# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/121 "2020-01-22T15:16:41Z")
Something vastly different from 1990 to today is photography. Remember when going on vacation or to some event, you were limited to a few dozen photos, so you had to police yourself on taking them? And you had to wait until they had been printed to see if you got your shot or not? If you didn’t have a “One Hour” type place nearby, you would have to send them off and wait days? And showing people photos required phycically showing people photos? And a camera was something extra you would have to have and carry around instead of something always in your pocket? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/122 "2020-01-22T15:20:38Z")
Oh! And you had to anticipate the lighting conditions ahead of time and buy film with the appropriate ISO and color temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/123 "2020-01-22T16:14:48Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Something vastly different from 1990 to today is photography. Remember when going on vacation or to some event, you were limited to a few dozen photos, so you had to police yourself on taking them? And you had to wait until they had been printed to see if you got your shot or not? If you didn’t have a “One Hour” type place nearby, you would have to send them off and wait days? And showing people photos required phycically showing people photos? And a camera was something extra you would have to have and carry around instead of something always in your pocket? Having 2020 Marty mess up taking pictures because he’s used to taking a dozen shots, picking the best one, then retouching it could form a comedy bit or a plot point (like he needs a picture to prove something). Similarly 2020 Marty is going to expect anyone to just ‘take a pic’ or ‘take a video’ and not need drag along a camera, flash bulbs, and film or a camcorder and tapes. And to be able to show his pics on a tv screen or computer without much trouble, instead of either holding a bunch of prints or getting a slideshow made and dragging along a projector and screen for it. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/124 "2020-01-22T17:22:53Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Except he’s carrying ‘fake’ money. You can tell because it’s dated from the future. My original thought was 'who actually looks at the tiny ‘Series 1985’ note on a bill - I’ve never looked at it outside of times like this thread, and I’ve never seen anywhere that has cashiers look for the date on bills. You might catch it on coins, but I really don’t think that anyone would look for that tiny date on a bill And I expected that the 2020 Marty would be unlikely to be able to pass off anything but $1 bills in 1990 because the design of higher bills have all gone through major changes. However, when I looked up the history of the dollar bill, there were major changes to all denominations in the 1960s - notably the ‘Federal Reserve Note’ and ‘In God We Trust’ were added, the border was changed, and the design and color of the treasury seal was changed. So 1985 Marty actually probably would get caught for ‘fake’ money, not because of the dates on dollar bills (which no one looks at in the normal course of business) but because the bills would look significantly different at a glance. ---
**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 22, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/125 "2020-01-22T19:08:21Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I remember that from Dennis Miller (“Is it any coincidence that Evian spelled backward is naive?”) but google tells me that Carlin made the reference, too. > > The Carlin bit about water bottles comes from a special he did in 1996 I was stationed in Germany 1991 to 1993, and we had plentiful Evian in 1.5 liter bottles, because the German water supply on base was hard and just not really all that good to drink. We joked that it was “‘naive’ backwards” even though, but bought it anyway, because in Germany, it was just cheap, bottled water like Nestle is here. Also, Capri Sun didn’t come in stupid, little envelopes, but was sold in large bottles, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/126 "2020-01-22T19:18:55Z")
I have to agree with those that say it can’t be all tech-based and has to be cultural. Smoking was a great choice to pick. No need to retread the _same_ jokes - him ordering a drink, etc. Maybe people driving drunk, but not sure there’d be an occasion for him to see it (maybe the dance). And I disagree with all those who are making jokes that either make him look like moron or don’t reflect ordinary 2020 living - most middle or working-class American teens know how to use a light-switch. And dial-thermostats would be probably as understandable as rotary phones in 1985. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/127 "2020-01-23T01:38:10Z")
> [@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!??” “Gweneth Paltrow is selling _ **what???!!!** _” ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/128 "2020-01-23T02:02:26Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > In the original BTTF they show a lot about how the town of Hill Valley changes over the decades: In 1955 there was a thriving downtown business district; In 1985 there’s a big shopping mall on the outskirts of town and downtown was decaying. A reboot could probably flip that around: The hip, gentrified neighborhood where Marty hangs out today was a scary, crime ridden, inner city neighborhood in 1990. Meanwhile the mall that’s struggling today was thriving in 1990. Maybe there could be a bit where Doc makes some snide remark about how only bums, hookers and crackheads live in some rundown tenement in downtown Hill Valley, to which Marty says something like, “Really? In 2020 studio apartments there go for two grand a month.” Which prompts Doc to say “Great Scott.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/129 "2020-01-23T02:47:18Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I was stationed in Germany 1991 to 1993, and we had plentiful Evian in 1.5 liter bottles, because the German water supply on base was hard and just not really all that good to drink. We joked that it was “‘naive’ backwards” even though, but bought it anyway, because in Germany, it was just cheap, bottled water like Nestle is here. Well, I’ve been to Evian. Nice casino, spa, yachting, hiking, etc. And Evian water just CONTINUOUSLY POURS OUT OF PUBLIC FOUNTAINS! For free!! And comes out of everybody’s tap at home!!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/130 "2020-01-24T15:42:34Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > What if, instead of archery which has been around for tens of thousands of years, 2020 Marty is into paintball or Airsoft shooting instead? They existed back then, but were not something a 17 year old would casually find equipment for at a sporting goods store or places to play outside of a handful of specific sites. What if instead of an outdoor sport, he likes playing multiplayer FPSs - which you can do now on a home computer with an internet connection, but at the time required you to get people together and use expensive (and unusual) home network equipment, and were a niche interest of barely developed games. > > How would you talk to an actual archaeologist doing work in the field? In 2020 it’s quite possible for a 17 year old interested in the field to go online and casually visit a forum with professional archaeologists around the world. Marty in 1990 is not going to be able to do that, and while he could arrange an appointment to talk to someone at a nearby college or university (presuming there is one), it’s going to require a lot of steps that he’s never done before. > > In 1990, how would Marty going about recording and mixing a song on his bass at home? 2020 Marty is going to expect to be able to do this, as there is cheap and readily available hardware and software to do extensive recording and mixing at home. In 1990 this gear only exists in studios and is not something you casually play around with. > > What if instead of reading ‘classic’ novels, he liked reading novels that weren’t ‘classics’ or extremely popular? Most paper libraries would have books by traditional white male authors and some famous other books, but new novels by minorities were much more difficult to find in a 1990s library. And what if he wanted to find a discussion group to talk about the novel? They might exist, but none of the tools that he would be familiar using to find such a group do. Don’t know your age (I have a guess), but here goes: How does one get to talk to an archaeologist in 1990? Well, been there, done that. Excavations not far from my home were in progress from the mid-70s into the early 90’s. Our local library (again) had a small exhibition about the finds, which I found fascinating. Provided was a map that told me exactly where to go. Walking there, I found a team of archaeologists at work and started asking questions. Had I not visited the library all summer, our local newspaper ran articles on the excavations, so there was no way I was going to miss this, and no way I did _not_ get into contact with professional archaeologists. How does one get to know other niche hobbyists in 1990? Been there etc. Reading the newspaper, I saw an ad for an archery demonstration, a busride away from my home. I went there, and started asking questions. In the couple of hours there my views on what kind of archery I liked (very niche) and how would I proceed from there solidified. Then - get this - I exchanged addresses with the guy who had the most interesting archery gear and stories, and we would do correspondence for a year while I was learning the ropes and more. Then I would attend my first archery competition, invited by my (then) only contact. Not everyone has a home recording studio even today, and that is no biggie. Who needs to record and mix songs before they are in a band? Back in 1990 I was learning the bass. To get into auditions, I would record myself on a cassette, using a cassette player everyone had, and (gasp) mail copies of the tape to bands I was interested in to join. Then I would join bands and eventually we would book studio time, nothing to it. Any 2020 teenager could do it. I spent my childhood in public libraries. Trust me, there were new, non-popular novels on the shelves all the time. I would learn about oppressed minorities, drug culture, kinky sex etc. from them. Where does this straw man of “a few bestsellers by white males in libraries” in the fucking _1990s_ come from? It is laughable to think, and simply not true, that without the internet, a 17-year-old would miss out on these things. > [@](#): > > I’m glad you live near Bend, Oregon, but that’s the location of literally the last Blockbuster left in the world (and thus the only one you could ‘fall back on’ today) Yeah, I shoulda heeded the pedantry here, and use “Blockbuster-equivalent” in my post. Attacking this reeks of clutching at straws, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/131 "2020-04-04T16:11:10Z")
“I’m from the future! Stock up on toilet paper! Start social distancing!” “How far in the future?” “…uh, March.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461/132 "2021-03-17T23:52:56Z")
Well, we now have it. > **[Secrets of Sulphur Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secrets_of_Sulphur_Springs)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Secrets of Sulphur Springs is an American time-travel mystery thriller drama television series which premiered on Disney Channel on January 15, 2021. Created by writer Tracey Thomson who also serves as a co-executive producer with Charles Pratt Jr. and set in the fictional Louisiana town of Sulphur Springs, the series was renewed for a third season on February 7, 2022 and is set to air on March 24, 2023. > 12-year-old Griffin Campbell and his fam... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-back-to-the-future-took-place-in-1990/846461.md?page=6)