Back to the 80s
If you had taken a picture of my face on Friday night while I was in the movie theatre, you would probably see two things. Number one, I had a big smile, and I probably looked like a kid in his forties. I was watching the return of Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones for the final time in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." I won't spoil anything here, but the movie reminded me of the great Indiana Jones adventures of the 1980s—a Fun-filled, action-packed, globetrotting adventure. That was my hope for the movie, and that's what I got.
Two weeks before that, I had a similar experience watching Michael Keaton return as Batman. A role he played in the 1980s. This time, he appeared in the movie, "The Flash." A fun story about time travel and alternate realities.
Hollywood has a target audience to capture at the box office this summer. The target, for now, seems to be kids from the 1980s who are now grown up. The bait for this particular audience is nostalgia. Nostalgia is, and always has been, classic marketing magic.
I speak for myself here, but I'm happy to bite! I love this stuff! Give me a comfortable theatre seat and a bag of warm buttered theatre popcorn, and I'm good! I'll borrow Captain America's famous line, " I could do this all day."
I have fond memories of my Dad taking my brother and me to see Batman in 1989 and countless Sunday afternoons watching Indiana Jones on rented VCR tapes. A time when frankly, I didn't have real things to worry about it.
I can't help but note that both movies are about regret and attempts to change the past. Time travel is the fantasy of choice for anyone uncomfortable with change. All of us can fall into that category at one point or another. Think about it for a moment, how many decisions would you change if time travel were possible? How many people would you save if you had your own time machine? Where would you go if you could predict every outcome? Which relationship would you try to salvage?
That feeling is not a new thing. This desire to go back is ancient.
"...Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? Then they plotted among themselves, 'Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt.'"
That's a quote from the book of Numbers in the Hebrew scriptures. Moses led the people of God out of Egypt, where they were enslaved, to find a new home. Their entire culture and community traveled to a new land where they could build a new life. Progress, of course, always has its challenges and discomforts. Learning is always an act that can be humiliating and frustrating at times. I can relate; there are days when I'd like to go backward and stay in my comfort zone. The pull to return to a time of perceived certainty is powerful. To quote Marty Mcfly, "That's heavy doc!".
If I somehow succeeded, I would miss out on my present opportunities, knowledge, friendships, and wisdom. There's a price to pay to obtain wisdom. That price is often pain. I’m blessed with what I have today and grateful for my journey. Knowing what we know, though, I think we would all find the opportunity to go back in time difficult to resist.
Dodging discomfort is tempting. They call it blissful ignorance for a reason. It feels good! We love ideas and leaders who promise to take us back. But the promise of progress is an inheritance of wisdom and life.
"The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper."- Proverbs 19:8
In both movies, I mentioned the lesson is to not destroy life's present and future opportunities by living in the past. It's as accurate today as in 1985 when we achieved time travel at 88 miles per hour in a Delorean. The conclusion of both films drives that point home. Life is happening now, not yesterday. Give yourself up to the humility and humanity of the present. Take advantage of life in 2023.
“Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one!”- Doc Brown.
Friend, thank you for reading.
The car that tempted all of us to wash away regret at 88 miles per hour!