Yesterday, June 27, 2012, the Internet picked up on a pop culture anniversary 27 years in the making: It was the day Doc Brown set his time machine to jump into the future back in October 1985 in the movie Back to the Future. A shot of the infamous date being punched in to the Delorean keypad started making the rounds:
But as soon as the screenshot went viral, savvy Back to the Future experts stepped in. This was not the actual date, rather a photoshop effort that unknowing retweeters blasted into meme territory. According to Mashable, the whole thing was a promotional effort someone who obviously doesn’t know how serious people take their BTTF. But in the end, it’s on the fans; the Internet got Punk’d.
Amazingly, the exact same hoax tore up the Internet last year, when Total Film fanned a flame of misinformation with another graphic:
How easily our love for Back to the Future clouds true future historical accuracy. To ensure that pop culture enthusiasts keep in the know on the important dates established by cinematic sci-fi, here’s a few eventual milestones to mark on your calendar:
Back to the Future II, October 21, 2015: Doc and Marty arrive in the future to find Marty’s kids to be real pains in the butt. Less exciting in context, but let’s be accurate and truthful when it comes to Back to the Future!
Ghostbusters 2, February 14, 2016: End of the world as predicted by Elaine, who received the information from an alien while staying at a Holiday Inn in Paramus. “Valentine’s Day. Bummer.”
Terminator Salvation, May 26, 2018: John Connor destroys Skynet. Although did he? The Terminator franchise is the most mind-boggling of all time travel stories, so expect these events to be altered by the time the next installment hits. Or maybe time won’t even exist anymore, who knows.
Children of Men, November 16, 2027: Diego, “The Youngest Person on the Planet,” is murdered at the age of 18. The hope is that by 2027, we’ll be so happy that mankind can still reproduce, this date will be a fun one to look back at and just laugh and laugh and laugh over. Please?
Star Trek: First Contact, April 5, 2063: Man’s first warp drive flight. Psychedelic, star-bending imagery is no longer just for the few hours after a meal of bad Chinese food. Give thanks.
Avatar, May 19, 2154: Jake Sully arrives on the planet Pandora to take part in the Avatar program. Celebrate your real legs!
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, March 22, 2233: Happy birthday James T. Kirk. This…is…your……..day.
Idiocracy, March 3, 2505: After sleeping in stasis for 500 years, The Garbage Avalanche awakes an army librarian and a prostitute. If by 2505, 10 more people will have seen this work of comedic genius, then culture has won.
Planet of the Apes, November 25, 3978: Taylor and his crew arrive on the damn, dirty Planet of the Apes. What will meme hoaxes be like in the last century of the fourth millennium?
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
More:
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Carly Rae Jepsen: New Song, New Meme Potential?
[Photo Credit: Universal Pictures]
