What if Back to the Future were made today and Marty went back to 1981?

[LorieSmurf]

In gym class they would make fun of his shaved chest and balls.

[nashiitashii]

@Lamia

While a “colored mayor” might have seemed laughable to a white man in the 1950s, I don’t think many Americans in 1985 would have considered the idea of a black president (or a woman president) to be so far-fetched. Many '80s Americans would probably expect this to happen in the relatively near future. An openly gay president or a non-Christian president might be more surprising to them, but that would be surprising even now. Speaking of gay rights, I think my Clinton era teenage self would have been surprised to learn how slowly things were going to move on that front. I wouldn’t have expected that same-sex marriage would be recognized in only a few states as late as 2011.

As late as 1983, Eddie Murphy was still making jokes about how the first black president is going to be assassinated for being black-- that is, if he could get elected. It may not have been shocking, but it probably would have been heralded as unlikely to have a black president of a single white mother. Interracial relationships were still less common in the 1980s than they are now, IME.

@Little_Nemo

There’d be a scene where Marty needs some information. Of course he’s unable to look it up online. So Doc takes him to the local library. After dealing for hours with card catalogs and microfiche readers, Marty rants to Doc about how much better things will be in the future when there’s google and wikipedia and all the information in the world is available in your home.

Then the camera would pull back to a table of nerds overhearing the rant and have them saying, “That would be awesome. We should do that.”

Modify it a little-- Marty doesn’t know how to navigate the reference books, especially not the more technical ones with separate indexes. After having worked with teenagers for several years, I can tell you that today’s Marty is unlikely to know how to deal with a reference book more complex than Encyclopedia Britannica, and Biff won’t have any clue how to use that. Marty will also wonder where the computers are and why the lady isn’t scanning the books and Doc’s library card when they go to check out.
2011 Biff would be wearing Affliction shirts and be a fan of MMA; 1980s Biff wouldn’t be familiar with either. Marty would be more likely to be sporting a patterned hoodie with straight-leg skinny jeans, a bright t-shirt and Chucks or Vans. Not completely out of place, but enough that he stands out. Marty might make an offhand comment about Netflix in response to a “let’s go to the new movie rental store”, or try to find a USB port on the one computer in town so he can insert his flash drive.

[Troy_McClure_SF]

@Incubus

If you showed them a smartphone, they’d be impressed, but probably assume that’s the direction cell phones were going (smaller, more features, cheaper, etc).

Maybe, but look at the stuff they were using on Star Trek in the 1980s. The iPhone has already far surpassed it. I think the combination of technologies- one device to call someone, watch a movie on, check the weather on, and book a flight on, all while it’s plugged into your car- was still something no one was thinking about.

[Musicat]

@Chronos

Replacing the Delorean with a Prius or Tesla would cause problems with part III: One of the challenges Doc faced in the 1880s was that while the flux capacitor was powered by Mr. Fusion, the car itself still needed gasoline to get up to 88 MPH. With an electric or hybrid car, though, it wouldn’t be hard at all to hook the Mr. Fusion in to the drivetrain electrical system.

I think a Chevy Volt would be just the ticket.

[Koxinga]

@Airman_Doors_USAF

…complete with Shaky-Cam?

Let it not be said that no one saw what you did there.

[HubZilla]

You know where I think Marty might have the biggest shock? If we changed the setting to New York City.

Comparing the streets, parks, subway, and especially Times Square and 42nd Street from 1981 to 2011 will come as an unrecoverable shock.

[cmyk]

@joebuck20

Lorraine’s little brother: Do you have a video game console?

Marty: Yeah, we’ve got four of them?

Lorraine’s little brother: Wow, really?

Lorraine’s mother: Come on, nobody has four video game consoles.

Perfect! I thought of adding onto this scene, but you did it better than I could.

[cmyk]

Marty: … And why do you keep calling me Joe?
Lorraine: well… That’s what it said on your underwear… Joe Boxer.

[Voyager]

@Uncle_Jocko

Can a Smart Car or a Prius even make it to 88 miles an hour?

My Prius can

My daddy said son, the cops are going to see us
If you don’t stop driving that hot rod Prius

But I’d go for a Tesla - rare and expensive also.