# Critical issue about "Back to the Future" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600 "2011-08-30T07:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/41 "2011-08-30T18:10:29Z")
> [@Southpaw](#): > > Didn’t 1955 Lorraine think 1955 Marty’s name was Calvin (Klein) because that was stitched on his underwear? So if 1985 Marty was named after 1955 Marty he would’ve been named Calvin. He tells them both later that actually, people usually call him Marty and that’s when they realize they really like that name. As **Death of Rats** points out, though, not nearly as much as they loved Dave. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/42 "2011-08-30T18:13:45Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > As **Death of Rats** points out, though, not nearly as much as they loved Dave. I’m sure Doc Brown could explain the quantum significance of Marty keeping his name despite having an older brother. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/43 "2011-08-30T18:13:49Z")
\*Specifically: these elements each irritated me just a little bit: 1. The movie opened on a filthy laboratory which had obviously been abandoned for a week. - how is this a complaint? Doc had been too busy working to go to his lab the past week. Is this a list of complaint or just commenting on the opening of the movie ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/44 "2011-08-30T18:16:39Z")
Oh god. You HAVE to start a blog, **dougie** , you do. > [@Unabashed rant: What I object to about specific movies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unabashed-rant-what-i-object-to-about-specific-movies/41770/26): > > With this in mind I went to see _Back to the Future,_ and had one too many straws put on my back. > Specifically: these elements each irritated me just a little bit: > > 1. The movie opened on a filthy laboratory which had obviously been abandoned for a week. > 2. Fox’s character was a snide little smart-aleck, the likes of which would, or should, get his teeth knocked out early on in the real world. In one scene, he pays as much attention to the infuriated high-school principal as he might to a blank wall. > 3. At one point he hitches a ride (on skates) by holding on to the rear bumper of a police car. This may show Spielberg’s contempt for the police, but it’s a foolhardy and dangerous stunt that could even have put the stuntman’s life in jeopardy. > 4. At Fox’s home, he finds out, not only has his father’s employer used Fox’s family car (without permission, presumably), but has wrecked it. And he treats the family, whose car he has just wrecked, to severe verbasl abuse in their own home! Sounds like something I might read about in _The Daily Worker._ > 5. Huey Lewis and the News (billed in the opening credits, so I was at least forewarned) played one of their songs at one point. I stayed out in the lobby until it was done. > 6. The topper was the old man (Christopher Lloyd) with Fox in a mall-parking lot; a VW bus full of maniacs approaches and they fire on Lloyd with sub-machine guns. > As I have noted elsewhere, it isn’t the existence of negative elements in a movie that irritate me; it’s the combination of the six, and the apparent use of these elements to appeal to the viewer. Why would I want, for example, to see Arnold Schawrzenegger (in _any_ movie) gun down helpless people with a howitzer, or whatever, unless I condoned murder myself? > The six items in _Back to the Future,_ put together, pushed me past the point of tolerance. Without a word to anyone I left, just after the sub-machine-gun attack, and went home, lest I lose my tempter in the movie house and run the risk of being thrown out or arrested. (As for the family that recommeneded the movie to me: about two months after IU went to see it, the father died. I went to the funeral. _This_ sure enough was a low point. :(:(:(:() This alone is gold. LOVE the detail about the father who recommended it dying. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/45 "2011-08-30T18:19:49Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > LOVE the detail about the father who recommended it dying. memo to self: Do not discuss movies with Dougie. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/46 "2011-08-30T18:25:42Z")
hah. i thought i had mastered the art of the incoherent diatribe but now i see that i have yet to begin to learn. TEACH me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/47 "2011-08-30T18:27:03Z")
I only wish he’d mentioned Uncle “Jailbird” Joey. The family baking him a cake clearly means that they condone lawless behavior. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/48 "2011-08-30T18:27:26Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Just goes to show you how powerful the _Time Travellers For Incest_ lobby is in Washington. Otherwise known as the Heinlein Foundation. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/49 "2011-08-30T18:30:18Z")
From the [old](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=904791&postcount=30) thread. It seems like people there didn’t notice this tidbit either. > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I have been diagnosed as schizophrenic by five psychiatrists; I’m far from proud of it. **dougie** , when I suggested you start a blog I was sincere. However, I did so because I think your writing is unintentionally funny. However, now that I know more about your situation I feel bad. I wish you the best, and admire the principles you have that drive you to object so sternly to any form of violence. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/50 "2011-08-30T18:41:20Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Close, but he was trying to kill Hitler \*with \*a velociraptor, but the velociraptor did not cooperate. Professional courtesy? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/51 "2011-08-30T18:44:10Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Professional courtesy? Well, on one hand we have a cold-blooded, viscious, surprisingly clever, seemingly unstoppable killing machine while on the other hand we have a dinosaur with big claws… ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/52 "2011-08-30T22:55:51Z")
I would just like to say that [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14199459&postcount=17) wins the SDMB post of the day award. Because I said so. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/53 "2011-08-31T00:37:50Z")
Well, I have to admit that is not the critical issue I was expecting. Dude, just watch the movie once time to see how off base you are. I love the movie, but even if you don’t, it’s not horrible or offensive. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/54 "2011-08-31T00:45:12Z")
I love all 3 movies, just watched them again, a couple of days ago. Anyone who doesn’t like 'em can… …fucko off? Can I say that? I hate manurer. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/55 "2011-08-31T00:54:40Z")
Has **dougie** ever suggested what movies he does enjoy? That might be revealing. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/56 "2011-08-31T01:54:52Z")
The 2000 thread makes clear that he has big problems with movies in general. He likes the Three Stooges and a lot of cartoons, I think. It seems to me he has difficulty with entertainment for adults. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/57 "2011-08-31T02:11:16Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > 1. Fox’s character was a snide little smart-aleck… Now I want to start my own movie review blog, and just start ragging on any little detail: [QUOTE=my eventual movie blog] … "But what pushed me over the edge was when The Younger Mr. Lebowski (No, I am not going to call him “The Dude”. One should never refer to people by their nicknames until invited to do so) entered a vehicle with a beverage. Now, aside from the dangers of a casual use of recreational alcohol, this particular drink was a White Russian. I googled it, and it is made with half and half. A _milk_ product. The protagonist is shown slopping the drink all over the pavement… _as well as the interior of the car_. Now, if that is not cleaned within 24 hours (and you can bet Mr. Lebowski is not responsible enough to even think of this), it _will_ smell of sour milk. I don’t see how anyone with vigilant values can condone this behavior, and I shudder to think of how many of today’s young people, who obviously look up to this character as a role model, will embrace this lax approach to alcohol and dairy products." [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/58 "2011-08-31T02:46:56Z")
“When I watched the movie _Casino_, I was shocked - _shocked!_ - to discover it had gambling in it.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/59 "2011-08-31T02:49:38Z")
See, though, when normal people try to write bizarre reactions to movies it doesn’t work. You genuinely need to be angry at the filmmaker for endangering the life of a stuntman for doing a skateboard pulled by a car scene. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/60 "2011-08-31T02:59:42Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I love all 3 movies, just watched them again, a couple of days ago. > > Anyone who doesn’t like 'em can… …make like a tree, and get out of here? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600.md?page=4)