13 ways the real 2015 beats McFly’s 2015

Many media articles are pointing out all the things “Back to the Future” predicted accurately (a Cubs World Series victory?) and all the technology we still haven’t figured out (flying cars, hoverboards, self-drying clothes, etc.).

Here at the Washington Examiner we’re a little more optimistic. We’d like to point out everything that’s even better in reality than was predicted in “Back to the Future Part II.” Here are 13 things:

Inflation

“Go around the corner and into the Cafe ’80s. … Go in and order a Pepsi. Here’s a $50.” — Doc Brown to Marty.

Even in the most expensive parts of the country today, a Pepsi will cost you only a few dollars. “Back to the Future Part II” predicted prices would rise roughly 3,676 percent from 1985 to 2015 (assuming a Pepsi cost $1.36 in 1985 and $50 in the film’s 2015). In reality, prices have risen about 222 percent over the last 30 years.

A talking billboard in downtown Hill Valley advertises a service that converts regular cars into flying cars for $40,000. There’s no way to accurately compare how much that should cost in today’s world, but if it were possible, it likely wouldn’t cost more than today’s average new car price.

Right to an Attorney

“‘Within two hours of his arrest, Martin McFly Jr. was tried convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in the state penitentiary.’ Within two hours?” — Marty reading from a newspaper. “The justice system works swiftly in the future now that they’ve abolished all lawyers,” replies Doc Brown.

Whatever happened to the Sixth Amendment? “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” Lawyers earn their bad reputation sometimes, but few would argue that we would be better off if we banned the entire profession. If you ever need help in a civil or criminal case, you’ll be glad lawyers are still around.

iPhones

At home, Future Marty gets a call from a co-worker, Needles. First of all, the call came into a home number, with Marty’s two children getting notified about the call too. Second, Marty has to have it transferred over to his den. In reality, in 2015 Marty would have gotten the call on his iPhone, carried it into another room, and answered it on FaceTime.

Phone Surveillance

On that same call, Marty agrees to some kind of activity that he knows is illegal and could get him fired. Immediately after hanging up, Marty gets a call from his boss, who was apparently monitoring the call anonymously.

Whatever happened to privacy? Sure, in this case the monitoring uncovered something illegal, but what if Needles and Marty were talking about something unrelated to work? Would you like it if your boss could monitor any of your calls?

Email

When Marty gets fired after the aforementioned call, his boss rubs it in by sending a “YOU’RE FIRED” fax to every machine in his house. There are at least four. Today, most homes don’t have fax machines. Not because we’re worse off today, but because they’re obsolete. Why fax something when you can email it, or send a document as a PDF? Today, the fax machine seems as outdated as carrier pigeons.

Earlier in the film, the rain stops on the exact second forecast, and Doc Brown says, “Too bad the Post Office isn’t as efficient as the weather service.” That further confirms that email still hasn’t been invented, with the ability to instantly connect a letter to its recipient.

Movie Sequels

And you thought movie sequels and franchise reboots were getting out of hand today. In “Back to the Future Part II,” there are advertisements for “Jaws 19.” The tagline is terrible: “This time it’s REALLY REALLY personal” [emphasis in original]. Thankfully, there have still been only four “Jaws” movies.

Billboards

Talking billboards just seem like they would irritate you while walking down the block. We see this with both the 3-D “Jaws” ad that attacks Marty, as well as the aforementioned talking billboard for flying car conversions. Today, there are some instances of public billboards with audio, but they’re not as common or in-your-face as in “Back to the Future.”

Privacy from the Police

“McFly, Jennifer J. Parker. 3793 Oakhurst Street, Hilldale, age 47.” — a police officer. “They used her thumbprint to assess her ID. Since your thumbprint never changes over the years, they simply assume she’s the Jennifer of the future.” — Doc Brown

Apparently, if you’re found unconscious lying in an alley, the police have easy access to a bunch of your personal information. Then again, today they can look at whatever ID is on you. Either way, the police have a massive database of everyone’s thumbprints. What if that data were hacked, as we’ve had so many issues with lately?

Self-Driving Cars

Sure, cars in the future can fly. But you’ll notice they’re not driving themselves. In reality, self-driving cars have a long way to go, but their future is promising. If we were to make a movie set 30 years into the future, self-driving cars would probably be more common than flying cars.

Fashion

“All kids in the future wear their pants inside out.” — Doc Brown

…Really?

Random Cults

This is probably something you missed. But just after Marty gets scared by a 3-D Jaws ad, he turns around and we see a random group of about six people wearing orange skirts, dancing with tambourines. The men appear to be topless. Nobody seems to notice or care, which implies that these kinds of random groups are common in the “Back to the Future” version of 2015.

TVs

At the Cafe 80s, the TVs move around robotically, but you can tell the visual quality is nothing like the flat screen, high definition quality we have today. Then again, if you want Michael Jackson or Ronald Reagan to be your bartender, the movie-future wins.

Traffic

A billboard alerts Doc Brown to a traffic jam on the skyway. Today, billboards alert us to road conditions, but the customized routes based on our destination using apps like Waze are even better.

Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.