# What if "Back to the Future" took place in 1990? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 15, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461 "2020-01-15T18:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/21 "2020-01-16T05:37:10Z")
Donald Trump, the casino mogul??!! Who’s vice president, Michael Corleone? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/22 "2020-01-16T07:31:21Z")
My joke script in my head for this was always Doc Brown is Neal Degrasse Tyson and Marty is Jaden Smith, and most of the jokes are about finding out the fates of early 90s celebrities. “Ice T plays a cop on TV?!? And Michael Jackson touches kids!??” ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/23 "2020-01-16T07:45:12Z")
I want to yell _OK Boomer_. There are massive humongous changes between now and 1990, moreso than ‘85 to ‘55. The internet, smartphones, Gay rights, rise of China, the fall of Communism and the resurgence of Russia, ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/24 "2020-01-16T14:03:08Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I want to yell _OK Boomer_. > There are massive humongous changes between now and 1990, moreso than ‘85 to ‘55. > > The internet, smartphones, Gay rights, rise of China, the fall of Communism and the resurgence of Russia, The internet existed in 1990, albeit in primitive form. Marty couldn’t show Doc modern internet because he wouldn’t have an internet to use. He could tell him about it, but Doc’s response would have been “Thanks for letting me know technology improves over time.” Same with smartphones, if Marty had brought one back he couldn’t have connected it to anything. Doc would have been fascinated with the pocket computer, but he wouldn’t have been shocked by it. Gay rights were already a thing in the 90’s. Act-up was formed in 1987. Doc would have been interested (and hopefully pleased) in Gay Marriage being legally recognized, but it wouldn’t have been shocking. I remember trans people coming into my store in the early 90s. The Berlin wall fell in 1989. Geopolitical events like the rise of China and the history of post Soviet Russia might have interested Doc, but he would know that history is a thing and power ebbs and flows. These things don’t have too much impact on daily life in a small California town anyway. You can “OK boomer” all you want, but there is simply no denying that rock and roll, the sexual revolution, the civil rights movement, the counter-culture, and the post Vietnam/Watergate cynicism about government were socially transformative like nothing ever since. This was the source of the movie’s humor and would be impossible to replicate with a 2020-1990 trip. For the record, all those things were before my time. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/25 "2020-01-16T14:18:52Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > My joke script in my head for this was always Doc Brown is Neal Degrasse Tyson and Marty is Jaden Smith, and most of the jokes are about finding out the fates of early 90s celebrities. > > “Ice T plays a cop on TV?!? And Michael Jackson touches kids!??” As Eddie Murphy pointed out in his SNL monologue, Bill Cosby is in jail, while Eddie Murphy is a boring stay-at-home father. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/26 "2020-01-16T14:31:43Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Trump was well known in the 80s. Both _Doonesbury_ and _Bloom County_ regularly lampooned him. Yeah, can confirm. I was a young tween living in a trailer with only a rooftop antenna and no cable in the mid-80s. It’s always strange to me that people refer to him as a “reality TV star,” because that’s **not** the foundation of his celebrity. It was his celebrity that led to his casting as a reality TV star. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/27 "2020-01-16T15:11:59Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > The internet existed in 1990, albeit in primitive form. Marty couldn’t show Doc modern internet because he wouldn’t have an internet to use. He could tell him about it, but Doc’s response would have been “Thanks for letting me know technology improves over time.” By that theory, cars won’t be surprising to people from 1700 since they already had 4 wheeled transportation which used roads and was powered by an external source. > [@](#): > > Same with smartphones, if Marty had brought one back he couldn’t have connected it to anything. Doc would have been fascinated with the pocket computer, but he wouldn’t have been shocked by it. Differnce between a smartphone and a late 1980’s era “pocket electronics” like like the difference between a kite and a 747 but ok. > [@](#): > > Gay rights were already a thing in the 90’s. Act-up was formed in 1987. Doc would have been interested (and hopefully pleased) in Gay Marriage being legally recognized, but it wouldn’t have been shocking. I remember trans people coming into my store in the early 90s. How fast gay marriage has gone from laughable to legal has been shocking to those who experienced it, never mind those who lived before it was even a proposal. > [@](#): > > The Berlin wall fell in 1989. The Soviet Union in 1991. In Jan 1990 it was not at all clear how it would go. > [@](#): > > Geopolitical events like the rise of China and the history of post Soviet Russia might have interested Doc, but he would know that history is a thing and power ebbs and flows. These things don’t have too much impact on daily life in a small California town anyway. Considering how much the California tech industry is synergised with China and Doc is a scientist, yeah he would be flabbergasted, it was not even conceivable in 1990. 1955 era Doc was surprised about the fact that Japan could actually make good stuff. So its not like he had much prescience. > [@](#): > > You can “OK boomer” all you want, but there is simply no denying that rock and roll, the sexual revolution, the civil rights movement, the counter-culture, and the post Vietnam/Watergate cynicism about government were socially transformative like nothing ever since\*\*. This was the source of the movie’s humor and would be impossible to replicate with a 2020-1990 trip.\*\* Except for the Dot Com bubble mass government surveillance, Gay Rights, the effects of the War on Terror, the 2008 financial collapse, the rise of the Tea Party and right-wing populists, AI in every home, mobile 24/7 connectivity with access to basically unlimited information. Ok Boomer.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/28 "2020-01-16T15:20:26Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Same with smartphones, if Marty had brought one back he couldn’t have connected it to anything. Doc would have been fascinated with the pocket computer, but he wouldn’t have been shocked by it. A couple of years ago, a photo of a Radio Shack ad from a couple of decades ago was circulating on the internet with a caption pointing out that all of the separate devices (answering machine, calculator, camera, etc) could be replaced by a smartphone. So the 1990 character _might_ be surprised to hear that. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/29 "2020-01-16T15:26:17Z")
I do think technologically the differences between 2020 and 1990 are vast and often underappreciated, but I personally don’t find that there’s as stark a contrast in the pop culture realm. Like I said, take a top ten pop hit from today and transport it back to 1990. I don’t think it will strike anyone as too odd. All that framework had been laid down and explored. I think the hard rock, rap, dance, synth pop, etc. hits from 1990 simply have very little pop cultural framework and would be far more disconcerting than 1990s me (when I was a teenager) encountering 2020s music. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/30 "2020-01-16T15:28:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > A couple of years ago, a photo of a Radio Shack ad from a couple of decades ago was circulating on the internet with a caption pointing out that all of the separate devices (answering machine, calculator, camera, etc) could be replaced by a smartphone. So the 1990 character _might_ be surprised to hear that. The internet and the ubiquity of computing I think is something I would be surprised by in 1990. I mean, I was familiar with BBSes and all that telecomputing jazz, and computers were certainly becoming commonplace in many homes, but I don’t think I saw it becoming in every home with access to much of humanity’s knowledge and then on every device nearly as fast as it did. _That_ was crazy, and, hell, even 2000 me is surprised at how blazingly fast technology has trickled down to day-to-day life. I guess I would probably agree that 2020 to 1990 the difference in how I live my day-to-day life is more different than it would be if 1985 me were transported to 1955. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/31 "2020-01-16T15:30:10Z")
Honestly, the best thing would be not to remake Back to the Future. But the trailer for the new Wonder Woman movie has it set in 1984 and I gather that some of the joke for the audience is about life in 1984 (the mall culture, for one thing). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/32 "2020-01-16T16:16:00Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I want to yell _OK Boomer_. > There are massive humongous changes between now and 1990, moreso than ‘85 to ‘55. > > The internet, smartphones, Gay rights, rise of China, the fall of Communism and the resurgence of Russia, The first three, yes. And it’s impossible to overestimate the effect of the first two on our lives. China was already big in 1990, and Tiannenmen Square was 1989, so the Western view of China was more or less the same then and now. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the independence of the Warsaw Pact nations happened in 1989. The USSR hadn’t yet disbanded, but the Cold War was effectively over. Later in 1990, the USSR would cooperate with the US on Desert Shield. 'The resurgence of Russia": going between 1990 and 2020, you skip over the years where Russia needed to resurge from. So less difference between 1990 and 2020 than there is between either of those years and, say, 2005. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/33 "2020-01-16T16:30:15Z")
In addition to the Web and smart phones, **how** we get our news and entertainment has changed immeasurably since 1990. In 1990, we’d had cable TV for a while, but original programming was still pretty much confined to NBC, ABC, and CBS. Ditto TV news: CNN existed, but really only became a big deal with the Gulf War. And daily newspapers and weekly news magazines were still major news outlets. Fox News didn’t exist yet. Rush Limbaugh was just becoming a major figure. We found out about new music via radio or from friends. CDs had just about finished pushing phonograph records into obselescence. The availability of movies on VHS was making a dent in the movie theater business, but the latter was still where most people watched most movies. If you had friends that lived far away from you, you mostly stayed in touch by phone, but you’d call them at a time when you knew they’d probably be home, because that was the only place people had phones, unless they were rich or had a job where a car phone (yes, _car_ phone) was a necessity. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/34 "2020-01-16T16:34:02Z")
Now, what would BTTF2 look like, with Marty jumping forward to 2050? Utopia, or dystopia? Would the coastal cities be underwater yet? How many millions of climate refugees would there be? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/35 "2020-01-16T16:50:29Z")
What’s football star/movie actor/sports commentator/Hertz pitchman OJ Simpson up to these days?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/36 "2020-01-16T16:55:08Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > What’s football star/movie actor/sports commentator/Hertz pitchman OJ Simpson up to these days?:eek: And The Cosby Show was still a hit on TV in 1990. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/37 "2020-01-16T17:25:27Z")
Cosby was mentioned earlier in the thread. WHAT? SNL is still on the air? ---
**Author:** ![Garak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@Garak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garak)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/38 "2020-01-16T17:36:05Z")
Marty would probably gladly park with his mom if he’s a millennial raised on the current trend of incest porn being so popular ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/39 "2020-01-16T18:01:52Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > The internet existed in 1990, albeit in primitive form. Marty couldn’t show Doc modern internet because he wouldn’t have an internet to use. He could tell him about it, but Doc’s response would have been “Thanks for letting me know technology improves over time.” > > Same with smartphones, if Marty had brought one back he couldn’t have connected it to anything. Doc would have been fascinated with the pocket computer, but he wouldn’t have been shocked by it. Honestly, you could probably say the same thing about 1985 technology in 1955. Television cameras already existed, of course. Magnetic tape had already been invented. The first machine that could record video to tape was invented in 1956, so that was still a year away but I would think that as a scientist Doc would at least be vaguely aware that it was something that engineers were working on. The transistor had been invented and scientists were actively working on the integrated circuit (again, as I scientist Doc probably knew at least I little something about this). So really, Doc _shouldn’t_ have been all that shocked by Marty’s camcorder. All the basic pieces already existed and based on developments at the time he should have had an idea that they could be miniaturized in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/40 "2020-01-16T18:03:57Z")
In the original movie, I don’t think Doc Brown was particularly shocked by Marty’s camcorder. (He was a little taken aback to see footage of his own death, though.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461.md?page=3)