Other Random question of the day

[Terry Bogard]

No answers yesterday. Meh...

Random question of the day:

Why was Back to the Future's interpretation of the year 2015 so horridly inaccurate once we actually reached the year 2015?

I agree with Idea. I’m sure this is a common thing to happen in any Sci-fi movie or similar form of entertainment that takes place in the future. Misinterpretations are bound to happen because nobody would have a single clue back then as to what’ll happen in the future, so what did they do? Use their imaginations and intuition, as any storyteller would.

Back then, people in the 80s might’ve imagined the 2010s as a superbly cutting edge decade. Sure, it’s not entirely wrong, considering the rise of smartphones and the internet, but pretty obvious they thought the 2010s was something more. They thought we would’ve had flying cars and time machine at the time, and yep, fast forward to today, still not a single soul is using flying cars as the means of transportation, let alone becoming a time traveler lol.

So, yeah, in the end, nobody has the ability to see what’s ahead of them, unless they’re delusional enough to believe so. All they were given was theories after theories of what might happen in the next 20 or so years, and they translated them into movies like Back to the Future or comic books like 2000 AD and Marvel 2099.

 

[Solivagante]

No answers yesterday. Meh...

Random question of the day:

Why was Back to the Future's interpretation of the year 2015 so horridly inaccurate once we actually reached the year 2015?

I'll argue that in addition to the reasons already mentioned about unpredictability, it wasn't intended to be an accurate prediction. It's been a while since I've watched BTTF2, but I recall that it had a lot of hallmarks of 1950s-ish retrofuturism. My guess is that the filmmakers were trying to keep a consistent tone across all four time periods featured in the trilogy, and retrofuturism blends better with the timelines they'd already established. With some of the repeated sequences/gags, they achieved an interesting version of 'history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme'.

 

[AaronMk]

I'll argue that in addition to the reasons already mentioned about unpredictability, it wasn't intended to be an accurate prediction. It's been a while since I've watched BTTF2, but I recall that it had a lot of hallmarks of 1950s-ish retrofuturism. My guess is that the filmmakers were trying to keep a consistent tone across all four time periods featured in the trilogy, and retrofuturism blends better with the timelines they'd already established. With some of the repeated sequences/gags, they achieved an interesting version of 'history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme'.

Retro-futurism was just the vibe of the time and not as much a prescriptive aesthetic that we give to it now in the day if Instagram micro-targeting. It was for the 1980s just the ambient backdrop.

Cyberpunk was probably more a discernable genre of aesthetic for 1980s film makers and visual effects artists as defined by/in Blade Runner (the universe of being set in 2019) and BTTF2 would have most certainly been riffing on Blade Runner than making an actual future world prediction



So to answer the question and repeat what I said: the future of BTTF2 is as it is because Blade Runner (1982)

 

[Solivagante]

Retro-futurism was just the vibe of the time and not as much a prescriptive aesthetic that we give to it now in the day if Instagram micro-targeting. It was for the 1980s just the ambient backdrop.

Cyberpunk was probably more a discernable genre of aesthetic for 1980s film makers and visual effects artists as defined by/in Blade Runner (the universe of being set in 2019) and BTTF2 would have most certainly been riffing on Blade Runner than making an actual future world prediction

So to answer the question and repeat what I said: the future of BTTF2 is as it is because Blade Runner (1982)

I mean, the first usage of the term 'retro-futurist' was in the early 80s, so it was a part of the conversation, specifically in reference to Brazil. SFF genre discussions are almost always older than people tend to assume.

Anyhow, it turns out that the question of the day HAS actually been officially answered, and you're somewhat correct about BR being a contributing factor... in that a deliberate decision was made to elide its aesthetic:

He adds: “My take for the future of Hill Valley, I thought it would always be very colorful and optimistic. I thought these big city movies like Blade Runner, they all seemed so dark and grim…[production designer] Rick [Carter] immediately jumped on the optimism of it. He loved the optimism, and the color, the feeling, and the textures.

(from an interview with John Bell, VFX director on BTTF2)

A more direct Blade Runner influence may have been in the alternate '85 Hill Valley after Biff goes back in time; that definitely had a cyberpunk grunge vibe IIRC.

ETA: there's also a WHOLE thing to explore here about why Blade Runner is less optimistic and BTTF2 (set in a fairly affluent suburban area) is more so. Cyberpunk is an expression of the anxieties of the era, as all dystopia sci-fi cannot help but become.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Random question of the day:

Was DiC Entertainment's habit of casting celebrities for voice roles in their cartoons a replicate of Hollywood's marketing tactic or was there a different reason for this approach?

 

[Idea]

I mean if you are specifically aiming to cast celebrity actors then you’re either doing it because you genuinely believe they match the role and have the skills to pull it off, or you are chasing name clout. Not much in the way of other reasons to do it.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Random question of the day:

When comparing classic Simpsons to modern Simpsons, what moral alignment category would each of the five Simpson family members fall into between the two series?

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

No answers yesterday. Oh well.

Random question of the day:

Given that it's been about 5 years since COVID-19 spread around the world, what lessons did we manage to take out of the struggles we endured and survived during that time?

 

[AaronMk]

"Hey yeah can we not have a private insurance model?"

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Random question of the day:

Are statistics sites correct when ranking Lebanon as the angriest country in the world for two years in a row?

 

[AaronMk]

Random question of the day:

Are statistics sites correct when ranking Lebanon as the angriest country in the world for two years in a row?

Imagine if you will a country whose government is deliberate constituted to not function at all


Then bomb it

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Random question of the day:

Ladies of RPNation, have you ever been to a Ladies' Night event before? If so, did you enjoy the experience or was it a letdown?

 

[Tsaia]

No, never.

 

[Kaiju Cat]

Random question of the day:

Ladies of RPNation, have you ever been to a Ladies' Night event before? If so, did you enjoy the experience or was it a letdown?

This woman’s gala it was the most boring night and a huge waste of time.

 

[pragmatic nightshade]

I was dragged to a ladies-only craft night event when I was in college. It was pretty boring.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Random question of the day:

Why do actors/actresses use the phrase "break a leg" to wish each other luck prior to a performance?

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Toilet paper is extremely important to us.

No answers yesterday. Oh well.

Random question of the day:

Given that it's been about 5 years since COVID-19 spread around the world, what lessons did we manage to take out of the struggles we endured and survived during that time?

 

[AaronMk]

Random question of the day:

Why do actors/actresses use the phrase "break a leg" to wish each other luck prior to a performance?

Superstition

 

[pragmatic nightshade]

Random question of the day:

Why do actors/actresses use the phrase "break a leg" to wish each other luck prior to a performance?

Wishing someone good luck outright is considered bad luck, so "break a leg" is the wish of good luck before a performance. Where it came out of, no one really knows.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Random question of the day:

Does the Forrest Gump saying: "Stupid is as stupid does" ring true when you know the meaning behind the phrase?