Convince me that I'm wrong about Back to the Future

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I'd slightly tweak this and say that people who know physics are perfectly capable of enjoying silly sci-fi because they don't take it seriously.

So, are you saying the movie's meant to be similar to a cartoon simply because it's a movie that's largely for laughs? That there was no need to bring more accuracy than necessary to a movie made for the family?


I don't know. I mean, justifying that kind of behavior would be more fit for a parody. But when I started this thread I was afraid I was reading too much into it.



So, are you saying the movie's meant to be similar to a cartoon simply because it's a movie that's largely for laughs? That there was no need to bring more accuracy than necessary to a movie made for the family?
Yup.

I mean, we're also asked to believe that a bully/rapist being put in his place ONE TIME permanently turned him into a meek, submissive person. We're asked to believe that through time-travel the main character "originated" rock and roll.

There's a lot of cartoonish, silly stuff happening in the film.

Again, the film could have been more "accurate" (whatever that means when talking about time-travel, ie a thing that doesn't actually exist), but would that make it a better movie? A better story?

There are plenty of more "serious" films that still rely heavily on coincidence. For example, in the film Training Day (moderate spoilers)
WARNING: spoilers below
the main character just happens to be in a threatening situation with relatives of the girl he saved just that morning?


Coincidence abounds in films. I find that personally most of the time it doesn't bother me at all and every now and then, for whatever reason, it bugs me. Back to the Future is a comedy first and a sci-fi film second, so I'm less critical in that department. I can't say that you're "wrong" to be bothered by it. But it's not a flaw in the structure of the film, in my opinion.



When it comes to movies, the problem with the whole sci-fi concept is that people have less interest in the sci part than they do with the fi part. When you add in a fantasy element, like in BTTF, science falls ever further into the distance. That's OK, however, because adherence to any science we know says that time travel by humans is impossible, space ships can't break the speed of light and there are no such things as phasers, ray guns or anything else that the "fi" part brings into the plot. As far as science knows, there are no Vulcans, Klingons, or intelligent visitors from Mars. What there is, is radiation, unfathomable distances, uncountable stars and galaxies but nothing beyond the planets that we know any detail about, so the best part of these stories is the fantasy.



Damn. By all these accounts of logic and how silly the movie needs to be in certain areas, this is a perfectly fine movie then. No sarcasm, no rudeness. It's really all about how the silliness makes someone feel good without straying into parody territory. Thanks for helping, everyone. I think I can put this in my top 100 now.



A system of cells interlinked
I am a huge fan of the film. It's a whimsical romp that perfectly weaves two plot trajectories together in an extremely satisfying way. I saw it in theaters multiple times when it first came out, and the theater experience was exciting and fun, with the audiences cheering and clapping throughout. BTTF represents one of the pinnacle experiences of 80s adventure cinema, IMO. For me, there was never a point where suspension of disbelief became a problem. At no point was my enjoyment of the film ever affected by the concerns you mentioned. BTTF was never, and never will be, hard science fiction, so concerns like that are largely unfounded.

These days, I find that BTTF still holds up tremendously well for people in pretty much any age group. Last year, we watched the film with a couple of twenty-somethings who had never seen it, and in fact, one of then had never even heard of it (!?!?!). They both were floored by film, and had big smiles on their faces by the end. Truly entertaining cinema!

Anyway, I would agree that watching something like Caruth's Primer is better for really contemplating the effects and implications of time travel. I am almost smart enough to fully understand that film. But not quite.
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I absolutely love Back to the Future... it has a ton of plot holes, but I'm not bothered by them.
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I absolutely love Back to the Future... it has a ton of plot holes, but I'm not bothered by them.

I don't remember any plot holes. That's one criticism I didn't have.



Obligatory (NOTE: There is profanity is in the clip!)

Edit: There's profanity in the clip title. Hold on a second.

Okay, the site won't let me post just a link without actually embedding the video, so just google "John Mulaney Back to the Future". Yeesh!