RUINS OF CHILDHOOD is an excavation and recontextualisation of a childhood spent in the 20th Century.
Originally posted October 6th, 2020
Some call it science fiction, others teen comedy but, regardless of genre, Back To The Future is one of the most beloved trilogies of the 20th Century. But beneath its bright nostalgia ticks a darker time piece about lack of choice and the prison of predestination.
Each film offers a slightly diffrent take on the question of freewill so, being about time travel, it is best to start in the perceived present of 1985’s BACK TO THE FUTURE.
PART ONE:
The McFlys never had a choice.
Marty time travels to 1955, where both his mother and father are teenagers. And he has traveled there with the knowledge of how certain events of this time play out. So, as the Doc of 1955 eventually explains, he’ll need to maintain these past events so that the present is there to return to.
Specifically this means ensuring his parents attend the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance. There they can have that first kiss which leads to a marriage which results in having Marty as their son. That dictates each action Marty takes as a means to preserve the McFly past. This same ordinance applies to George and Loraine, even though their perception of 1955 is as the present. Since they are unaware of the future Marty comes from there is no existing choice to deviate from it.
“George inadvertently declares himself to be Loraine’s density and, shortly after that, her destiny. It is in that second statement he reveals the nihilistic surrender at the heart of this Sci-Fi romp.”
So when Marty is hit by the car that was supposed to hit George, and Loraine becomes attracted to him instead, it is important to acknowledge that she isn’t actively choosing Marty over George. She is experiencing the Florence Nightingale effect just as it was originally told to Marty. Only this time, he is the perceived patient instead of George.
At Marty’s urging (and need to preserve the past) George inadvertently declares himself to be Loraine’s density. And, shortly after that, her destiny. It is in that second statement he reveals the nihilistic surrender at the heart of this Sci-Fi romp. Even though Loraine has a crush on Marty, and even though George is too intimidated to fully ask her out, they are both inescapably deadlocked into the inevitability of Marty’s birth.
But preserving that birth isn’t Marty’s sole concern. He has also come to 1955 with knowledge that Doc Brown will be killed in 1985. With the prior Doc of 1955 already assisting his exploits, Marty writes a letter in hopes of saving him from this demise. However prior Doc tears up the letter before he can actually read it.
As the VHS cover shows, Marty does have a time machine. So he sets the time circuits to bring him back ten minutes before he originally left. Thinking its enough time, he arrives back at the start of the film to once again watch Doc get gunned down by some problematic stereotypes.
Miraculously Doc sits up revealing a bullet proof vest beneath his lab coat. He also pulls out the meticulously taped letter he had ripped to shreds 30 years (or 16 minutes) prior. Assuming that Doc was not wearing the bullet proof vest when the events first played out, this would dictate that the timeline did indeed veer into a new present.
But this new timeline is still pre-determined by events of the past. The bullet proof vest is worn in reaction to the letter Marty wrote him. A letter relating a past in which Doc never received a letter and therefore never wore a bullet proof vest. At no point was he presented with a life or death decision because this 30 year old letter always dictated the knowledge for his survival.
Similarly, Marty never chose to actively save Doc’s life. In writing that letter he was merely recounting his past from earlier in the movie. And, as dictated by a limited understanding of the Space Time Continuum, it is the events that precede us that predetermine our current course. This actually allows for the slightly altered reality to exist at the end of the film. It also compels a crushing malaise of existence to Marty.
For Doc, George and Loraine this divergent 1985 is a pretty positive place. Most notably, Doc is still alive and gets to travel in the time machine he conceived. As for Marty’s parents, they are no longer the bullied nebbish and unhappy drunk he last encountered. In fact the entire McFly household is more confidant and successful. Their quality of life is a vast improvement from the one presented at the start of the film.
And Marty will never get to experience a moment of it.
Moving forward he will have the more upbeat family and the truck of his dreams but he didn’t live through this divergent timeline. He never got to engage in the family vacations, gala events and whatever mid ‘80s opportunities come with this lifestyle. All of his memories are of the 17 years lived in the original timeline before all this changed.
And Marty has to retain those memories because, without them, he wouldn’t have known how to get his parents back together. Nor what to write in the letter that saved Doc’s life. So the history that preceded his actions predetermined what those actions would be.
To act with freewill means to choose your course freely. So you would think that there would be no better vehicle for that than a time machine. But having the DeLorean did not give Marty influence over his destiny. His trip to 1955 and back was only to ensure the course of action that led to his birth. So that final gaze on his new-found 4X4 isn’t one of fulfillment. Its the dawning realization that he is merely a cog inescapably turning in the pre-wound mechanics of a clock-work universe.
And, yeah, that’s kind of heavy.
-sigh-
Tim
TIM is TIM BLEVINS, the eventual author of MEDUSA LAROOSA SAYS THE SHOW MUST GO ON. He knows that new sound you’ve been looking for.
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