Back to the Future and the Power of Revisionist Nostalgia
The moral case for revisiting the past and understanding it from a different perspective.
The past is a different country.
It's the kind of country you've been to and yet often times experiences may vary. Like going on vacation, not everyone's experience of the past is the same. What you see and know about it reflects the things you did and saw while you were there. So when people recall those events, it's often a very different thing. Places and people you met change. No two people really see it for what it is, even if they were in the same place at the same time.
Nostalgia is a lot like that. It's the experience of a vacation which is singular and fundamentally unique. How you remember the past varies based in part on what you experienced back when it happened, but also the things you've said and done since then. This process disrupts your understanding of those events. You pick and choose the things you want to remember and the emotional association you make between them. For most people, this isn't a conscious attempt to force the past to act the way you want, but an unconscious desire to feel a certain way about the past. Usually in a positive way.
One of the most interesting parts of Back to the Future is the way in which it disrupts the characters' understanding of the past. At first through leaving out details and aspects when telling stories about the past, and by repeating similar patterns of behaviour from the past. Behaviour you can't necessarily get out of. Then it affects how characters feel about each other, primarily through Marty McFly, brilliantly played by Michael J Fox. By meeting his parents as they were when they were his age, he learns that many of the same problems and insecurities he has right now, his parents struggled with before they had him.
And finally, it allows Marty himself to change who he is, both in his relationship to his parents, his friendship with Doc Brown and ultimately how he sees himself.
If you go into the history of what brought the movie and its franchise into existence, it even helped the writers themselves. It was created when one of the writers was looking through various keepsakes and memorabilia owned by his father. This made him wonder whether or not he and his father would be friends if they'd gone to school together. Could they have related to each other and enjoyed each other's company? Or would they be like George McFly and Biff Tannen? Fundamentally enemies in which one of them bullied the other.
The audience as well can similarly ask these questions of themselves. Recognizing what's similar and what's different between you and your parents or any other family members. It can re-contextualize your understanding of the past or how you feel about the events you went through.
At this point, it would seem fairly odd to consider anyone who hasn't seen Back to the Future, but if there's someone who hasn't, I encourage you to find the time to introduce them to it.
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