Category:
Film
Synopsis:
When scientist Doctor Emmett Brown invents a time machine, he never imagines that his young friend Marty McFly will find himself mistakenly transported thirty years into the past. In all three parts of this trilogy, Doc Brown and Marty must continually make tough choices as they travel back and forth through time in an attempt to fix a past that they accidentally disrupted. When scientist Doctor Emmett Brown invents a time machine, he never imagines that his young friend Marty McFly will find himself mistakenly transported thirty years into the past. In all three parts of this trilogy, Doc Brown and Marty must continually make tough choices as they travel back and forth through time in an attempt to fix a past that they accidentally disrupted. They struggle to prevent any influence of modern technology on the past and to distance themselves from the technology of the future.
Context for time depicted:
The movies take place in multiple time eras as the duo travel through the decades. In Part I, they start off in the 1980's, a time where science was taking a new turn with the dawning of the computer. Marty then travels to the 1950's, where the greatest technological advancements are the television and nuclear warfare. Teenage culture was also born in the fifties, and this is a major theme throughout the movie-bridging the generation gap.
Context for time of production:
The film was made in the mid-eighties when President Ronald Reagan had announced his plan for "Star Wars". This large-scale project called for advancement in scientific technology that many found to be "futuristic".
Assessment:
Doc Brown is an example of a mad scientist. His social skills are lacking as well as his understanding of other people. He also displays the stereotypical characteristics of the mad scientist with his frizzy grey hair and disorderly laboratory. All of his creations are far-fetched and few have ever actually worked. Although his mind may be wired for science he is in no way a bad scientist. He creates the time machine to help humanity, not for monetary gain or fame. He also takes responsibility when the space-time continuum is disrupted and makes sure to fix it to set other's lives back to normal.
References:
Back to the Future. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Amblin Entertainment, 1985.
"Back to the Future." Wikipedia. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_future >.
"Reagan's Star Wars Speech". CNN. < http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/22/documents/starwars.speech/ >.
How would this be used?:
This resource could be used to depict a scientist who is eccentric and stereotypically "mad" but still responsible. Doc Brown's responsibility to science and humankind show that not all scientists leave messes to be cleaned up by others.