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'Back to the Future' Theory: George KNEW About Marty's Time Traveling!

Turns out he knew the whole time...

By Jonathan SimPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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One of the only things that has bugged me and everyone else about Back to the Future is the fact that George and Lorraine never realize how much their son, Marty, looks like that guy from 1955 who helped them get together in the first place, who also ended up being named Marty.

Well, this theory puts all of that confusion to rest. This theory states that George KNEW that his own son was a time traveler And he realized it from all the hints that Marty left behind.

So, let's look at all the evidence. Everything that George saw or heard Marty do or say that happened in the future.

At the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, Marty plays Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" for them. But with a twist – in 1955, "Johnny B. Goode" hadn't come out yet. But Marty performs the song, while impersonating a lot of rock-n-roll legends.

Four years after Marty performs this song and promises that his "kids are gonna love it," Chuck Berry releases the same song, and does the same duckwalk done by Marty during the performance.

So, yeah, George heard Chuck Berry release a song that sounded like Marty's song, but George couldn't have thought it was the EXACT same one.

But before he really met Marty, Marty sat next to him in the café and said, "Gimme, uh, gimme a tab." The server doesn't know what he's talking about. George hears this though, and sure enough, eight years later in 1963, tab soda is invented.

Not only that, but Marty then asks for a "Pepsi Free," which doesn't get invented until 1982.

Soon after, the skateboard rises into popularity. But wait—George has to remember Marty riding a "board with wheels" back in 1955.

So that's a lot of evidence so far. He knows that this mysterious "Marty" kid in 1955 who looks like his son predicted tab soda AND Pepsi Free, played a song at a 1955 dance which didn't come out for another few years, and rode a "board with wheels," which didn't rise into popularity until years after.

But now, let's think about that scene where Marty shows up in George's bedroom and introduces himself as "Darth Vader" and "an extraterrestrial from planet Vulcan."

So, George may have forgotten Marty's Vulcan salute, but in the morning afterwards, George tells Marty that Darth Vader came down from Planet Vulcan and made him ask out Lorraine.

But in 1955, these terms didn't exist yet. "Planet Vulcan" ended up getting introduced in Star Trek, in 1966. And years later, "Darth Vader" is introduced as a character in Star Wars, which George would most likely be a fan of.

You may also remember the scene at the end of the film where George has written a science fiction novel.

He must remember the night vividly, in order to write an entire book about it. And he couldn't have used "Darth Vader from Planet Vulcan" in the book, or he'd have a lawsuit headed his way in 1986.

But he ended up knowing that it was Marty in that suit. I mean, what 47-year-old could still believe that an alien came down to his bedroom while making future pop culture references?

Also, after George and Lorraine get together, Marty says goodbye to both of them, and wishes them luck. And he tells them that if they ever have kids and their eight-year-old son accidentally sets fire to the living room rug, to go easy on him.

Well, lo and behold, in 1976, an eight-year-old Marty sets fire to the living room rug. How did they not realize this?!

A guy named Marty in 1955 tells them to go easy on their eight-year-old son when he sets fire to the living room rug, and years later, their eight-year-old son, named Marty, sets fire to the living room rug. All signs point to time traveler!

Now, you might be asking, if George knows about this, why doesn't Lorraine know?

Well, George is known in the film to be a fan of science fiction. Lorraine? Not so much. So, the plausibility of time travel would seem much more plausible to George, and he would welcome the fact that Marty's scientist friend, Doc, could invent a time machine.

George also got more evidence than Lorraine. Lorraine got "Johnny B. Goode," "Calvin Klein," the skateboard, and the rug thing. But George got those things, the Pepsi Free, the tab, "Darth Vader," "Planet Vulcan," and he also hears Marty correctly predict that Goldie Wilson will become mayor of Hill Valley.

"Maayyyyorrrr...."

I mean, on top of EVERYTHING that I've just said, Marty correctly predicts that a worker at a café in 1955 becomes the most powerful man in Hill Valley.

And Marty didn't just randomly give this guy the inspiration. He said, "That's right! He's gonna be mayor!" I mean, only a time traveler would say something that random about a café employee.

There's also the fact that Marty enters George's life for one week and vanishes again, only to reappear in 1985 as George's son. So, that's some pretty good evidence.

Now, why didn't George say anything about it? Well, he knows about sci-fi, meaning he knows about time travel, and he doesn't want to potentially stop his own son from going back in time and fixing him up with Lorraine.

He's come across the revelation, and he probably wouldn't want to tell Lorraine about it. I mean, not only would Lorraine not believe it, but who would want to break the news to their wife that she was in love with their future son?

Does George ever bring up the subject to Marty? Well, who knows? But George was likely proud of his son for what he did for him in the past.

After all, it was in his density.

This theory was created by Joel Green, and what do you think? Did George know about time travel?

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About the Creator

Jonathan Sim

Film critic. Lover of Pixar, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Back to the Future, and Lord of the Rings.

For business inquiries: [email protected]

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