# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/141 "2011-09-03T05:56:47Z")
I am thankful to the Dopers who have shown a more sympathetic tone in this thread than in the earlier one (and I perhaps didn’t _deserve_ much sympathy in the earlier thread). A few loose ends: I have had a few older movies as favorites: _12 Angry Men, The Caine Mutiny, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Mighty Joe Young, The Wizard of Oz, Invaders from Mars (1954), The Time Machine (1960), Li’l Abner, Damn Yankees, Run Silent, Run Deep, Around the World in 80 Days (1956),_ all of the Marx Brothers movies except for _The Big Store,_ most of the Our Gang talkie shorts from 1929 to 1938, and the Three Stooges shorts. I have rarely read novels; in school they included _The Grapes of Wrath, The Ninth Wave,_ and _The Invisible Man_ by Ralph Ellison. As for music, I listened to a middle-of-the-road AM station from 1955 to 1979 in L.A., KMPC, with personalities such as Dick Whittinghill, Ira Cook, Gary Owens, and Roger Carroll; this was an extension of my parents’ tastes. Most of the music I heard was from that station; but knowing my sister’s tastes, I gave her a Beatles album as a Christmas present one year–her taste, not mine. I enjoy stuff by Homer and Jethro, Allan Sherman, and Tom Lehrer, and recorded material off the Dr. Demento show for years. I have no kids–I never had a close relationship with a woman–more my misfortune than anything else. ☹ My father was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/142 "2011-09-04T05:37:45Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Hey! > > 🙂 What does i said? **dougie,** as far as the “your kids are gonna love it”, it’s an inside joke from the movie… far beyond the actual opening credits. 😉 “Alright guys, this is a blues riff in B, watch me for the changes, and uh… try to keep up…” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/143 "2011-09-04T07:07:59Z")
Back to the Future really only makes sense if you disregard the logic completely. You may say this is true to a degree with all time travel fiction, but Back to the Future truly operates on its own level of fanwankery to make even basic plot elements make sense. This is especially true if you count the excellent Telltale games as canon, as good as they are they throw the time travel constants even further out of whack. Edit: That’s not to say I dislike them, they’re some of my favorite movies, but I really have to turn my brain off to not go insane. Also, this thread reminds me of [Dr.](http://www.cracked.com/article_15739_50-reasons-lord-rings-sucks.html) [Albert](http://www.cracked.com/article_15744_which-greatest-trilogy.html) [Oxford](http://www.cracked.com/article_15745_30-reasons-eminem-bad-music.html). ---
**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:** [September 4, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/144 "2011-09-04T12:44:04Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > What does i said? Dissing _Earth Angel._ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/145 "2011-09-04T15:40:34Z")
It seems like this thread is a fitting place for [this](http://www.cracked.com/video_18203_why-back-to-future-secretly-horrifying.html) (warning link is a video). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/146 "2011-09-04T15:57:03Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > (warning link is a video). That’s OK; Dougie won’t watch it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/147 "2011-09-04T16:48:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Dissing _Earth Angel._ 🙂 _Gasp!_ :eek: I would never do such a thing, as a resident of Motown, soul and R&B is in the air. I grew up listening to doo-wop and Motown, my parents being huge fans. But yeh… give me Rock n Roll over R&B anytime. I was really just attempting to point out the movie has music other than Rock in it which the OP might enjoy. Speaking of the music, like _Star Wars_ and _Indiana Jones,_ it’s the score that really bowls me over. I hum the theme at least once a week. Besides, any song in BttF is just alright with me. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/148 "2011-09-04T17:09:19Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I tried to watch Back to the Future once but became disgusted and had to shut it off after the main character turned into a werewolf. > > This is after he already helped his foul mouthed friend be incredibly wreckless by dancing on top of a moving van, and then intimidated a convenience store clerk into selling him a keg of beer. I don’t even want to know what he does when the time travel plot finally kicks in. > > It’s a shame, because in the previews he seemed like a nice young kid, well dressed and always respecting great Americans like Ronald Reagan. Wow, once the time-travel thing kicks in, you totally missed a [spectacle!](http://riptapparel.com/ript/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/detail-110412.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/149 "2011-09-04T17:14:19Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > That’s OK; Dougie won’t watch it anyway. That’s fine, I thought it was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/150 "2011-09-04T18:17:48Z")
[This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y) answers most questions about BTTF. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/151 "2011-09-04T20:18:00Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Wow, once the time-travel thing kicks in, you totally missed a [spectacle!](http://riptapparel.com/ript/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/detail-110412.jpg) Heavy! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/152 "2011-09-04T20:44:15Z")
There’s that word again, “heavy.” Does something happen to the Earth’s gravitational field in the future? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/153 "2011-09-05T00:10:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > There’s that word again, “heavy.” Does something happen to the Earth’s gravitational field in the future? I’m still fond of Marty: Great Scott! Doc: This is heavy… > [@cmyk](#): > > Wow, once the time-travel thing kicks in, you totally missed a [spectacle!](http://riptapparel.com/ript/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/detail-110412.jpg) Not the [worst disaster](http://sale.images.woot.com/It_Came_Out_Of_NowhereegkDetail.png) to happen with time travel… ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/154 "2011-09-05T05:18:35Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > If he doesn’t like rock (which is just weird) What is that supposed to mean? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/155 "2011-09-05T18:57:47Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > What is that supposed to mean? Why did you modify my quote? There isn’t a parenthesis after weird. Anyway, it means exactly what it says. I can understand disliking harder rock, but Power of Love is extremely inoffensive. You like what you like and don’t what you don’t, but yes, I am going to think it strange that a relaxed, upbeat song like Power of Love offends you. That of course pales beside your strange habit of asserting popular works are bad because _you_ have extremely specific tastes. I know quite a few extremely picky people, but most are sensible enough to understand that they _are_ picky and their inability to enjoy something is entirely on them, not on the work in question. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/156 "2011-09-05T20:38:45Z")
Bosstone, I feel I owe you an apology, but I stick with the sentiment I expressed in my question. I deleted the rest of the text within the parentheses because it was not pertinent to the specific point I was concerned about–the fact that I did not like rock. (Even that has to be mitigated inasmuch as I have liked such things as the music played by the Beach Boys, etc. …) That said, you are probably right that my limited tastes are my own cross to bear and not that of others’. As such it has been an unfortunate barricade between me and others. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/157 "2011-09-05T21:30:51Z")
**Dougie Monty** , it’s against the rules to modify someone else’s quote in a way that changes the point of what they’re saying. You are allowed to cut down to the part you want to respond to, but be careful you’re not inadvertently changing the meaning when you do. **Bosstone** thinks his meaning was changed by what you did, so perhaps you trimmed down too far – adding ellipses to indicate your edit would probably be a good idea. No warning issued. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/158 "2011-09-05T21:41:59Z")
Point is taken. I meant to respont to a specific point, rather than a general theme. I already offered an apology to Bosstone. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/159 "2011-09-11T16:23:21Z")
**:bump:** [Another commercial for Garabino featuring Doc Brown](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26JfNBRhc98&feature=player_embedded) ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600/160 "2011-09-11T16:49:09Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Why did you modify my quote? There isn’t a parenthesis after weird. > > Anyway, it means exactly what it says. I can understand disliking harder rock, but Power of Love is extremely inoffensive. You like what you like and don’t what you don’t, but yes, I am going to think it strange that a relaxed, upbeat song like Power of Love offends you. Catching up to the thread late, but I think I see where the disconnect on this point is. Although Huey Lewis and the News don’t play “Power of Love” live in the movie, Marty’s band, the Pinheads, do play a few bars of a VERY amped-up hair-band version of “PoL” before being cut off for being “too darn loud.” Maybe **Dougie** was reacting to that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/critical-issue-about-back-to-the-future/594600.md?page=9)