Happy Back to the Future Day, and welcome to the future.
Today, the Netinspire team explores some of the events that occurred in the films’ versions of 2015 to see if they have indeed come true. We’ll also share some significant events that happened on October 21st.
The United States has its first female President
In one of Back to the Future’s many – and sometimes confusing – timelines, we see a newspaper column with a headline that reads: ‘PRESIDENT SAYS SHE’S TIRED of reporters asking the same questions’.
Whilst America has yet to have a woman as President, it has seen the first African American to hold the office. Barack Obama is the current and 44th President of the US, but with Hillary Clinton campaigning for the presidency in 2016, could the film’s prediction be coming true?
Jaws 19
In Back to the Future, Jaws 19 is a holographic film directed by Max Spielberg, Steven’s real life son. With only three sequels – and some would say too many – there’s no fear of a 19th Jaws film.
Having said that, Universal Pictures did post a Jaws 19 trailer on YouTube to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future.
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series
We love underdogs, and the Cubs could very well be the underdogs of the century. The last time this baseball team won the World Series was 107 years ago in 1908. They haven’t even appeared in one since 1945, which resulted in a superstition that the Cubs suffered from the Curse of the Billy Goat.
As the story goes, the team was cursed by a tavern owner, who was asked to leave a World Series game because the smell of his pet goat was bothering other spectators. Yep, we’re just as baffled.
Fast forward to 2015 – call it sheer luck, or maybe director Robert Zemeckis really does have a time-travelling DeLorean, but the Chicago Cubs are finally back in the World Series. As of October 21st, the Cubs are still in contention and one of the final four teams left this season.
Queen Diana visits Washington
We now skip a day ahead to October 22nd, when a headline in a USA Today column announces a visit to America by Queen Diana. Sadly, Diana, Princess of Wales died in a car accident in 1997.
Lawyers are abolished
According to the films, lawyers are a thing of the past. After Marty McFly Jr. is arrested in 2015, he is tried in a data court and sentenced to prison, all within a brief period of two hours.
In actuality, the most joked about the profession is still around.
Past events on October 21st
Movies can be a blast, but let’s not forget that real-life stories can be just as impressive, if not more. We recap, in no particular order, some of the most exciting events that took place on October 21st in other years.
1805: Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar, after the British Royal Navy, under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, fought off the combined fleets of Spain and France.
1959: The Guggenheim Museum, designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York.
1940: Ernest Hemingway’s acclaimed novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was published.
1790: The Tricolor was officially chosen as the flag of France.
