Will Rose, Jill Elizabeth, and Kevin Schaefer kick off our Spring Bonus series, "On Loop," by diving into the time-travel classic, "Back to the Future." Right off the bat, they highlight how this iconic flick has left a lasting mark on pop culture and time travel narratives, serving as the gold standard for all time loop stories that followed. The trio chats about their personal connections to the film, reminiscing about their first experiences watching it and the nostalgia it stirs up. They also tackle some of the movie's more cringe-worthy moments, reflecting on how the cultural landscape has shifted since the '80s. With a mix of clever banter and insightful commentary, they explore the film's themes of family, identity, and the wild ride of trying to change the past—all while chucking in a few laughs along the way.

Time travel, nostalgia, and a dash of existential musings collide in this lively chat where the hosts dive into the cult classic 'Back to the Future'. Kicking off our spring bonus series, they reminisce about the first time they watched the film, revealing their childhood impressions of the 1950s depicted in the movie and the striking contrast with their 1980s reality. They ponder the absurdity of flying cars and the passing of time, realizing that what seemed distant as kids is now part of their own history. The conversation takes a humorous turn as they explore the movie's quirky characters, particularly the iconic Marty McFly and Doc Brown, while also reflecting on pop culture's obsession with time travel. The hosts also delve into the film's deeper themes, contemplating the nature of time and how it shapes our identities, all while sharing witty insights and playful banter, making it clear that 'Back to the Future' is more than just a nostalgic trip—it’s a cultural phenomenon that continues to spark discussions about our past and future.

As they embark on their time-traveling adventure, the hosts dissect the film's timeless appeal and its cultural impact. They humorously navigate through the movie's plot, discussing how Marty accidentally alters his parents' romantic history and the comedic chaos that ensues. Alongside this, they highlight the film's brilliant soundtrack, which serves as both a nostalgic reminder of the era and a pivotal element of the film’s storytelling. The conversation flows naturally as they touch on the film's iconic moments, such as Doc Brown's eccentricity and Marty’s rock 'n' roll dreams, all while weaving in their personal anecdotes and reflections on how the film resonates with their own lives. They also tackle the film's more problematic aspects through a modern lens, engaging in a thoughtful critique that balances appreciation with an awareness of the changing cultural landscape. This episode is a delightful mix of humor, nostalgia, and insightful commentary, showcasing why 'Back to the Future' remains a beloved classic.

Takeaways:

1. This episode kicks off the Spring Bonus series 'On Loop' with a nostalgic dive into 'Back to the Future', exploring its cultural impact and time travel concepts.
2. The hosts reflect on their childhood experiences with the film, noting how its portrayal of the 1950s contrasts sharply with contemporary societal norms.
3. Humor and witty banter abound as the hosts discuss the film's iconic moments, including the memorable quotes and character dynamics that resonate even today.
4. Listeners are encouraged to examine how 'Back to the Future' serves as a blueprint for time travel stories, influencing countless films that followed it, while also acknowledging its flaws.
5. The conversation touches on the film's balance of humor and heartfelt moments, revealing how it manages to capture the essence of adolescence and parental relationships.
6. The hosts ponder the complexities of time travel, questioning what it means to revisit the past and how it shapes our understanding of the present and future.

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Check out other episodes with Will:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/4559ab55-4b6a-4432-b0a7-b61540df8803

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Listen to every episode with Jill:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/93b2d7c5-1f3a-4fdb-8d87-350f6ca167b9

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Don't miss any of our other episodes with Kevin:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/84fd7d06-cf1f-48e5-b358-09a01c5a6bc9

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Our show focuses around our favorite fandoms that we discuss from a Christian perspective. We do not try to put Jesus into all our favorite stories, but rather we try to ask the questions the IPs are asking, then addressing those questions from our perspective. We are not all ordained, but we are the Priests to the Geeks, in the sense that we try to serve as mediators between the cultures around our favorite fandoms and our faith communities.

Do you want to go back in time? Well, cue Huey Lewis and the news. Great Scott. This is going to be fun. Hello, fellow geekologists. Welcome to another episode of Systematic Geekology.

And welcome to our spring bonus series, where for the next six weeks, we're going to go just to the main feed on Friday, and we're doing a series called On Loop. We're discussing movies that have time travel or characters and some kind of time loop.

And we're gonna tie this in to our annual theme of the faces behind us and what could be first in this series. There can only be one movie this first in the time Loop series. Time travel.

It's not the first when it comes to time traveling movies and stories, but, man, it was it. A trailblazer for time travel in pop culture. We're talking about no other Back to the future. Let's go back to the future.

Great Scott.

And great Scott, we do. And you hear some voices there. You hear. You hear some little giggles. And that's my friends and co hosts Kevin and Jill. Welcome. I'm so glad you're on.

I'm glad you're in this DeLorean with me so we can go wherever we want and. And. And talk about this. So, yep, we're gonna talk about Back to the Future, the first in this series. And, you know, imagine.

Imagine that we are sitting in the youth room at my church on the couch, and we're on the big screen on the wall, and for throwback, retro 80s movie night, we put on this. And we watch this movie together. We just finished the movie, and what is the first thing we say to each other? Joe, I'll let you go first.

Yeah, yeah. Word. Word. Yep. I agree. It's.

It's that idea of, like, history as a kid that I thought was, like, ancient. Right when I watched this for the first time, when it came out, I think it came out in 88 maybe. I don't remember, but when I watched

it, it was 85.

Released in 85.

Released in 85. And then, yeah, watching.

And I just kept thinking of that, that history is not really actually history. We're just always in a present moment, evolving, and there's no humility in the present moment. I'd like, I'll talk more about that.

But yeah, that was reaction is like, no way. That was 30 years.

And so, you know, I had a BlackBerry. You know, I didn't even have an iPhone where you got it. Anyway. Kevin, what's the first thing that you say after watching this movie?

Well, if I'm watching this with like your youth group and this like pretending this is my first time watching this, I'm gonna have a lot of questions about who said that. Oh, yeah, you can totally have this mom and Marty storyline. And that's.

I, I, the fact that this movie got made, don't get wrong, I love it, but I just love that this is considered like family favorite wholesome movie. And I mean, there are many reasons why it is, but also how did this get made is what I want to know.

And that's what's led me to many investigations here. I've watched many documentaries and read up on Back to the Future. And I'm always fascinated by all of the things of the 80s.

We'll get that, we'll get into that soon. I want to hear some of that.

Yeah, for me, I think what I'm going to resonate with at least when I come back and rewatch it, I'm going to be like, dang Huey Lewis. I want to get back and get into this soundtrack. What a, what a banger of music soundtrack.

And the fact that he makes a cameo there and kind of like telling Marty McFly's band that they're too loud and, and the irony that because his band was too loud that he's now having hearing problems as a, as an artist, like a present day, I'm like, oh my gosh. I'm just, I can't help but think about that as I'm watching this movie. But I'm, I'm like, I love this soundtrack.

I definitely was like, oh, I'm a kid of the 80s. I was 13 when this movie came out. I had my Sony Walkman plugged in with headphones plugged into my Sony Walkman and the skateboard.

And I would love to grab a hold of the back of a car and go fast. And I get all the pop culture reference of Star wars and Star Trek all in one sentence. I was like, wait a minute, what's going on.

Yeah, yeah, we could talk about it too. But I, I adore this movie and I loved watching it again.

And so, so just, just real fast before we hop into like our history with the movie and then kind of trying to recap it. This isn't the first time travel movie, but it is the first time travel movie I remember seeing as a, as a kid.

And I don't know if you guys in terms of what you know, came before this or after in terms of the big time travel on loop movies. You know, I did a little Google research about like what is the first time travel story in the history of humankind?

And it goes like the 400 BC with like a Hindu epic about someone being in a time loop and kind of reviewing their life. Yeah.

So like even before Christ, there were these stories of contemplating what would my life be like if I could go back in time and change things or, or the gods played around with time to either mess with me or to have a life review. Some of that goes way back to humans could even dream up these kinds of stories.

So those are some of the, the, the stories that were there and then of course present day, whether it's in game or others that refer to Back to the future and, and what that means in pop culture and stuff too.

But in terms of y', all, there are some favorite time travel stories either that precedes or after Back to the Future that you kind of, kind of think of to lift up. They might even talk about it in the series. I don't know. We'll see what happens. Yeah.

Kevin, do you have one? Do you want to begin?

Let's see. I, I do love the movie Looper as kind of like that one is because that really plays on a fascinating element of time travel.

I, it's funny because I had a creative writing professor in college who hated time travel stuff because he's just like, it inevitably leads to just another confusion and one of my favorite. Yes. In a Paradox, one of my favorites. Even though like I know it absolutely breaks all of its rules. Like and doesn't really plan.

Is the movie about time. That's like one of my favorite rom coms. I do. Yeah. No, I love it. It like I watch that every Valentine's Day. That's like one of my go to.

Like I, it's just. And, and it is like pretty absurd. Like I said it, the, the, the.

The rules it establishes about time travel, it breaks all of them in the third act and doesn't really care to explain but it's still really good storytelling. So I think that's the thing about time travel is it's really hard to not make it a paradox. But I do love some stories that I care more about.

Can they do it well to tell a good character based story and examine stuff like that. So that's what I love about that movie.

Yeah. Kind of Multiverse time travel stories is used as a tool to help us reflect on meaning and purpose.

You think of like A Christmas Carol, you know, the, the past self, present self, future self as life. Review of what my means to me. So I think it definitely serves this person. It can be overdone. There's paradox.

You have to hold your belief systems or how everything structures in physics sometimes to the side to see what happens. But in terms of all that is a literary tool to help us go a little deeper.

Jill, in terms of time travel movies, things that stick to that pop up or stick out to you. We're probably hit on some of these later on in the future.

But I just talking about it Back to the Future, even though it's first in the series and it's a big one in pop culture, I think it. We also have to acknowledge that it's not the first. Oh, Jill, Jill.

Sorry. Certainly not the first. But for anyone like in our age range, it's sort of the blueprint as far as a time travel movie.

And so anything that I saw after I had seen Back to the Future, I would sort of relate back to like what are the rules that Doc Brown laid out about time travel? Because if it doesn't fit in there, it just doesn't feel like it works. And it was really funny to revisit the work.

I also just rewatched the movie on Friday night and like how simple and rudimentary it is. Yeah, yeah, that. I mean even when I watched About Time I was like, wait, he goes back but he's in his own body. Like could he not see himself.

Umbrella Academy was another one. That's like probably one of my favorite time travel like series.

And I kept thinking about like, wait, but they saw each other and then the world doesn't explode. It's funny. Like if they come in contact with their themselves in Back in Time, they have extreme gas. I don't know if you saw that series.

They don't talk about. It's not in the comic book, but it is in the movie or the TV show. And I'm like, well, that wasn't in Back to the Future.

No, no. New ground. New ground.

Yeah. And then probably my favorite time travel mov movie is the one with Tom Cruise, Edge of Tomorrow. I really like that.

And that's more of like a video game type of concept of like, you have to like master everything that you're doing to like, you know, for time to be able to progress.

That's one of like my favorite non Mission Impossible Tom Cruise action movies. Like, that's a great one.

It really is so good. And Emily Blunt is so good in it too.

Fantastic.

And. And yeah, you may hear some of these in this series. You just have to stay tuned to find out.

But as we begin this series and talk about this movie, I thought we'd lift that up some too. Of course, there's favorite. We have big Doctor who fans, Time Lord fans on this show and shows like Quantum Leap and Man.

It's a great literary tool to do some reflection on the purpose and meaning of your life.

You got some fantastic actors in there. This, the director and writer of this movie also did Forrest Gump, did he not? He did this movie, Robert. Something like this.

And so in terms of like legendary status. And then I didn't realize when the movie starts, it says a Steven Spielberg production that he helped produce this.

And definitely the soundtrack and the beats and the cutting and the editing had some Goonies feel to it. Especially that opening scene with clocks and contraptions and booby traps and all those kinds of things that really call back to know why.

I love some movies from the 80s, that's for sure.

Yeah. Yeah. This is such an 80s film.

Full on. So our history, our. Before we do a synopsis, Kevin, what's your history with your film? You're the youngest in this group here.

I'm curious, when you saw this and what was the impact that had with you? What's your history with this film?

Yeah, yeah, no, I was trying to think of the exact age. I don't remember exactly how old. I mean, I know I was teenager, so it was.

I can't remember if it was middle school or high school, but I think the first time was somewhere when. Because it was on TV all the time.

So I think I just caught it at one point and I think I had seen maybe clips and stuff before I finally saw it in its entirety, but it was somewhere in that adolescent stage. And I mean, yeah, I. There's a lot.

I don't remember the very first time I saw this movie because I've seen it so many times since then and I've owned the box set of the trilogy for so long that it's hard to remember that first time. But yeah, I mean, it absolutely blew me away. I was just mesmerized by the comedy of it, the sci fi, the perfect casting, you know, and I mean.

And yes, like, I, while I did not, I wished I had been alive and, you know, seen this in theaters when it came out would have been awesome. But. But, you know, I, I knew how much of a pop culture touchstone it was. And you know, my parents were huge fans of Family Ties.

They showed me and my siblings episodes of that later on, even though, I mean, obviously we weren't watching it when it aired. But. But we all love that show. And so I always love Michael J. Fox and yeah, I mean, it just blew me away as far as this, you know, cross genre epic.

It was funny. It had a great soundtrack, it had a great story, great effects. So, yeah, it's just one I've seen I don't know how many times.

And like I said, I've had the. The DVD box set of the whole trilogy for years and years and watch that on loop.

There you go.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just want. Yeah. Oh, just because they. Real quick. I'll save a little bit later, but I just re.

Watched like a documentary on Netflix about it, so I'll give some stuff.

Oh, fun. Yeah, I want to hear about that.

Yeah, me too. Jill, what's your history?

I also watched it on loop. I mean, I saw it in the theater when it came out.

Like, like I was very young, but I Remember and the 80s was such this time where we had, like, movie stars that looked like normal people. I feel like we don't really have that anymore. Like, everyone's so beautiful now. But to me, like, Michael J. Fox was like.

Like someone I could have gone to school with. He just looked like a. Like an average guy, but, like, everyone loved him. I also grew up watching Family Ties.

I mean, like, originally I didn't watch reruns. That was like my show. I loved it. It's probably a VHS that I wore out and my dad had to go buy a. Yeah, I love.

Yeah, Yeah.

I was 13 when this came out. So I definitely saw it in the theater. And it's like, hit that kind of teenage Huey Lewis in the news. You know, the power of love.

Going to go back in time. Like, all those songs were on the loop on the radio. The promotion for it. Michael J. Fox was huge. Fox was huge on tv. I would watch Family Ties.

He was big movie star, all that. And so I do remember seeing this a number of times in the theater when. When it came out. And of course, you know, on TV or HBO or renting it.

Seen it many, many times.

But it's been really long since I've sat down and watched it all the way through from beginning to end, without stopping knowing we're going to talk about this and take some notes, just to kind of look and examine this through a critical eye. I loved doing that. It had been a minute.

We just assumed that so much of this movie is in pop culture and just referencing things that you forget some of the little details that are there in, like, I. His whole guitar solo where. Where the kids are just staring at him. I've forgotten about that scene.

And he's just wailing the guitar and they're just like, what are you doing? He's like, yeah, well, you don't understand what your kids will one day love. Yeah, that was me in 86.

I love this.

Yeah. I was like, that's me. That's me. My parents were, you know, children of the 50s, and then they had me.

And so I was like, yeah, I love that kind of music. I love rock and roll. I love guitar solos. So that was super fun. So, yeah, I feel like it's always.

It kind of hit me right at adolescence and then has been with me kind of all the way through. And then when Christopher Lloyd showed up in the Mandalorian, I was like, yes, there you go.

That's the reference, the pop culture reference that I need for Back to the Future in Sci Fi. It's really, really good.

Well, I'm sure you've seen it, but the. Speaking of the guitar solo, the me. Well, it's been done as a ton of memes of the whole. Your kids are gonna love this one day.

It has George Lucas's face on him, and it's talking about the prequels. He's like, yeah, you're not ready for this, but your kids are gonna love it. That's right.

Yeah. There you go. It's so good. Jill, do you feel comfortable trying to summarize this movie in two or more minutes?

We're here if somebody might be first ever listening to Cismic Ecology or hearing a Back to the Future, and they're like, man, what is this movie they're talking about? And I will fill in gaps if. If you. If you get run into a snag or two. But.

Yeah, yeah, let me give it a shot.

Yeah.

After he has heard the story of how they fall in love, he gets to kind of live that out, except he mistakenly takes his dad's place. And so his mom falls in love with him.

True story.

And he is tasked with the burden of having to make his parents fall in love to ensure that himself and his siblings are even born. Because if his mom continues this infatuation with him, it ruins the timeline and he disappears and time is altered forever.

And he's assisted by his genius best friend Doc Brown, who invented the time

machine from falling off his toilet. His toilet. And hitting his head on the sink. And then he came up with it and just sketched it on a piece of paper. So. Yeah.

Which really all it is is a why. So I can't quite figure out how the flux capacitor is the key to time travel. We don't really get into the science of it. Yeah, yeah.

Do you think I summed it up? Okay, that's good.

That's good.

Yeah.

And so, again, like, this fish out of water from the 8 to the 50s. So there's that this element of him, you know, at the beginning of the movie, he's trying to understand his parents.

And, you know, his dad's being bullied by Biff.

His mom is a prude, but drinks a lot, and he shouldn't go out on a date with this person because she, you know, she never acted like that and she never did. She wasn't Fast, you know, but then the encounters. His mom is, he's there. Oh, they're totally different people.

They're, they're, they're masking something what's going on in their lives. And so that kind of contrast of what the revelation that he is understanding scene as he's walking through the timeline, knowing some things.

And try not to share about the future too much because you don't want to alter the timeline, but you want to save the timeline. All those things along with a cool soundtrack and him mentoring his dad on he Talk about the face behind us. How to be a man.

You know, talk about the faces behind us. Your own son is mentoring you through high school. School of, of how to like stick up for yourself. I, I, yeah, it's a lot of fun. Kevin.

What other kind of spots there in the, in the plot that we don't want people to miss?

So also at the beginning. Great song.

And so that also presents a dam because not only does Marty have to make his parents fall in love to prevent him being erased from existence and his siblings, but also he wonders if should I reveal this to Doc about what's gonna happen to him? And that creates a great conflict is when he tries to tell Doc toward the end, Doc's like, no, I can't know anything about the future.

That'll mess with everything. Don't let it happen. But of course, he does eventually read a note that Marty left behind and that leads to him saving himself and putting armor.

And also one of my favorite plot points is that one of the. Because a lot of the movie has to do with like you guys said about Marty not knowing what his parents were like in high school.

He only has this personification of them as adults.

And he learns that not only was his mom, you know, like, more rebellious, but also his dad was an aspiring author and like, had put away the these dreams for the longest time. And he, you know, I love that lie. Like, get out.

I didn't know you want to do anything creative, you know, and, but he helps him get over his confidence of, you know, submitting stories out and, and getting published and that changes the trajectory of his life.

Yeah.

Yeah. He's so cool.

I, I, I really love that. And yeah, like the pop culture references have not only like one point. What is it? How many gigawatts?

One point. 1.21 gigawatts. I sent Jill and Will the invite for this and titled it 1.21 GW. Great Scott.

And is, is that for lightning? I didn't, I didn't fact check it. Is that how many, like how much power is. Is lightning the same amount of plutonium?

There's no real science in this movie. 0.

0 science except melting somebody's brain with loud rock and roll music and a Sony Walkman saying that he's Darth Vader from the planet Volcano. Him. You know, all the nerds are going, wait a minute.

You know, but, but the fact that he created his dad's, you know, sci fi career by, by that experience is, is, is pretty fun.

It is.

Yep.

It made me think. So two things I want to say about how when Stan Lee was questioned about how do you come up with the science for the things in your comic books?

And he would say, like, I just try to get as close as I can. Like, I'm not an actual scientist, but I, I make things up and I ask people and we get, we get pretty close.

And none of that was happening in Back to the Future.

No, no. But I do like the callback, the callback to Einstein.

Like, we'll talk, we'll talk now about some of our favorite characters and the faces behind too, but the fact that they tip their hat to Einstein because really his science did talk about the relativity of space time and how that affects on that. And we've learned so much about quantum mechanics and quantum physics since then, and the question still lingers out there, is time travel possible?

And some of the greatest minds and scientists are still pondering these things. So the fact that you name the dog Einstein and the dog is the first being ever to experience time travel is just right on the money.

So the fact that like, you know, that one of my favorite characters even goes a brief moment is Einstein is, is the one who experienced time travel first. And the callback to Einstein and his science.

What are some of your favorite characters and maybe the, the faces behind them or in front of them is influencing this, this movie and beyond.

Oh, I mean, of course, Marty, but I like some of my. To me as one of the great bullies in pop. I do love Biff. And every time he's on set because they, I mean, it was perfect casting.

Tom Wilson was a comedian before this. And I mean, he Just brings the perfect energy to this role. You know, the, you know, hello, McFly? Anyone there?

You know, like, I mean all those mannerisms and the, the one liners but you know, I mean he's a terrible person but, but I, he does epitomize that classic bully so well and it adds a perfect antagonist on top of everything else going on. It's like, you know, he has to deal with all this. So I love that. And yeah, I mean I like, I love George as well.

There's just the, the, the, the dynamic between George and Marty is just perfect because it, it made me wonder about like, what would it be like if I went back in time and like, you know, just to see what my dad was like in high school.

You know, it's like I have ideas, but it's like that's also, you know, it, it just be really interesting to see, you know, what his day to day would be like. You know, it, it, it'd be fascinating. And yeah, yeah.

I, I think about like me going back and just seeing young Will. If would I be totally annoyed by this little punk who talks back to his teachers and laugh too much in class.

I'd be like, oh my God, this punk even like seminary and Will, I think if I went back and met seminary and Will, I'd be like, who is this guy? Oh my gosh. So yeah, the fact that going back. But yeah, like Jill, what you were saying is it only 30 years. It's like 100 years in the past 30 years.

There's so much was different in, in time of that time. Seeing the town in the 80s and how it's kind of run down.

They're trying to save the clock tower and they're going back in the 50s a little bit more vibrant. But even there, you know, that one, you know, I love when he's like, oh, you're for in the future, who's the president? He's like Ronald Reagan.

And he's like oh, the actor. Then who's the vice president? Jerry Lewis.

Jerry Lewis.

Yeah. They're like, well yeah, yeah, anything's possible these days, right? And so, but even then like who's running for mayor?

What's the, who's the dude running for, Mary?

Goldie Wilson.

Goldie Wilson. And so like even in the cafe they're like, oh, a colored person who's going to be mayor. That'll be the day.

He's like, no, I think, I think I can do this. And so it's Marty who plants the seed of the possibility of like, you can do this. And that's the face behind of saying, like, you know what?

I like the sound of that.

I can do it.

I can do it. It's just a beautiful moment. Even though it's, you know, you're like, oh, boy. Watching it now back to the 80s where they're saying.

But then you're like, yeah, the 50s was a different time. Gold is, like, really the only black man in this. Except for the band, right? Oh, that.

The awesome band.

Awesome band.

Marion Barry, you know, whose cousin is going to make it big one day because listening to Marty McFly do this. But, yeah, Jill, some of your. Some of your characters and faces behind them.

Yeah. Gosh, I just love all of that. I think George is my favorite. George McFly. I love that actor, Crispin Glover.

And so I was watching this movie with my husband, and he's like, oh, my gosh, he is overacting so much. And I'm like, I know, that's the point. Like, I love his character, but he's such a wimp.

And I just love that he finally gets enough guts to, like, you know, punch Biff. I will say so. My kids watched all of my favorite movies when they were little because my mom and dad still have their VHS collection.

Nice.

So they had probably started watching Back to the Future, the whole box set, when they were, like, 4 and 5 years old. And then during COVID when we were all looking for things to do that were not, you know, inside, I was like, let's go to the drive in. And so we went.

Decided to go to the drive in to see a triple feature. All three. Back to the Futures. We're going to play back to, back to back. And my son, gosh, he had to.

They were like, in seventh grade, so he's 12, 13 years old, says to me, wait, you want us to go as a family and watch that movie where the kid pretends to date rape his mom? This doesn't seem like family entertainment.

That's right. That's right.

I had never thought of it through that lens, like, ever, after watching it a million times. We just have a different language now. We have a different understanding of dynamics between men and women, like, all of it.

But even watching it with my husband, he was like, wait, wait a second. What's happening in that car? You know, Sexual assault.

Sexual assault. Sexual assault.

Yeah.

Yeah.

First it was planned, and then it was unplanned, but, you know, get stopped.

Yeah.

Right, Right.

Yeah.

Which brings me kind of the next thing. How does this movie hold up? Like, there's definitely pop. Culturally, it's had its influence.

Top 10 movie of all time that has had pop culture influence on how we do pop culture. But how does this movie hold up and what holds up and what doesn't? Curious about that. What you guys think?

Yeah, I mean, I think probably that is the part that doesn't age super well.

Not at all. Yep.

Did you all catch this? He's talking to his girlfriend, and these women in leotards walk by, and his, like, head turns, and he's watching them, and she doesn't say anything.

She kind of just, like, turns his head back and starts laughing. And like, oh, my gosh, today there's no way.

Yep, yep. She catches him, you know, like, peeking and looking and then just kind of moves right along. And then later, I was like, oh.

And she writes on a note, I love you. See you tonight. You know, and then later on, you know, you see that they last because Doc comes back and he's like, oh, it's about your kids.

Not about y'. All. You guys are fine, but it's your kids. She's like, oh, so, you know, they have a future together. They're gonna get married.

They're gonna have kids. But, yeah, at the beginning there, he's still, like, checking out other.

Yeah, it's this expectation that men don't really need to. They can just behave however they're going to behave.

Yeah, yeah.

And. Well, and also the. The. The original meet cute for Marty's parents is like, is the dad was a peeping Tom and fell off a tree.

And then she was, you know, thought, oh, he got hit by a car, this poor guy, and took him in. In. And that was how they met, but never really asked.

Like, oh, well, yeah, but he just kind of, like, fibbed and said, you know, he didn't remember why he was there.

He was just bird watching. Right? He was just bird watching. You know, he doesn't do anything but. Yet. Yeah. And that rel.

Again, a part of that revelation that Marty is looking at his parents as different. Wait, what were you doing? Not cool.

Yeah.

You know, and then. Ooh, and then. And then his mom and all that. Like, like, yeah, there's.

There's dynamics there of, like, what if you met your parents back when they were teenagers or in high school, you know, what would that mean or look like? So, yeah, I mean, I think all in all, the story beats the fast pace, the urgency going from one thing to the next year. It's an adventure. Like, it.

It is fast paced. It does not slow down. The way that it's put together, the storyline, it really does hold up that way.

But of course, there's things in terms of how we understand these certain decades and what we know now and what is acceptable or not or what is cringy or. Or what is just flat out wrong is. Is there within the movie. So it's a good time capsule in itself of looking back and going, yep, this was the 80s.

Let's filter through that and talk about what that looks like. So, yeah, I, I think it's the

same with watching John Hughes movies now. Like, I still love them, but, like, But I mean, every one of them is like, oh, this is like, you know, this is being made as a joke. Like, it's.

It's really. Yeah, I mean, yeah, like, I. You can. Can still, you know, appreciate the storytelling, what they do.

But yes, there are a lot of things that are of their time and, you know, I. I'm okay kind of. I can watch things through a lens like that and look at. So I still love this movie. But yes, it's. Oh, I mean, I don't know, like, that was the.

Because I can't remember exactly how old I was when I first watched this. And like, if all of that registered with me the first time, I doubt it did. Did.

But yes, on rewatches and being more conscious of, you know, cultural attitudes and, you know, what was considered funny at the time and it would not really fly today. All these things, you know, I think, you know, comedy evolves, you know, culture evolves. Yeah.

But there was a string where we were like, the girls were growing up, you know, hitting 10, 11, 12, 13 years old. And we're like, oh, we want to show you our favorite movies. Whether it's Footloose or Back to the Future or other things.

We're like, wow, the Gremlins. We're like, oh, boy. Wow. There's a lot in here that we forgot that we didn't remember was important stuff. So. So we did.

We had a lot of Great Scott Moments and showing those to. To our kids.

Yeah. Casual misogyny, casual racism.

Yep, yep, yep. So. All right, let's have a conversation. Pause. Yeah, let's. Let's talk about this for a little bit. TT moments for sure.

But how great.

How great. Use it as a teaching opportunity. That's what we're doing here, folks. So. All right. All right. Two questions. Would you recommend this movie to a friend?

And then is time travel possible? Kevin, you first.

100. Yes. I mean, that's, you know, I, like, I. I mean, I think you will. You. And I did.

I can't remember who was on when we did the Groundhog Day episode where we talked. Like, I think that one has way more bro, you know, but like, I mean, again, still love it. But like, like, yeah, there's a lot you have to.

So I was like, you know, I was. I was like, recommending that one with a caveat. This one, I still fully rec. I think it's still a great movie and a great genre mashup.

But yes, you can also view some of the stuff there outdated and through a cultural lens. As far as his time travel possible. I. I mean, I'm not a scientist, so I don't really. I. Like, we need Andy on here to like.

Yeah.

Us. A definitive answer there. I. Even if it was that, I think I already answer that question. As if it was, would I use it? No.

But, like, because, like, I. I really don't want to mess with the, like, I. The only way I would ever is if I could, like, would know that I would have no interference with time.

Like, I could not bear the responsibility of changing a timeline. If I could be a silent observer ever. Not of myself. I think that would be the cringiest thing ever. If I had to, like, look at myself younger, heck no.

Not doing that in a million years. But if I could, like, just peek into historical events or something like that, just for fun, maybe. But like, but it's also very tempting.

And I don't think, like, I. I think it's beyond what we're meant to. For. But as far as the science of it, I would love to get Andy's perspective there.

That's right.

It's interesting, all these people with, like, videos, cameras on their phone, and they can go back and look at themselves when they were younger and what they said and did. Yeah, there's some V tips. VHS tapes of us, you know, playing around as kids and home movies and those kind of things.

Pictures, you know, even old, like, old pictures of me. Videos of Me, surfing, I'm like, oh my gosh, look at that. And, and so I'm like, ah, could. Would I go back? I don't, I don't. I would be tempted.

I'm tempted to go back and, and like, you know, surf on the boards that they had in the 60s and 70s with what I know about surfing and develop a new surfboard shape. And then like, instead of Simon and Anderson creating the three fin setup, maybe it would be me. I don't know. That's. That sounds nefarious.

But anyway, Jill, would you recommend this? And then, you know, do you think time travel is possible?

I would recommend it. I do recommend it. I think it's great to understand where we're at in this present moment, cinematically and in real life.

I think it's always good to be looking back and how in the 80s we were so nostalgic for the 50s in a way that we're nostalgic for the 90s now. I do think time travel is possible.

now. If that was the option, then, yes, I would. 100%.

If there's somehow a better timeline than just we're not privy to. Yes. Yeah, I do think it's possible. I think it's probably happening right now.

There you go. I like it. Yeah. When, when the, when we renamed UFOs UAPs, and they're like seeing these things in the air, these blips and things going.

My wife said like, maybe that's us. And I'm like, what do you mean?

She goes, maybe that's us observing ourselves in the past and trying to figure out how to correct what we're doing now. And I'm like, that's not a bad theory. That's not a bad theory. Or hope that that can be there. Yeah, I think I would recommend this movie too.

It's, it's a, it's, it's directed great, it's got good actors. It's, it's funny. Is. Are there parts that are cringy and problematic because of, like, the 80s and think it's the 50s? Sure.

And, and yeah, I think I, I think in Terms of time travel, there's that paradox of like, well, wouldn't they already be here if. If, if we did? Well, maybe they are. Maybe. Maybe they are. So we'll. We'll see.

Time will tell and what we understand about science and all those good things.

Yeah. I recommend everyone go watch the. If you. If anyone's seen the Netflix series, the movies that made us, there's an episode on Back to the Future.

I rewatched it earlier because it's great, but so fun fact. The. The genesis of it came from Bob Gale.

The co writer was visiting his parents when he was in between movies back in Missouri, and he stumbled across his father's high school yearbook. They went to the same high school and he had no idea that his father was president of, like, senior class president.

And that inspired the initial idea of, like, whoa, what if I could. Would I be friends with my parents if I could go back in time? And so that was where it all began. Can they get. This is a true statement.

But a studio executive wanted to title the movie Spaceman from Pluto. Like, he didn't like the Back to the Future title, and he legitimately believed that.

And Spielberg saved it from that because he sent a memo to that executive and said, hey, that was a great joke. We all got a kick out of that. Really appreciate that. And like, so without respond. And then they never heard about it again after that.

So they were able to retain the title. Title. And then. And then the most famous thing is that Michael J. Fox was always the number one choice from Zemeckis and Gail.

But initially they wouldn't. The producers of Family Guys wouldn't let him do it because, like, they wanted him to be fully divided on that.

So they hired another actor in the role of Marty McFly for six and a half weeks, Eric Stoltz. And it was a disaster.

And they say, like, good actor, but they say said he didn't understand the material at all and he took it too seriously because when they did the table read at the end of the movie, he thought, oh, this is horrifying. Like, this guy now lands in a present where it's completely changed and he doesn't have any memories of what his childhood is in that.

And like, so he took it so seriously, didn't understand the comedic nature of the movie and because of that was a disaster. So they shot for six and a half weeks and then finally were able to. To work out a deal with the producers on Family Ties for Michael J.

Fox to film the show during the day back to the future at night. And he got like zero sleep during the making of it, but was, you know, pulled it off instantly.

So it was a, it was one of those much like the first Star wars where there were so many production hurdles that almost prevented it from ever getting made, but it's a miracle that it did.

Ah, that's, that's, that's great. Yeah, I'm gonna have to check that out. Like I, I would love to.

Like the nitty gritty of how any of our favorite stories are, are made or not made is really, really fun. So super cool. All right, so closing question. Yeah.

We're either at the drive through in or in the youth room on the couch watching the movie or the series. We don't have to create a snack. But what we're going to do is we're going to answer the question.

All right, if we were in a time loop, who would we want to be in the time loop with? And what would we be watching or story consuming while we're in that time loop? Like on, on repeat?

So person you want to be stuck in a time loop with and then you're stuck with a TV or movie or book and it's on repeat and, and you're with that person. So I, I found this kind of hard, I found this card because I, who would I want to be in a time loop with? I mean, I gotta, I gotta say family members.

I. Wait, you know, just one out of my family, Do I have to pick one of my kids? Do I pick my wife? Wife? My best friend, man, I don't, I don't know.

That's, that's what I'm doing.

Okay, Nice. All right, can we do a show? He, I, I was this movie or show here?

I, I, I think it's both. I think it says movie or show? Movie or show?

Yeah, cuz that, that opens possibilities there. But yeah, my joke one was I was gonna say bring Will and Christian and have Last Jedi on an endless loop to get entertainment from there.

But no, I'm not gonna say like you, I'm not gonna do that. But. Oh, but see this So I think I would rather do a show because, like, as much as I love movies, I don't like. Because when it's in.

When people ask me, like, my number one favorite, like, I. I can. I'm like, can I just send you my letterbox top 20? Because I don't like to pick, like, one. And I could watch. Exactly.

Whereas if I could watch a show on repeat, then I think I would do stranger things. And I would get like, you would definitely be there most pretty much anyone on systemic systematic ecology who is a fan.

Bring on the them and then maybe a few other friends there. But that's an easy one. Where it's like, that would satisfy all the. Because it's. It's like you have movies in there and it's a reference to it.

So I could easily watch that on repeat without any, you know, getting bored.

I like that. So if I have to pick just one person, I'm probably picking my daughter Stella. She's 18. She loves pop culture as much as I do.

And I could watch that endlessly and be so happy watching my Dodgers win again and again.

But also, I'm gonna change mine. Go ahead, keep going.

Baseball is like an allegory for life. Like, to me, it's very spiritual. And so there's lots of other things and other conversations that we could have that would be.

Would be spurred by baseball.

Like, we be talking about the meaning of life and about failure and getting back up and trying again or feeling like your back is up against the wall and then overcoming. Like, to me, that's what baseball is. So I could do that forever. All day long.

I like your sports moments. I didn't even think about that. Yeah, movies, TV shows.

Hey, if it's a show, you know, I'm going to be stuck with my friend Kevin, who is a Duke fan, and I'm going to be stuck with him on a time loop of when North Carolina beat Duke in place first, the final Four for Coach K's last game. That's what I'm gonna do on a time loop. That is what I'm doing. Yep. Changing it up. There you go, folks.

Which Kevin is this?

This is not Kevin Shaver. This is my friend Kevin Powers. I don't know if he's ever listened to this, but we'll. We'll see the Duke fan.

We're gonna watch that on the time loop H so fun hey friends I hope you had fun I you know whether you're in a time loop or not we do hope that you will rate and review our show over and over and over again share it with a friend over and over again and check out the the series that we have for all the seasons you know every season December, January, Christmas, Spring, Easter, Halloween. We do these series every now and then It's a lot of fun.

You can check out all those in our in our playlist on our on our website and yeah yeah I hope you I hope you had a good time and there and we even often have polls where you can vote on what we're going to talk about on the shows like this on our series so we hope that you can engage on Facebook discord all those places as well and as we close out here I just hope that all of you experience the power of love.

Sam.