Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: In this episode, we take a look at how present times match up against the future as it was imagined in Back in the Back to the Future trilogy.
Hello, welcome to the Call Like I See it podcast.
I'm James Keats, and joining me today is a man whose takes are so fire, you'll be like, good gracious Tunde. Ogonlana Tunde. We're ready to, you know, make it hot in here.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Of course, man. I thought we were gonna get a joke about great balls of fire, but.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: You anticipate it. But I like it when you anticipate it.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: I'm just giving you some ammunition for the future.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: It could have been. Yeah, it could have been for sure. So. But now, before we start the show, if you like the show, I'd like to ask you to please subscribe, like the show on YouTube or your podcast platform. Doing so really helps the show out. We're recording on June 7, 2025. And Tunde, you recently gave me a heads up that this is the 40th anniversary of the first Back to the Future movie that set off the trilogy. And the first Back to the Future was, like, a notable cultural marker, you know, with Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveling back in time, you know, the DeLorean and all this other stuff.
But what I find even more interesting is, you know, what they cooked up in Back to the Future, too, because in that one, the guys travel to the future, you know, in 2015, and, you know, which is a few years ago at this point. But nonetheless, they traveled to the future. And, you know, what really stood out there beyond, like, the silly outfit decisions that they thought about 2015, was how they imagine the future with including things like VR, VR headsets and stuff, and holograms, things that we've seen in the future, our past or our present, but also things like flying cars and hoverboards, which at least aren't commercially something that we see on a regular basis. So they took a lot of shots, and it seemed like some of them hit and some of them didn't.
And the movie obviously was having fun with this. But still, now that we're here and we can look at this, you know, it's. It's. It's worth taking a closer look at how the filmmakers imagined what the film with the future would look like. So tuned in, just, you know, flat out, you know, what do you think about or what stands out to you about the, you know, Back to the Future, too, in the take that it had on what their future, which is kind of our Present or, you know, our. Like the past decade or so, you know, are that for us, you know, their future, though?
[00:02:38] Speaker B: Yeah. This is a lot of fun, I think, especially people our age in the 40s, because we grew up actually seeing the movie as kids, and then now, like you're saying, being reminded of the 40th anniversary of the first movie, we can reflect back. And it's funny because I get nostalgic, so I'm smiling because it was.
I had a nice childhood and that was a great movie, you know, that I remember fondly. But to your point, thinking about some of the technology, it's amazing because you. It's interesting the way you said it. You're right, that the film does tries to predict what the future would be from 1985 to 2015.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: So that's what, a 30 year period?
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: And so. And so. But here we are in 2025, so we can say, okay, let's look back a decade. Did. How much did they get right? But the last 10 years, we know that we've lived through another exponential jump in technology.
You know, say There was no ChatGPT in 2015, and now AI has a different presence in our life. So I think, I think that the film, like most films, like, you know, whether it was a Space Odyssey 2001 or whether it was Minority Report, other films that tried to give people at the time in the present some sort of idea of what may be coming in the future, it got some right and some wrong. But to your point about the VR headsets, the holograms, texting, things like that, it actually got a lot of that right.
I'm still waiting for my hoverboard, but I'll hold my breath for that one. Hopefully it comes soon.
[00:04:15] Speaker A: Well, yeah, I mean, the things that it got right to me.
Well, what's interesting about that is like, they're taking shots in the dark, so to speak. You know, like when they go back in time, when they go back from 85 to 55, then they know exactly what they're talking about, so to speak. Like it's people that were alive in 55. They could talk about. Okay, well, this is what it was like. And so they were able to create this representation. And when they go forward into the future, then it's like, what do we do? Like, they have to take this blank space that nobody knows is coming and then fill it up with stuff. And there is some extrapolation in that. It's like, okay, well, this is how things are. So this, all of this Stuff will probably continue to progress. And so that's how you end up with, you know, like VR, because VR is kind of like a progression of, of going to a movie or going and watching something on a television screen. It's like, okay, you know, a wearable headset. You know, like instead of headphones, we have wearable things on our ears in 1985, but we're actually going to be able to put some. So some of that stuff's an extrapolation. Even like a hoverboard or a flying car is an extrapolation. So it's that kind of a thing. Like they're saying, okay, here's where we are now. These things continue to progress. This is how it's going to be. And they missed on those. But I think your point about like, I would say, yeah, they said 2015, but it could be anytime. So I'm not even discussing distinguishing must between 2015 and 2025. But the place where it's really interesting to me as far as their take is that from a social interaction standpoint, they just couldn't foresee obviously, you know, the way like the, the, the Internet connect. They had kind of network stuff and there was mobile payment and stuff like that going on in there. But the way that that stuff just changes all interaction. They tried to, to get with a little bit with the, with the sun and everything like that, but it, it, the, it's still, they still undershot it.
Like how different it would be how much. How. With how are engaging our screens are and our entertainment is now and how that stuff can just engulf people. You know, it's still you, they're still, you know, you're out at the, you know, the, the restaurant and you're still, you know, like hanging out with people and stuff like that. I don't know if people go to restaurants to hang out anymore, and if they do, their heads are going to be down in their phones, you know. And so I think the technological change, I would say they did a better job of extrapolating and kind of filling in the blanks than they could have with the social changes that we've seen as far as people interact.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's a great point. I think it would have been hard for many people to predict how we as humans would have really reacted to social media and the Internet and also the ability to have it in the palm of our hand on a smartphone.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: I think, but not impossible. Because what I would contrast this and I'll throw it right back to you, but like the Minority Report thing that you mentioned. And, like, the reason we talk about Back to the Future is because this is fun. Like, Minority Report is, like, terrifying, you know, like. But they imagined a lot of technological stuff there. That. And then they also imagine how that would change the people. You see what I'm saying? Like, so there was both. Like, people were doing things in that movie that were supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Like, yo, man, I don't know if I'm good with this, but it was because the technological environment that they were in and what, like, basically how society decided to deploy that stuff.
[00:07:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And it's. It's, you know, one of the things. Just as I was reading and preparing just to say it, because I found it interesting. It was all over the Internet. There's a big mystery from the first Back to the Future about where's the Gibson guitar, You know, that. That he was playing in the high school? Apparently, it's a big thing. If you go online, It's. It's pretty fun, so. And actually, Gibson, the guitar company, is like, in on it in a fun way. Like, they're really looking for it and trying to, like, offering rewards and prizes and things like that. So I found that fun is another way that the film kind of still resonates with all of us culturally.
But here's another one I wanted to throw at you, that I say this with a big smile and with a big laugh that the film kind of got right, and they were close. Because if you think about 2015, that was a presidential campaign year. Right?
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Are you going with. With President Biff, man?
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Yes, I am.
That was, to me, one of the great predictions that they were very correct about.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: So let me see if I get this right. So you're saying if they predicted that one of the biggest bullies, like the quintessential Bully from the 1980s, could rise to the top of the food chain in a democratic society and become the leader. That's the prediction. Hey, man, that beats all the predictions. If they got. That's a social prediction, a political prediction. That's all that.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: It's funny because. And the recent thing that happened with that whole joke about the Wall street trader that called it the taco trade, the taco thing, the T, A, C, O. So that's why I just. And the fact that when a reporter asked the president about it, he got all this stuff, and it just reminded me of Biff.
Like, you called me chicken. You know what I mean?
So that's all that's like. That's why I'm laughing. Like, wow, what a contrast that is near the 40th anniversary too, of the, of the franchise. So in any case.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: No, I mean, the chicken out thing is hilarious, man. Like that.
[00:09:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: And so President Biff would have been all, all about, like, you know, he would have, he would have been visibly upset, just like our current president.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: And so, and so, and so that's the thing why I laugh. And, but also, let's. In a more serious way, I would say I don't, I don't think the film, you know, actively predicted it in that way. I think they, they obviously were making a film about the character Biff becoming president. Who was in the first one. Right.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: Well, yeah, I mean, did it, you know, kind of through. Through their, you know, through Marty's kind of mistake, you know, so. Yeah, Yeah. I don't think they were trying to predict, you know.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: Correct. They weren't predicting it. But what I would say is the interesting.
I would say similarity and kind of analogy to me would be the way that they did show how technology continued to influence society as.
As relates to the entertainment factor.
Because, because Biff, what happened Biff, through the cheating, right. Through getting that, that, that, that little booklet that Marty left, Sports betting. Right. He became what, he became very rich. We can assume he became the equivalent of a billionaire right at the time. And so that means that he was using that technology. He would have been doing the same thing that our current president did using the ability of fame and celebrity plus the wealth. It's like both combined to get the name out there and to.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: And he learned shiny things too. And flat and shiny. You know, he knew that that's how you talk to a lot of people.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Yeah. And even then, think about Marty's mom. Now, the wife had the big boobs in that show and she had, you know, like, meaning same thing. Right. The plastic surgery and the kind of hype of all that kind of being in that sphere of wealth and entertainment. Right. Like, that's what I mean. It's not just the wealth, it's the entertainment factor, too, that I think that's interesting, you know, like the. Yeah. Because there's a lot of people that are very wealthy, but they're stealthy. Right. They're behind stealthy.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Not a George H.W. bush kind of guy.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: Correct. Wealth. Correct.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: A state guy or even a Bill Clinton guy like this.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: Or Mitt Romney. Right. Like. Yeah.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: Remember he had casino. You know, he leaned into the entertainment stuff as a part of his public Persona. Like, I'M gonna entertain you and I'm gonna be your leader kind of thing. Yeah.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: And that's a great point. Was a casino owner. Yeah. And the sp, our current president was an owner of the usfl. Right. And wanted to be in and wanted to be an NFL owner. So that to me is, I think, unintentional. I don't think they were, you know, really trying to make that.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: Hey man, maybe they read Amusing Ourselves to Death and they might have been.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: No, but that's where I was going to go with it is, is, you know, the book of we're using Ourselves to Death. Obviously it's a logical conclusion that we're here as a society where we are in the real world in 2025. And what I'm saying is clearly the author of that book was not the only one in the mid-80s at the time who was thinking about how is all of this the way that we relate to the television celebrity, all this stuff, how can it affect the future?
[00:12:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: Other people were thinking, and someone who made a film called Back to the Future too, that was maybe more of a fun loving film also. Clearly the screenwriter and the people that wrote the script felt that the future could look like this because of what they saw in the 1980s. And remember to James that the book reminded us as well.
This was probably in people's minds. Even though, even though you and I were kids, this would have been in people's mind because Ronald Reagan was the.
[00:12:50] Speaker A: President and he was like, he's part of the proof that Neil Postman uses in that book that hey, we're. That video television is going to move us to a place where we want something different from our leadership. It's not going to just be leadership and smarts. It's going to be an entertainment thing. Like that was part of the example because remember, by the time Postman writes that book, television and video had been kind of, you know, like the first was that, you know, Kennedy's the first television president. Like so it had been 20 years by then where they consumably or presumably like observant people would have noticed a change in society over that 20 years.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: That's a great point, James, because think about it, you and I are born in the late 70s. So by the time this movie comes, Reagan's a president, all that, that's all normal to us. But you're right, a 50 year old person in 1985 was born in 1930.
[00:13:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:39] Speaker B: So they would have already been grown up. They'd have been 30 years old in 1965.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: And even if they're like a Republican, for example, they would have gone from Eisenhower and even Nixon, who was a really sharp guy, you know. Yeah. To Reagan, you know, I'm like, oh, man. Like, what's happened here? You know, and so, you know. Yeah, that is. That's. So, yeah, that would have been apparent.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: Because this movie Reagan looks real sharp right now.
[00:14:01] Speaker A: This movie took it to a natural conclusion, though, you know, where it was kind of like, you know, kind of like what we're talking about with amusing ourselves to death. So, yeah, I mean, I think the Biff storyline part of it is very interesting, you know, along those lines.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Yeah. So it wasn't a prediction, but things just kind of played out that way.
[00:14:21] Speaker A: All of it's a prediction because they're saying this is what it's going to be in 2015. But again, in jest and having fun with it. And yeah, the reason why we'll talk about something like this as opposed to Minority Report, at least now, is because Minority Report wasn't fun.
That's like, oh, my gosh, you know, what's happening here? And then we see, you know, we'll talk about some of that stuff. And the stuff. Stuff happening that gets closer and closer to that now, you know, but now, so tell me this, if so, do you think. Or what do you think, someone who came from 1985, let's say Marty McFly, pops up in 2025. We're not even gonna say 2015, but just 2025. Like, what do you think about our society that they would find or he would find most familiar? And what would he find most shocking? Hmm.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Let me have fun with this one. First thing he'll say, damn, you guys had a black president.
That'll be the first. Of course, I had to say that.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: But hey, man, the diner was owned by a black guy, right?
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. That's what I'll say. I didn't say he'd be upset about it. I think Marty would think that was cool. You know, Marty McFly looked like a cool dude.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: He was an honorary brother. He didn't have a problem with, you know, that.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: So like I said, he's an honorary brother. We like Michael J. Fox. So, you know, he'd have been okay with it. But now, I think on a serious note, I mean, I think probably someone going from the 40 years from 85 to 2025 probably would be surprised with some of the technological advances, I think. I think even things like the drones and the fact that from a Consumer standpoint, we can all just buy these things. They have HD resolution.
I think the idea, I mean, I'm thinking back to prior to the Internet, man, when I was young. I mean, I think the connectivity of the world, I think the flattening of the world, meaning that we really do, you know, you can FaceTime someone in India or China right now, anytime.
And so I think all that would be a surprise. I think though, other things, culturally, I think that the rise of certain things, like the amount of guns in our society, the amount of the school shootings, the mass shootings, things like that, even though. And that's why it's a weird contrast, right? Like violent crime is down a lot compared to 1985. Yeah, I remember I grew up in D.C. we led the nation in murders per capita two years in a row in the late 80s.
And there were, we used to joke that there were parts of the town where black people wouldn't go. Right. Like, meaning that they just.
[00:16:43] Speaker A: There were.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: These places were like war zones. And a lot of big cities, Detroit, Brooklyn, the Bronx, down here in Miami, you know, cocaine, cowboys, all the stories you hear about that. So the country, I think, is different from that standpoint. Things are a lot better than they were in the 80s, but like the mass shootings at grocery stores and schools.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Are a lot worse.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: So it's like, it's an interesting just contrast with some of this stuff. And then even things like I wonder how someone would just react to something like the repealing of Roe vs. Wade three years ago.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: Right.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Like just I wonder if they'd be, you know, surprised that that happened or not. So, you know, because I, you know, I was too young to know what the culture war discussions were at the time in 1985. So that's where I, you know, I'll hand it back to you to see what you think. But that's, you know, I think someone will be a little bit surprised.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: I think that a lot of the technology stuff, if it's a young person, like, I think where it would be different if it's, if it's an older person, but I think a young person, remember this is a person that.
Just traveling in time. So I'm pretty sure they could adjust to our technological kind of like the, the HDs and the, you know, like even the Internet, it might take. Oh yeah, I get, I wouldn't just call Domino's. I gotta do, you know, use it, do an app on my phone or something like that. And a lot of that stuff is user friendly, you know, It's. It's easier to do a lot of these things now if you're a person, you know, I say younger because just kind of older people have become intimidated by a difference more quickly than younger people do, you know, so. But I think another thing, one thing they would find very familiar, you know, like I said, obviously the technological environment would be different, but I don't think that that would be as shocking to them because it's. It walk, it swims in the same streams, things are better, easier, maybe things that were audible and now visible visual and all that kind of stuff. But I think the transportation would be very familiar, you know, like, oh, I'm going to drive here. Oh, okay. No, that's far. I'm going to fly there. You know, things like that, like that. They probably would think that air travel sucked because, you know, the air travel used to be more comfortable than it is now. You know, the seats keep getting smaller and closer together and all that stuff. You know, cars are, you know, it's not much different, you know, So I think that would be probably the most familiar. Like, this guy's living in, you know, California. He's still. He's sitting in traffic back then, sitting in traffic now, you know. So where I think the most shocking would be, and this is kind of part of the technology, but it's just kind of also what we have, you know, kind of acclimated ourselves to is the information overload. Like you talked about. You mentioned, like, for example, school shootings and all that stuff. Like, the way the fact that so many things that we're presented with, whether it be through our technology or whether it even be through news, cable news or whatever, like it overloads you with information to such a degree now. Like, there was a lot going on in the world back then, but people didn't try or even think that they were keeping up with all of it. It was just like, all right, I'll check in with stuff when I need to. But because it wasn't easy to overload someone with information. Like, you get a newspaper, you go through that at your own pace. It's not. The newspaper is not sitting there trying to stimulate you in ways so you won't leave it alone, you know, or at least it's limited in its ability to do that. Some of this is kind of amusing ourselves to death kind of thought process. But I think the information overload would be shocking. Like, I think it would potentially be very difficult for someone to deal with. You had, like. I think now people who have Gradually gone through this process, have a really difficult time with the information overload and, like, the whole thing of I don't want to miss anything. Like, I got to keep the news on so I don't miss anything, or I got to keep opening up Twitter so I don't miss anything. And it's like, yo, man, nothing is really important that it's happening like that. You know what I'm saying? Like, stuff happens. Stuff happens all the time. But if you don't know everything that happens, it's not going to. Like, if a meteor strikes, then, yeah, I don't want to miss that. Nuclear bomb goes off. I don't want to miss that. But most of the stuff that we're hit, this hit, that we're getting hit with is not stuff that rises to that level. Like, your life doesn't change one way or the other. So that. And then I think the wealth disparity would throw. With. Throw them off. Like, finding out there's people that have, like, you know, 300, $300 billion, you know, it's like. Or, you know, that's the kind of wealth you're talking about. Like, well, look, you know, what did that person do? Like, did that person cure cancer? You know? Like, that person must have done, you know, the most amazing thing in the world. They brought back, you know, 20 million tons of gold from Saturn, you know, but it's like, nah, that's just the way we roll now is that, you know, people can accumulate a lot of wealth, you know, and. And, you know, society has the things that were done in the 1930s and 1940s to try to make sure that that wealth can be distributed. It can continue to flow through the. Through the society so that all boats could rise. Those things were taken away in the 80s, you know, so now we got, you know, like, wealth that is just out of this world for some people and kind of like, quite literally. And then for everybody else, it's kind of like everybody. Everybody's kind of in the same spot that they were in.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: We can transfer all that frustration to yelling at each other on social media. So. Yes, that's what. That's why the technology did.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: People can be. Can be made mad at other working people.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:47] Speaker A: And don't even look at the billionaires. They don't. They don't know where the money went.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: No, it's even better than that. Think about it. Immigrants get made to be mad at other immigrants and then, you know, want them to be deported. It's interesting. Yeah.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: Poor immigrants that's where all the money is.
Us.
[00:22:02] Speaker B: Us, American citizens are just watching them saying, what the hell are you guys doing?
But no, so, so, so then that's, you know, it's interesting as you say that, because I do think that, you know, going back to your actual point about the information overload, and I think that's what we're dealing with right now. I think you're right that, Yeah, I.
[00:22:22] Speaker A: Think people that have dealt with that gradually still can't really do.
[00:22:25] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I was going to say. We got a lot of brains breaking online and mental health concerns. And I don't say that as a joke. I mean, I went on, you know, I tell you, I went on X for a couple days in December over the holidays.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: And you're still recovering.
[00:22:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm recovering. I was like, man, I've seen this for three, four days, I'm out. Like, I can't. It's a cesspool of bs and so. And I don't think it's all social media's fault. I think the algorithms, there's a lot of other things that go into the ingredients of this mess that we're in. But. But I think you're right. This information overload probably, I would say, is the biggest difference since 1985.
[00:23:02] Speaker A: Well, I think that's the thing that somebody would be most shocked about. Like, yeah, like, you give them a couple of days in, walking around on the streets and you know, like, oh, I gotta get a phone. Okay, yeah, no big deal. I've used a phone before. Maybe it wasn't mobile. Maybe it was in my car or whatever has a screen. Okay, cool. Well, I got to start taking pictures of myself and then putting these online. And then I got to. Yeah. What people say. And people are like, talking stuff about me and it's like, I don't even know these people.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: You're right.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Or like, or you get all. I keep getting these notifications, oh, there's been a shooting here. Oh, you know, this guy got pulled over and he got beat up. Oh, you know, and again, these are all serious things, you know, but it's just like, I don't know that it's. I think that it's something that does something to you if you're. If you're in it all the time, you know, like, there's a reason why we can only see so far and only hear so far. Like, I can't see directly or hear what's happening in Atlanta, Georgia, right now. I'm in South Florida. Like, and so, you know, again, unless it's a nuclear bomb going off of Atlanta, then I can. That's less stuff that I actively need to worry about with. Like, I got stuff to worry about here right now, you know, myself, you know, and my family and all that kind of stuff that I need to be worrying about. All this other stuff that's tangentially connected to me or stuff that's over this overseas, and I'm sitting here stressing about that stuff, stressing about my life, stressing about this person's life, that person's life, and I don't even know those people. Like, I just think that that would be the thing that would, like, eat away at somebody if they weren't used to it, because it eats away at people that are used to it. Yeah.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: So, I mean, the people, all of us, that are used to it are getting eaten away. So that's interesting, man. I.
You know, we went from a nice, happy start of nostalgia, and you enjoy my childhood.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: It's supposed to be fun.
[00:24:43] Speaker B: Now I'm fucking depressed. What have we done? I want to go cry, and I'm going to go, you know, so, you know, I think I'm done, so.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think we have. We'll quit while we're ahead, or at least while we're not as far behind as we didn't want to be, but. But now wait. Definitely. We appreciate everybody for joining us on this episode of Call. Like I see it. Subscribe to the podcast, rate it, review it, tell us what you think, send it to a friend. Until next time, I'm James Keys.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: I'm too. Never lying.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: All right, we'll have a call out dropping this week as well, so check that out as well.
