Back To the Narrative

The last couple of weeks in class, we have been discussing whether the use of visual effects adds, or takes away from, the narrative. Scott Bukatman argues that in the use of special effects, “the visual was now separated from the confirming experience of the haptic, and the visual became hyperbolically self-sufficient” (1). I have voiced my opinion in class on how I take Pat Mellencamp’s side of the argument that “special effects are not primarily used for ‘razzle-dazzle.’ On the contrary, they move the narrative and tell the story” (2). However, while I agree with Mellencamp’s argument, I do believe that the story, as well as the usage of special effects, is essential to keeping the viewer drawn into the film without losing them. Back to the Future (Zemeckis, July 1985, USA) is a rare example of a science fiction movie that uses special effects to a low degree, but if anything, it adds to the narrative, it takes nothing away, especially with the effect of time travel itself.
The first visual shows the first time that the DeLorean is used for time travel. Einstein is sent into the future and as this is happening, the DeLorean’s flux capacitor lights up the area around the car. As the car travels through time, it leaves behind flaming tire marks where it would have traveled if it had stayed in the present. This is the first step in the film on the way to rewrite history for the better. But, the original intention for the time traveling isn’t to rewrite history, but to satisfy Doc’s curiosity: “The quest matters more than the prize” (3).

One of the original ideas for Back to the Future included using a refrigerator as the time machine, rather than a DeLorean (Wikipedia, Back to the Future). The use of a car is key:
“The rides are important-in the 1980’s and 1990’s, films became rides, which is to say they became less narrative than they used to be and more spectacular, with their spectacles” (4).

The more that I think about it, it was wise to change to a DeLorean. In terms of the narrative, I believe if Gates and Zemeckis had gone with the refrigerator, this would have been a flop, much like the film Tron (Steven Lisberger, 9 July 1982, USA). The DeLorean stresses the ‘travel’ aspect of time-traveling and it serves as a metaphor for Marty’s development as a human being:
Susan Buck-Morris notes the new models of conveyance at the end of the 19th Century became linked to new fields of knowledge and the extensive possibilities for human advancement (5).
In addition, the DeLorean, and the special effects surrounding it, brackets off the narrative, signaling the audience that the narrative is moving from the present to the past, a fantastic world. The DeLorean is also the conveyance for returning to the present world. And, finally, as in the image below, it is the special effects of the DeLorean, that promises more adventure and invites the audience to take a ride into the next film, Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 22 November 1989, USA). The special effects serve as a visual organization that leads the audience from present to past and back again:
Often the most significant ‘meanings’ of science fiction films are found in their visual organization and their emphasis on human perception. This is the importance of special effects. (6).















The DeLorean’s time traveling capabilities sends a mixed message about the movie’s views of technology: technology can help you grow as a human being vs. the misuse of technology can lead to disaster, or near-disaster. The concept of time-traveling, like special effects, can expand the viewers’ perceptions: it allows the characters and the audience to a panoramic view of a lifetime or historical era.
The positive aspects of time travel are downplayed in the film. Doc pursues time travel as a way to gain more knowledge. Marty’s presence in his parents’ past is an accident. While in 1955, Marty gains more insights into his parents’ lives and characters, the effect on his ‘possibilities for human advancement’ are down-played by the comedy. In fact, we learn in the two sequels, that Marty hasn’t evolved much at all.
The special effects in the movie are actually used to place more emphasis on the movie’s cautionary note: one little mistake in the past can literally wipe out one’s own existence. This cautionary message is most obvious in Marty’s reaction after Doc sends Einstein back in time. The picture below shows the special effects used to make it appear that the DeLorean has exploded. Marty and Doc Brown are left in the parking lot with flames beneath their feet and a spinning license plate clattering to the ground:
Doc: “What did I tell you! 88mph! The temporal displacement occurred exactly at 1:20 am and zero seconds.”
Marty: “Jesus, Jesus Christ, Doc. You disintegrated Einstein.” (7)












This idea of disintegration is mirrored later in the film when Marty’s siblings, begin disappearing, or disintegrating, from the photograph. Later, Marty’s image of himself begins to disappear. The narrative is clear: if you use technology to mess around in your past, you will disintegrate out of your own existence.
Endnotes

(1) Bukatman, Scott. “Zooming Out: The End of Offscreen Space.” The New American Cinema. Ed. Jon Lewis. (Durham and London: Duke University Press) 251.

(2) Mellencamp, Pat. “The Zen of Masculinity – Rituals of Heroism in The Matrix. The End of Cinema as We Know It: American Cinema in the Nineties. Ed. Jon Lewis. (New York: New York University Press, 2001) 85.

(3) Ibid, 92.

(4) Bukatman, 242.

(5) Ibid, 251.

(6) Ibid, 254.

(7) Back to the Future, dir. Robert Zemeckis. perfs. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Llyod, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson. 1985. DVD. Universal Studios, 2009.