Roads? Where we are going we only need roads!

The 21st Century: The big disappointment for all of the 80’s movie directors.

Back to the future.. It’s been a little over a year after Marty McFly and Doc came to ‘visit us’ on October 21st 2015. That got me thinking. Would Marty and Doc be disappointed if they actually visited us for real on that date, or would they be amazingly surprised about how the future is looking?

Remember the last scene from Back To The Future I, when Doc puts his futuristic (Lady Gaga?) glasses on and answered Marty’s worries with “Roads?, Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” That was not only the best line but also the best way to end the movie. The kind of ending that makes you feel proud that you have watched it. Right?

The line got me thinking (I get in a thinking-mood really fast). In the, then futuristic 2015, there were flying cars and adjustable to your body-size clothes and hover-boards that actually hover. In the now historic 2015 we had attacks in France, a whole confusion about Pluto being or not being a planet (we still don’t know for sure) and the Ice Bucket Challenge.

The whole irony of the quote is that they would need a lot more roads than they had back in 1985. They would have traveled through time, to come to 2015 and end up in a traffic jam. We only have roads now. Roads and normal, not-flying, cars. And fuel shortages.

Compared to the most ‘futuristic’ 80’s movies, Back To The Future had some good insights about the 21st century, but I really can’t get over the irony of Doc’s quote and the misfortunes that instead of hoverboards, that actually hover, we got those things with two small wheels that move 1km faster than walking. How’s that for a progress?