the point of the movies itself. Most of those things are played as jokes and only appear as commentary once you take the time to list them together and string them together. You’re right to say it isn’t subtle in the sense that it isn’t hidden from the viewer, but the movie only goes as far as to say that literally returning to the past as opposed to shaping a better future is bad. It’s never the central focus of the films because they aren’t that kind of a movie, ya know?

[@tommorales2371]

I've seen all of them a few times, they are okay, pretty boring and predictable.

[@NicheCaesar]

To each their own haha; I have a lot of (ironically enough) nostalgia for them and still think they're really great movies (especially the first one, which has a bulletproof screenplay in my opinion). I've never been bothered by predictable stories though, so long as the beats are earned and done well.

[@GG-zv9ku]

too political essay for no reason.

[@NickSchoenfeld]

The reason is because the movies are political. Who do you think Biff in the second movie is referencing. Have you even seen the second movie?