Tell me more ×
Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 25 down vote favorite
4

I believe I've spotted a flaw, and I'd like to know if other fans have noticed it too.

  • In the first BTTF, Marty McFly travels back to 1955 (his parents' high school era).

  • He meets his mother and she has the "hots" for him.

  • He helps his dad, George.

  • And then he goes back to 1985 (his present day) and see's that everything is different, having been affected by his doings in 1955.

  • Surely, as Lorraine and George had their son born (Marty) and he started to grow up, wouldn't they think, "Hang on... He kinda looks like that kid Calvin Klein that we knew back when we were in high school!"

Is that right? Or am I missing something?

DISCLAIMER: I like BTTF, please don't take the following as a general criticism of the movie.

share|improve this question
8  
That's one problem. What about the people disappearing from photos and then reappearing? Why should that happen, when the future was not yet decided? And yet Marty continued to remember them all. – Wikis Feb 1 '11 at 10:35
4  
Way to steal from popular internet videos. cracked.com/… But.... – DampeS8N Feb 1 '11 at 14:17
3  
DampeS8N - are you kidding? I've never seen that video before. – benhowdle89 Feb 1 '11 at 14:18
4  
That' often bothered me too (and no I haven't seen the video), but it's just a fictional plot, don't worry too much about it :/ – johnc Feb 4 '11 at 3:54
8  
This is an obvious question that probably occurs to nearly everyone who sees the film (as it did to me when I first saw it probably ten years ago); rather unnecessary and unjustified to claim that it originates in some video on some website. – ShreevatsaR Feb 4 '11 at 11:42
show 2 more comments

5 Answers

up vote 16 down vote accepted

This isn't a logical flaw. The logical flaw in Back to the Future is when Marty and Doc are in the future. Old Biff steals the Delorean and goes back in time to give himself the Almanac.

When he did so, he changed the future, and shouldn't have been able to return to the future that Marty and Doc are in, because it would then reflect the changes from the terrible future he created.

He should have returned to a self-made hell-on-earth. In the mean time, Doc could have just created a new Time Machine. Certainly if he could make a steampunk one in the 1800s within 15 years (based on the ages of the kids) he could also in the future.

share|improve this answer
2  
@Binary Worrier: Incorrect. You have to take as a given that BTTF allows for the changing of the future. Doc even draws a chart to detail why they returned to a broken past. That chart clearly shows that Biff wouldn't have returned to the same future that Marty and Doc were in. – DampeS8N Feb 3 '11 at 17:31
1  
Bugger . . . though I had you there :) – user296 Feb 4 '11 at 8:41
2  
Just to confirm: this post is about something in one of the sequel films and not the first film named Back to the Future, right? – ShreevatsaR Feb 4 '11 at 14:38
1  
This was actually addressed (somewhat) in a deleted scene. Old Biff returns to the future, then fades out of existence (commentary says that he got shot by Lorraine sometime in the 1990s). The timeline does change, but Marty and Doc are unaffected (much like when Jennifer is left at her house in "bad" 1985) There doesn't seem to be much difference between "bad" Hill Valley of 2015 and "good" Hill Valley of 2015. – thedaian Nov 21 '11 at 17:27
5  
-1 Although your point is valid, this doesn't remotely answer the question. – bitmask Apr 14 '12 at 17:52
show 8 more comments
up vote 37 down vote

Personally I can remember what about 4 people look like from high school, and that's because I've seen them since. Obviously people's memory will vary, but it's not without the realms of possibility that they'd forget what he looked like, especially as they wouldn't have a photo of him.

share|improve this answer
2  
This sounds eminently plausible. +1 – DVK Nov 25 '11 at 23:45
2  
Also, Marty was only there for a week. How many faces do you remember of someone who was only around a week? – Michael Itzoe Dec 20 '11 at 20:59
Especially when it's infatuation, like with Marty's mother - you fall for the idea of the person, and not the person... Likely resulting in distorted memories, even if you could still recall the face ;) – Izkata Dec 27 '11 at 5:39
1  
@Pureferret - huh? – DVK Jan 21 '12 at 22:52
1  
I still remember lots of girls I was infatuated with in high school. Does this make me a loser? :( – Andres F. Aug 15 '12 at 0:17
show 4 more comments
up vote 7 down vote

I'll try and explain everyone's questions in a few paragraphs below. Please excuse any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors for I didn't have time to run it through word by word, or make it to scale, or to paint it: :)

In the BTTF universe, if you travel in time, you remember everything that happened in the original timeline, along with any changes you've made in your travels. That's the way I've always interpreted the film. So when Biff (in BTTF2) travels through time as an adult, he makes his changes, and there’s enough of a delay to allow him to travel back to 2015.

Just as Marty did with his parent's, "TIME" gives you a chance to change things back if needed, especially if it involves almost wiping yourself out completely. I mean, if Marty killed his dad that would be a different story. The filmmakers found two ways around making changes in time; delayed actions (in the case of BTTF 1) or alternative timelines (BTTF 2&3).

Marty only delayed his parents first meeting, and still managed to get them together at the same dance. I mean realistically, Marty was some dude she’d known for a few days that school year. Biff was a bigger part of their lives, having spent a number of years (assumed) in school with them. So it makes sense why she, George or Biff wouldn't remember Marty.

share|improve this answer
up vote 7 down vote

Its quite possible that Marty's parents and Biff remember Calvin from their high school days. However, Marty doesn't just appear one day, fully grown in the present day. He is born and they see him grow up.

While Marty is growing up, George, Lorraine or even Biff might think to themselves 'Hey, that kid reminds me of the guy in High school' but then they probably dismiss it as putting a current, familiar face on top of an old memory of someone they knew back in high school.

They might even go a little further and think that they have subtly influenced their kid while he was growing up, to be like someone they knew back when they were young.

share|improve this answer
up vote 4 down vote

There is one aspect you are missing; although WE see the new incarnations of the parents seeing him for the first time (in a movie sense), in their reality, they have watched him grow from an infant.

Seeing someone over and over, especially as they are growing, will tend to influence your perceptions of them a bit.. they may have eventually noticed the resemblance, but there is never the sudden change that the audience sees to draw attention to it. Sure; he looks like 'Calvin' from their teenage years.. But that's just now, and they have been looking at him since he was a baby; it's unlikely they would make more than a cursory connection.

share|improve this answer

protected by Community♦ Aug 15 '12 at 0:55

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.