4 Back to the Future Theories Too Good not to be True

Hey what's up everyone, it's Ryan here from The Y, and today we're gonna be taking a look at Back to the Future. Man, there's so many good things you can say about these movies, but I think one of the most underappreciated elements is definitely the script. Planning out the story for a time travel movie is already a headache in itself, and to accomplish that in such a concise manner, while maintaining many of the subtleties that give a deeper meaning to the plot, is a huge feat. So let's get right into exploring some of these subtleties further. Here are 4 theories about Back to the Future too good not to be true. At the end of Back to the Future, George knocks out Biff, defends Lorraine, and takes her to the dance, which causes the timeline to be saved. This fact is shown through Marty's picture of himself and his siblings beginning to reform. After the events of the dance, Marty hurries back to Doc in order to get sent back to 1985. Upon his arrival, Doc is understandably frantic, as this is their one and only chance to get him sent back to the future. But before they get the plan rolling, Marty excitedly tells Doc how his dad finally stood up to Biff for the first time in his life. Doc's reaction to the picture, and what Marty just told him, is extremely important. This theory on Reddit by a manwhodrinks states that at the exact moment that Doc sees the restored photo of Marty and his siblings, he has a realization. Doc's realization was that it was actually possible to change the past and have a positive impact on the future without having disastrous unintended consequences. You have to remember Doc had only learned about time travel not even a week ago, and his only theories on the matter were certainly negative up to this point. Just as I thought, this proves my theory, look at your brother! His hunch is only reinforced by Marty's siblings in the picture disappearing, and this is undeniably the reason why Doc is so adamant about not messing with the space-time continuum. We've already agreed that having information about the future could be extremely dangerous But after learning that because of Marty, his dad stood up to Biff for the first time in his life, effectively restoring the lives of his siblings, Doc realizes that his old theory may not be so bulletproof. This change of heart is the sole reason Doc eventually reads the letter from Marty, because he now believes that changing the past doesn't always have to have a negative impact on the future. Well, I figured, what the hell. My Buster's Word admittedly gets a little dark with a theory that proposes the following. Biff sexually assaulting Lorraine at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance was always part of the original timeline, and Marty and George stopped it from happening. Obviously, in the original timeline it was George, not Marty, who took Lorraine to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, so she may have been going with a different guy, but one thing remained the same. Biff still had an obsession with her in both timelines, and I think it's safe to assume that he somehow found out that George was going to the dance with her, probably in a similar way as to this scene in Back to the Future 2. Somebody already asked me to the dance. That bug George McFly? I'm going with Calvin Klein, okay? After discovering that George of all people is taking his fantasy sweetheart to the dance, Biff heads there with the intent of finding George for stealing his girl, instead of finding Calvin Klein for wrecking his car like in the movie. Then, just like in the timeline with Marty, Biff confronts George and sexually assaults Lorraine. I'd like to point out that this event didn't necessarily have to happen exactly at the dance, it's just the most likely point for it to occur, and basically the only place we have to work off of. But what seems less refutable is that at some point in time, Lorraine was violated. It's really not that improbable, if you look back at the countless times Biff crossed the line with what he said to Lorraine. You want it. You know you want it. You know you want me to give it to you. Shut your filthy mouth. When are you going to get it through your thick skull, Lorraine? You're my girl. And you can't forget about the attitude he held towards George, who he treated with absolute contempt. I thought I told you never to come in here. Well, it's going to cost you, how much money you got on you. And in the original timeline, without Marty there to back him up and give him confidence, it's sad to say, but honestly, George wouldn't have stood up for Lorraine. Fast forward to the present day in 1985, and Lorraine is a shell of her former self, using alcohol and cigarettes to cope with the past trauma that still haunts her, and the depressing life she now leads with the man who couldn't protect her. But in a way, it makes sense that Lorraine ended up with George, especially after experiencing something so traumatic. Because George was the exact opposite of Biff, a feeble and weak man who could never hurt her the way she had already been hurt. This theory also gives a sick new meaning to the scene where Biff stops by the McFly home in the present day. Say hi to your mom for me. And the theory also explains why Lorraine says this at the dinner table. I don't like her, Marty. Any girl who calls up a boy is just asking for trouble. It's obvious that she doesn't like Marty's girlfriend because it reminds Lorraine of herself before the trauma occurred, and brings up repressed memories and feelings she can't deal with. Thus, by way of Marty traveling back in time and inadvertently meeting his parents, he does a lot more than just help his dad stand up to Biff. He effectively saves his mother from a traumatic encounter that drastically alters the course of her life. To find evidence of this, all you have to do is look at the present day Lorraine in the alternate timeline, as she is still by and large the same girl from high school. And when you contrast that with the Lorraine of the original timeline, it's easy to see just how bad that trauma would have derailed her life. As we can see from the events of the first movie, pictures from the future change based on alterations to the present, in order to accurately reflect the future, and if this holds true for pictures. This theory by SwissArmyCheese says the same should be true for the sports almanac, meaning that the almanac doesn't just predict the future, it also alters itself to reflect the future that's going to happen no matter what changes occur. So even if Marty were to go back in time to try and sabotage the horse races by incapacitating the supposed winners, this tactic wouldn't have worked. This is because of the fact that Biff would simply bet on the different horse that was now guaranteed to win. To put it another way, the almanac is an item from the future that contains facts about the past, so by its nature must constantly be updating its information to reconcile with any changes made by time travelers or any unforeseen butterfly effects. All of this amounts to the perfect situation for Biff. He basically has a surefire way of winning any sports bet, no matter what happens. The only conceivable way for Biff to lose a bet would have to be someone changing the outcome of the event after Biff had already placed his bet. So in this case, you wouldn't say the sports almanac was wrong, rather the future was changed after he had already placed his bet. So it'd be more a matter of timing. Don't you get it? You could make a fortune with this book. Let me show you. One part of Back to the Future that never got fully explained is how Biff came to be a timid car detailer working for the people he used to bully. I think the agreed upon consensus is that after George finally stood up to him, Biff never recovered and became a loser that people now felt bad for. Only something about this doesn't really sit right. The Biff we knew was relentless and stubborn, so how could getting knocked out and humiliated once make him a total coward and subservient towards the people he once tormented? This theory by JRM2003 on Reddit claims this isn't the case, and that instead, Biff discovered Marty was a time traveler and dedicated his life to solving the mystery. Of course, it's not like Biff learned this overnight, but there were definitely many clues that at first piqued his interest and then eventually led to his discovery. The first clue would have most certainly been the song that Marty played at the dance, Johnny B. Goode. And true, Biff wasn't there for the performance as he was unconscious. But after the fact, it's almost a guarantee he heard about the weird song Calvin Klein played that sounded nothing like any of the music out at that time. Then, a couple years later, the actual Johnny B. Goode gets released, which must have confused a lot of people at the dance who heard the song, and it's not out of the question that Biff heard about this too, adding to his suspicion. Also, you have to remember that Marty's name in 1955 was Calvin Klein, and he rode a skateboard before it was even invented, two things Biff surely never forgot. So as time progressed and these strange occurrences started to unfold into real world events, Biff realized he was onto something totally bizarre. If all of this sounds totally unbelievable, you have to remember Biff didn't have much going on for him in terms of life goals and opportunities past high school, and it's totally possible that Biff got obsessed with Marty after he arrived for a week, turned his life upside down, and vanished without a trace. So to him, unraveling the mystery of Calvin Klein was the job of a lifetime for someone who peaked in high school. Thus, Biff became a car detailer as a way to get closer to the McFly family, namely George and Lorraine, as they were the ones with the closest ties to Calvin. And lo and behold, their son Marty eventually grows up to look exactly like Calvin Klein. This could explain why Biff was so eager to talk to Marty and clean his car, he was probably trying to gain any information he could about what exactly was going on. Not long after, Biff witnesses Marty flying off in the DeLorean and disappearing right before his eyes, and his reaction makes it obvious that he's in shock. Biff knew something out of the ordinary was taking place and might have even hypothesized it was time travel, but to see the DeLorean fly and vanish into thin air was all the evidence he needed to confirm that his suspicions were based in truth all along. Biff spends the next 30 years following Marty, trying to figure out his secrets, but to no avail. His overall failures are probably the reason why the next time we see him in 2015, his personality has warped back into the butthead Biff of 1955. This also explains why Biff is still talking about Marty and trashing him in 2015. You're Marty Jr., must be rough being named after a complete butthead. Biff spent his entire life following Marty around, trying to get a hold of the DeLorean, but was still never able to see it again. Then out of nowhere, the DeLorean unexpectedly appears right in front of him, and Biff almost can't believe what's happening after all this time. So Biff then enacts his plan that he's been thinking about for so many damn years, and actually manages to pull it off. Hope you guys enjoyed the video. If you did, give me a like and don't forget to subscribe. Alright, till next time, have a great day.