Tag: back to the future

“It means your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has! Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one!”

From: Back to the Future: Part III

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Doc Brown

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the the final film of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film series focuses on Marty McFly and Doc Brown who use a time machine (built out of a Delorean) and get into various adventures because of it.

The quote comes from the final scenes of the third installment. Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) takes his girlfriend Jennifer (played by Elizabeth Shue) to the remains of the Delorean. Suddenly, Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) comes back from the future using a time machine built into a train. Jennifer asks Doc Brown why one of the messages she took home from the future has been erased. This is when Doc Brown explains the reason and the quote.

Geek wisdom: We are in control of our own destiny. No matter our initial circumstances, we have the power to make the future are bright as we want it to be.

“Why don’t you make like a tree and get out of here?”

From: Back to the Future, Part II

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Biff Tannen

The story behind the quote: Seeing as October 21, 2015 has passed, the date when Doc Brown took Marty McFly “to the future” to rescue his grandson, it seems only fitting that this week’s quote comes from the film when these events happened, Back to the Future, Part II

The quote comes from the middle of the movie. The Biff Tannen of 2015 steals the Delorean and travels back to 1955. He plans to give the sports almanac from the future to the Biff of 2015 so he can use the information to get rich. Of course, Biff, being the hardheaded bully that he is (in any timeline) refuses the book and delivers the quote. The “elder” Biff then berates his younger self while telling him the actual quote is supposed to be “…make like a tree and leave.”

Geek wisdom: When you’re young, you feel like you can do anything, even extremely stupid things. We feel like we can perform dumb stunts or say incredibly stupid/insensitive things to people because it’s “cool.” It’s only when you get older and have the chance to look at these actions with a more mature mind that you can see how stupid some of these impulsive actions actually are.

“You mean you have to use your hands?” “That’s like a baby’s toy!”

From: Back To The Future: Part II

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Two kids from the future

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the second installment of the Back To The Future trilogy of films. In this film, Marty McFly goes to the future (2015 at the time) because Doc Brown says that one of his future children is in trouble. However, while saving his son, Biff Tannen steals the DeLorean and changes the past by giving his 1955 self a Sports Almanac that allows 1955 Biff to make a fortune by placing bets on the winners, creating a horrible alternate future. Mary and Doc then race to the past to prevent this from happening.

The quote comes from when Marty arrives in the future. Two kids from the future manage to get  an old Wild Gunman arcade machine working again. Unable to figure out how the game works, Marty steps in and shows the kids his prowess in the game. However, the kids are unimpressed by how to actually control Wild Gunman…

Geek wisdom: Technology will always keep on improving by leaps and bounds. Before you know it, the latest gadget that you believed was incredibly advanced will seem incredibly dated in a span of a few years. With that being said, we keep on getting the latest tech, such as the newest phones or tablets, knowing full well they will be obsolete in a couple of months.

Sometimes, it’s a good idea to take into perspective if it’s actually worth getting the newest gadgets knowing someone is trying to innovate something radically better than the thing we have right now.

“Are you telling me you built a time machine out of a Delorean?”

From: Back to the Future

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Marty McFly

The story behind the quote: The Back to the Future series of movies was pretty awesome, however, it wouldn’t have been possible if the first film wasn’t so awesome to begin with. It established great characters (Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly and Chrisopher Llyod’s Doc Brown) and even terms from the movie, such as “flux capacitor, ” “1.21 gigawatts” and “88 miles per hour” have been ingrained in geek culture.

The time machine is another reason why the film is so popular. Doc Brown built his time machine from a DeLorean DMC-12, which is pretty odd if you think about it since most time machines before were, well, stationary objects. In fact, after their first test run, Marty also exclaims that he can’t believe that the car was actually a time machine.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we gotta go with style over substance. Sure it may seem shallow, but as Doc Brown said, its good to add some flair as well. While it does pay to be practical most of the time, it can be boring. We all want to get things and do stuff that, in the long run, are not really useful. Buying an expensive shirt or eating at a very fancy place may seem useless. However, if you do enjoy it, then there is some use to it.

Life isn’t just about surviving. Life is also enjoying living. We all have to balance our “fun” and “survival” in the right amounts.

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

From: Back to the Future

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Doc Brown

The story behind the quote: After repairing the timeline (somewhat) and coming back from 1955, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) is about to go to the lake with his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker (played by Claudia Wells in the first film, then portrayed by Elizabeth Shue in the succeeding films… long story). Before they can leave, however, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) comes racing back in the Delorean time machine.

The Doc tells Marty that he has to come with him to the future since there’s going to be a problem with his and Jennifer’s children. After they all board the Delorean, Marty comments that they won’t have enough road to reach the required 88 mph to travel through time. Doc smiles and states “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads” before converting the vehicle into a flying car and speeding off into the year 2015.

Geek wisdom: It’s difficult to take risks or be different from the pack. There’s always the chance of failure and ridicule from others for doing your own thing. However, a lot of the things we take for granted were due to these risk-takers and different individuals. If it weren’t for creative people like the Wright brothers, Steve Jobs, and other like them, a lot of our modern conveniences wouldn’t be invented. These people did not have any clear trail to follow. They blazed their own.

When we are children, we are taught to be creative and not to be afraid of making mistakes. Even as adults, we’re told to “think outside the box.” Easy in theory, but extremely hard to do in real life. We all have our comfort zones we like to be in and that’s fine. But it is nice to take a step off the safe path once in a while. Its when we get off the road we usually see something different.