OK, let’s set this straight once and for all. The biggest plot hole in Back to the Future is why didn’t Marty McFly’s parents recognize him in the future? The standard answer that has come from everyone is that there’s just been too much time gone by that they forget what he looked like.
Lorraine and George McFly simply don’t remember the guy who their son–who is named after him–looks exactly like, and many say that you wouldn’t remember someone that you knew for about 8 days back in 1955.
But I say poppycock on this. I want to look at why it’s IMPOSSIBLE that they don’t realize that not only does their son look like the Marty they knew in 1955, but it’s the exact same person. There is no way they would not remember one of the most significant people from their formative years.
Alright, let’s look into this.
But Marty’s Parents Don’t Recognize Him Because He Wasn’t in 1955 Long Enough!
This is one of the biggest responses people make in regard to why Marty’s parents don’t recognize him as being the Marty McFly they knew in 1955.
Many people say they can barely remember people from their high school–let alone, someone, they only knew for a week. That’s a good point, but even though he was only with them for 8 days, he still made a significant impact.
I think the fact that he was only there for 8 days seems even more significant. Hill Valley seems like a small town and even though we never get a specific population size of the town or the high school, it doesn’t seem like a major city. How could they forget about the guy who came in out of nowhere, turned everything on its head, then disappeared forever?
Surely they would have wondered where he went, or why they never heard from him again?
They would have had to make reference to him over the years, and the fact they continue to interact with Biff must trigger some memory of Marty from 1955. A ton of the students saw him skateboard through the town square (which we’ll cover in a minute), fight Biff in the cafe, and invent rock n roll in front of their eyes.
He made an impact.
The Florence Nightingale Effect
I think we need to remember how infatuated Lorraine was with Calvin/Marty. I don’t think a girl in her extremely impressionable formative years would have soon forgotten this guy who came into her life out of nowhere.
The Florence Nightingale effect–where nurses fall in love with their patients–is a very real thing. This was more than just some boy she was mildly interested in–she was smitten.
The Florence nightingale effect is real and one of her first love’s wouldn’t fade that easily from her memory. Marty stayed in her house, in her bed, and met her family. She tried to get him to stay in her house, went on a date with him, and even kissed him. And add to that that the kiss was very weird for her. Again, another thing that wouldn’t fade from memory.
The point is that this wasn’t a random student that showed up, but an integral part of the life of a young and impressionable Lorraine Baines.
I still remember the first girl I liked from kindergarten and I can perfectly picture her. But she also did make fun of my Dukes of Hazzard lunch box so it’s a traumatic memory.
Marty Was Involved in One of the Most Significant Moments of Their Lives
The biggest issue around George and Lorraine not remembering or recognizing Marty is the fact George reinstates the genesis of their relationship–in front of both Marty and Lorraine.
When Marty is in the new 1955, he sees Biff trying to con George about the second coat of wax on his BMW. George then goes on to state:
George: “Ah Biff, what a character. Always trying to get away with something. I’ve had to stay on top of Biff ever since high school. Although, if it wasn’t for him…”
Lorraine: “we never would have fallen in love.”
George” “that’s right.”
Clearly they are recalling how Biff was at the center of the two of them getting together, so if they recall that, how do they not make note of Marty–the most instrumental part in all of this happening. The truth is; if it wasn’t for MARTY, they never would have fallen in love.
Also, why in the hell does George still have Biff in their lives considering what he did to Lorraine…?
THEY NAMED THEIR SON MARTY!
Sorry for shouting, but this seems like one of the most obvious cases. Not only should they remember Marty, but they should also see him as a dead ringer for the Marty from 1955.
We see Lorraine say that she likes the name Marty when he leaves them in 1955, and clearly, it stuck with them as they name their son after him. And why did they wait until their second son to give him that name? The memory of Marty has always stuck with them if this is the case.
I also wondered why they didn’t notice how short their son Marty is compared to their son Dave. Dave is tall and their vertically-challenged son would have to stand out the way the short Marty did back in 1955.
The First Time They Heard the Name, Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein didn’t really become the iconic brand it was until the early 80s. But this must have baffled Lorraine. The name Calvin was pretty much interchangeable with Marty as she would often slip between the two when addressing him–even Biff referred to him as Calvin Klein.
The name Calvin Klein would have stuck in her mind because not only is it a really specific name, but it would also have been burned into her memory due to her infatuation with him.
Can you imagine what Lorraine’s response would have been the first time she heard or saw the name Calvin Klein in any form of advertisement or marketing??
The first big splash Calvin Klein made (the company) was selling 200,000 pairs of jeans in one week in 1978. By 1981, the real Calvin Klein was worth millions. This would mean that Lorraine would be aware of the Calvin Klein brand right around when her son was about 14 or 15, and wouldn’t look too different than the 17-year-old she intimately knew in 1955.
How would this not trigger the memory of the Calvin Klein she loved in 1955 and the son she has that looks just like him? If the brand had come out in, say, 1968; Marty would have been a baby–but the name would have still made her take a step back.
It’s just interesting that the Calvin Klein company rose to prominence at the same time her son was the exact age when she met him in 1955.
George’s Book Has A Lot of Detail to It
If George, Lorraine, and Biff can’t recognize that Marty looks exactly the same as the Marty from 1955, George at least should be able to.
The argument is that it’s easy to forget a face from thirty years ago makes sense–but it seems that George has a very good memory. To prove this, all we have to do is look at the cover of George’s book, “A Match Made in Space” to see how good his recall for detail is.
The cover of the book shows two teenagers facing each other with a perfect representation of Marty in the Hazmat suit as Darth Vader behind them. This would obviously be a jarring memory for anyone, but George has every detail of the outfit correct–down to the Walkman on the belt clip, and even the zipper right down the middle.
Now, it’s not like this book came out in 1965–just ten years after the events of 1955–but it has been released that day in 1985 (“oh honey, your first novel.”) That means that George was still able to still perfectly recall all the details to the artist who created the cover.
You would think he would have some memory of what Marty looked like considering how his son is the spitting image of him.
Get A Load of this Dork’s Life Preserver
A classic running joke throughout Back to the Future is that Marty wears a red puffy vest that is confused as a life preserver in 1955.
The first time that anyone from Hill Valley who interacted with Marty saw a vest in the 80s, it would have to trigger the memory of this bizarre outfit choice they remembered from that kid in 1955.
Another thing that would have to trigger George and Lorraine would be the first time they saw Marty wearing the vest. Surely they would recall his unique outfit as being the one that Calvin Klein wore decades ago.
Wow, Look at Him Go
Skateboarding as we know it didn’t really take off until the 60s and 70s–and even then it was a fringe/niche activity. The first commercial skateboard wasn’t available until 1959 (made by the Roller Derby company.)
Skateboarding obviously grew into the 70s and 80s, but anyone who witnessed the skateboard/car chase scene through the town square in 1955 must have been stopped in their tracks when they first saw a skateboard in public.
The skateboard as we really know it–and the culture–can pretty much be narrowed down to the mid-70s with the rise of more commercial boards and the advent of skateparks.
So let’s say ii became common to see a skateboarder in public in 1975. That would be 20 years after the students of Hill Valley–including George, Lorraine, and Biff–first saw this activity take place.
This would also have to massively trigger the memory of the first time they saw it and the guy they knew riding the board.
Wrapping it Up
So I’ll wrap it up there on why Marty McFly’s parents didn’t recognize him. I just think it’s bizarre that they didn’t–and especially that Biff doesn’t. Calvin Klein’s face must be so burned into his memory from the hatred that it’s amazing that he doesn’t see it.
Here’s my theory though: Biff in the new 1985 knows that Marty is the one from 1955 and he’s posing as a mechanic for the McFly family so that he can get close and eventually take out Marty in a violent ending. Why else would he be around the McFly’s who should despise him because of what he did to Lorraine?
But basically, It just seems like he has been removed from existence in their memories.
They remember so many other details about Biff being the reason they got together, that you think Marty would have entered the equation when telling that story.
“Hey Lorraine, remember that if it wasn’t for BIff would never would have fallen in love? Remember how Marty set up the entire situation by coaching me and literally taking you to the dance?”
I better leave before I have a complete meltdown but I hope you found some of this somewhat amusing and insightful. But the last thing I’ll leave you with is this:
Wouldn’t George and Lorraine be freaked out when their young son set fire to the living room rug just like the stranger told them before he left and they never saw him again?
Fin.
