Back to the Future is a science fiction comedy made in 1985. The protagonist, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is accidentally transported 30 years into the past and just as accidentally becomes romantically involved with the girl who will become his mother. Marty therefore has to do two things: ensure his continued existence by encouraging his future parents to fall in love with each other, and find a way back to his own time. Christopher Llloyd’s mad scientist helps him with both endeavors. The movie spawned two sequels during which Marty and “Doc” Brown traveled to 2015 and 1885.
An English website, Sunlife, decided to commemorate the movie with an infographic that depicts a time machine’s dashboard. This infographic lists three years: 1955, 1985, and 2015. Pressing on the “GO” tab takes you to a collection of pictures depicting the pop culture, technology, and entertainment trends associated with each year. Clicking on a picture will let you access a blurb about each trend, and some of these should be take with a grain of salt. Horror movies are rightfully mentioned as a trend of the 1980s — but the author mentions Jaws when listing scary movies. Spielberg’s shark attack classic came out in the 70s.
This infographic lists eight trends for each year, and at least one overarching trend becomes obvious: the growing ubiquity of computers and other technology. The only gadget listed in the 1955 group is a car called the Morris Miner. The 1985 group includes Nintendo and boom boxes, while 2015 lists Instagram, selfies, Emojis and GIFs which are all related to computers and/or smartphones. The writer also lists hoverboards which appeared in the movies. Apparently, Lexus and other companies have managed to make the real thing. The writer admits it will probably be years before hoverboards become available to the masses.
This infographic depicts the different life expectancies of the various trends. Poodle skirts, which were big in 1955, are long gone, but rock music, the hula hoop and the Slinky are still around. 3-D movies were big in the 1950s, faded for several decades, and then made a resurgence in 2009 with Avatar. Drive-in theatres, however, have largely faded. They’ve been outcompeted by things like streaming video and Netflix which let people watch movies in the comfort of their own home.
Similarly, not all trends from 1985 proved to be equally enduring. People still make and watch horror movies, and MTV is still around. On the other hand, boom boxes have been supplanted by iPods. Some video games that debuted in the 1980s like Mario Brothers are still around, but they are now played on much fancier gear. Denim jackets are another trend that goes through cycles of being everywhere and then fading. The Sunlife infographic thus shows trends that have endured, trends that died, and trends that get recycled by younger generations.
You can interact with the full infographic here.
