1. Character Descriptions

The main character, Marty McFly, is a seventeen year old Caucasian male, who lives with his parents in Hill Valley, CA. His hobbies include playing the guitar and skateboarding. He dreams of being a rock star and owning a Toyota 4X4 truck. In the beginning of the Movie, his family is part of the Working class social stratum, but by the end of the movie moves up to at least the Middle class. Since Marty is not an adult, he is simply considered to part of a family household in the Full nest II stage of the household life cycle. He wears a puffy thermal vest and Nike shoes, and drinks Pepsi Free. While in 1955, Marty helped his parents meet and overcome the school bully. This shows that he is family-oriented. He is unsure that he will become a rock star, and fits into the ‘striver’ segment under the VALS System. We consider his shopping orientation to be like a predator’s, because we only see him purchase items when they are needed.

Marty McFly’s best friend is a sixty-five year old Caucasian scientist named Dr. Emmett Brown. Referred to as ‘Doc’, his hobbies include creating inventions such as the time machine. Doc is a professor at Hill Valley University and is included in the Upper-upper class. His mansion was burned in 1962, and he now lives in his detached garage with his dog. The appearance of his home/garage reflects that he has a collector shopping orientation. He falls into the Empty nest III category of the Household Lifecycle. We believe that he is in the Actualizer segment of the VALS system.

2. Plot Summary
Marty McFly meets Doc Brown to observe Doc’s latest invention: a time machine built from an DMC DeLorean, a flux capacitor, and stolen plutonium. Marty video tapes the beginning of the experiment, which is interrupted when terrorists come to claim the stolen plutonium. Marty flees in the time machine, which is set for the year 1955. Marty�s presence in 1955 prevents his parents from meeting. While helping his parents meet, he also helps his father stand up to the school bully, Biff, and thus alters the future. Marty meets up with a much younger Doc in an attempt to get Back to the Future. When Doc realizes that the only thing that can create enough energy to power the time machine is a lightening bolt, Marty informs him of a thunder storm that will occur in just a few days. Upon returning to 1985, Marty discovers that his father is no longer bullied by Biff, his parents have more money, his house is much nicer, and that he is the owner of his dream car, a Toyota 4X4.

3. Description and Analysis of Consumer Behaviors: Changes in American Cultural Values
The timeline of Back to the Future spans thirty years of time (1955-1985); this presents us with the unique opportunity to witness changes in American cultural values over the period of thirty years. The movie begins in the eighties, marked by major technological advancements; then shifts ‘back in time’ to the fifties, a period of conservatism and economic growth; and ends ‘back to the future’ in the eighties. The three essential cultural values we will analyze each delve into six sub-values; the three essential values are Self-Oriented Values, Environment-Oriented Values, and Other-Oriented Values.

Part 1: Self-Oriented Values

a. Religious/Secular
The societies of both time periods in the movie are a secular. A religious group does not control any of the society’s economic or political systems. When characters make choices in the movie they do not have to think about grave repercussions from a religious group.

b. Sensual Gratification/Abstinence
Back to the Future Part does a good job of depicting change in the values of individuals as they age from teenagers to adult parents. Examples of the changes that individuals go through are compared between the years 1985 to 1955. One such example can be seen at the beginning of the movie in 1985 when Marty’s mother Lorraine tries to discourage Marty from going to the lake to camp with his girlfriend. She mentions to him that in her teenage years she would never have done such a thing. Now flash back to 1955 to Lorraine’s teenage years and she exhibits completely different values than she has as an adult. She invites Marty to the high school dance and does not object to parking with Marty, admitting that she had done it before. As an adult, this is a behavior that Lorraine did not exhibit to her family. As she grows older Lorraine changes her values from sensual gratification to abstinence.

c. Postponed/Immediate Gratification
Another example can be seen when Marty is astonished to see his mother smoke, drink and steal in her teenage years. In her adult life Lorraine does not display this behavior and is inclined to postpone her gratification rather than act out on it. In 1985 Marty has a propensity towards immediate gratification but changes when he travels back to 1955. In the first scene in the movie Marty blows up the speaker in Doc’s room without any regard for the damage he created. He is also habitually late to school and is considered a slacker by his school principal. Marty shows some signs of change when he travels back to the past by holding back on his need for immediate gratification. When he goes into the restaurant after traveling back in time, instead of ordering sugared drinks like he usually does, he asks for something without sugar. Marty becomes more attentive and focused on his tasks, as can be seen when he tries to be on time and constantly urges his father, George McFly to stay on plan so that he could take Lorraine to the dance.

d. Material/Nonmaterial
It is evident in the first part of the film that the McFly family has little money. This is implied by the size and condition of their home, the parents’ physiological and material appearance, and the lack of cars for the children. The house is neither large, nor new, and is located in a decrepit neighborhood. Marty’s parents are not well dressed, and his father wears glasses that are outdated. Marty dreams of owning a Toyota 4X4; obviously it is too expensive for his family. By traveling to 1955, Marty changed events in the past which altered his family’s social class from lower middle class to middle class. In the end of the film Marty returns to the same house, but the exterior and interior are in much better condition. He also finds the Toyota 4X4 in the garage.

e. Hard Work/Leisure
George McFly is the breadwinner in the family, but he works a great deal of hours doing Biff Tannen’s work. Biff Tannen has bullied George since high school. We have learned that Americans work more now than in the past because they wish to consume more non-essential services and material possessions. In this case, George does Biff’s work because he wishes to be accepted and is afraid to stand up to Biff. When George was younger, he enjoyed writing science fiction, and Lorraine enjoyed gossiping with her friends. They both attend the Under the Sea dance in 1955, which is also a leisurely activity.
Dr. Emmett Brown has spent the better part of 30 years creating his time machine. Doc Brown combined both hard work and leisure in the creation of the flux capacitor. While Doc was not teaching at Hill Valley University, he spent his free time working on his inventions. He also enjoys working on clocks, as indicated throughout the movie.

f. Active/Passive
Throughout the movie, Marty and Doc are taking an active approach to leisure and problem-solving activities. When we first see Marty, he is playing his guitar. This is an important part of both his actual and ideal self, because he wants to be a rock star. He is taking an active approach to his future, by auditioning for the school dance. When he realizes that he is late and skateboards at break neck speeds to get to school on time, it is evident that he takes life at a very fast pace. Taking a similar pace, Doc is been busy stealing plutonium from Libyan terrorists for use in his time machine. In a frantic phone conversation, he tells Marty to meet him in the middle of the night to test his new invention. Doc has a passion for science in which he takes a very active role.
Unlike his son, George McFly approaches things in a passive manner, such as not standing up to Biff’s bullying. While sitting at the dinner table with his family, he is watching television instead of taking an active role in the conversation. However, in 1955 he took an interest in science fiction books and even wrote a few of his own.

Part 2: Environment-Oriented Values

a. Cleanliness
Throughout the movie there can be a comparison made on the cleanliness of the surroundings during 1955 and 1985. The 1955 high school scene showed all the students arriving to school either by walking or on their bicycles; which means that there was less pollution around the school grounds since students didn�t drive to school. For example, in the 1955 setting we did not see any homeless people; in contrast, when Marty comes back to 1985, the first scene shows a homeless guy sleeping on a bench underneath a newspaper. Another proof of change in the standard of cleanliness is litter being blown through the streets by the wind in 1985. In addition, during 1985 the movie showed houses that had trash cans placed outside, where as in 1955 there was no clue where all the trash went but it was so much cleaner.

b. Tradition/Change
In the movie it was shown that in 1955 families were more involved with each other and spent more time together. For example, when Marty was eating dinner at Lorraine McFly�s house, who becomes his mother in 1985, we saw how the whole family sat at the dinner table together and watched TV; whereas in 1985 it was shown that everyone was busy with their own lives, each eating whenever they felt the urge. For example, when Marty came back to 1985 he walked into the dining room and his older brother and his sister were eating breakfast, while his parents were coming back from spending time together outdoors. So, as you can see, though there were more jobs available in 1955, there was also enough time for families to spend time with each other. In 1985 everyone was busy in their own activities whether it was work or something else, and less attention was given to the family. Another example was when Marty�s mother baked a cake for the release of Marty�s uncle from jail. The family was indifferent towards the �good news� and did not eat the cake. In a contrasting 1955 scene when Marty was hit by a car, a family of strangers brought him home, took good care of him and invited him to dinner.

c. Risk Taking/Security
In the movie one of the key points was risk taking in comparison from 1955 to 1985. In 1985 the movie showed how skateboarding was something that was a normal thing to do, where as when Marty was in 1955 he took this scooter look alike thing and turned it into a skateboard and was skateboarding like he did in 1985. This was a shock to the public in 1955 because no one would do anything as risky as getting on a skateboard and riding on it through roads and holding on to trucks so it would pull you.

d. Problem Solving/Fatalistic
Back to the Future is a great exhibit of the American drive towards improvement and advancement. Doc�s home was full of strange contraptions aimed towards automating daily tasks. One such device was the combination of several �breakfast� appliances into one big �breakfast machine.� A few new consumer products were introduced in the early eighties that appear in Back to the Future. Amongst new items of the 1980�s that were introduced and reinforced in the movie were Toyota pickup trucks, the futuristically styled DMC Delorean sports car, Pepsi Free, and colorful Calvin Klein brand underwear.

e. Admire/Overcome Nature
The 1980�s was a decade marked by major environmental concern which led to important environmental laws. In 1980 the �phase out� of leaded gasoline took headway; the Texaco gasoline station in the movie�s 1955 setting was still using the environmentally hazardous leaded gasoline. In 1955 we found Americans to be for the most part fitting the �Unconcerned� segment of environmental activism. American society in 1985 fit better into the �Affluent Healers� segment of environmental activism. The movie showed us that the building of the �Lyon Estates� housing development began in 1955. From market research of the time we can assume that there was little or no resistance to the destruction of flora and fauna for the purpose of creating the new development.

f. Performance/Status
The 1985 setting of Back to the Future provided plenty evidence of the American want for �status� brands, more so than the 1955 setting. Marty displayed interest in the new Toyota 4X4 truck during the first few scenes of the movie; he ended up owning that same truck at the end of the movie, when his family was more affluent. When the McFly family moved up in social class it was apparent that their tastes made the switch as well. The family car was a luxurious BMW, Marty had a brand new truck, and the home was decorated with tasteful furniture, art and a piano. All the above mentioned items could be categorized as �status� brands that are typically purchased by middle class individuals with expendable income.

Part 3: Other-Oriented Values

a. Individual/Collective
Individualistic behavior has deep roots in America’s history and culture and is increasing as time goes by. In Back to the Future the dinner table scene in 1950 shows how families always ate together; the breakfast scene at the end of the movie that took place in 1985 is proof of this change in individualism. At the same 1950 dinner table scene the host family invited Marty to sleepover, this was another sign of trust and collectiveness in America�s past.

b. Diversity/Uniformity
America is moving very fast towards diversity and it is very noticeable. New changes in immigration laws and civil rights are examples of the growing diversity in America. Several scenes in the movie obviously demonstrate the change from uniformity to diversity in the United States. One such scene showed the mayoral campaign of an African-American man in 1985; which was unheard of in 1955. Other examples are the existence of Arabs in America in 1985 which was not something usual in 1955. In the 1955 high school dance scene there were only Caucasian boys and girls present; whereas multiculturalism played a big role in the 1980�s.

c. Limited/ Extended Family
Every decade we witness a decrease in family time for relationship building. The 1955 dinner table scene is once again a great example of this. In 1985 Marty�s mother mentioned that an uncle would soon leave jail, the children responded in an uncaring manner and told their mother that �he is your brother.� Another example from 1955 was when Marty lied about his relationship with Doc and claimed to be his nephew; this would be easier to accept than the truth: that adolescent Marty is friends with Doc, an estranged old scientist.

d. Youth/Age
Back to the Future follows that older people were considered wiser than young people. An example of this is when Marty transported back in time to 1955 where he interfered in the relationship of his future parents. Marty only had one choice amidst his confusion, which was to turn to Doc for help. Being older and wiser, Doc instructed Marty what to do to fix his mistakes and go �back to the future.� This movie is a good demonstration of the changes in age values from 1955 to 1985 because it showed three decades worth of change in attitudes, style and fashion. One such example was the change noticed in George, Marty�s father, from a shy loser to affluent business man. Back to the Future focused mostly on the young 16 to 30 year old group. This is the group that spends most money on personal uses such as the high school dance shown in the movie.

e. Competition/Cooperation
Cooperation and competition alike played major roles in the movie. Marty�s father, George, found himself competing with Biff for a woman, Lorraine, Marty�s mother. George won a fight against Biff and gained a relationship with Lorraine as a result of cooperation with Marty. Marty had to work with Doc to return to the future and correct his own mistakes.

f. Masculine/Feminine
In 1955, males held more power in American society than females. By 1985 it appears that woman had improved; nevertheless, a balance in power has been difficult. Men are genetically made bigger, tougher and more competitive than women who serve other practical purposes such as taking care of housework and children. The social strength is differs from society to society and country to country; however, males hold the power in most cases.

Conclusion
Back to the Future demonstrated dramatic changes in American cultural values over the course of only thirty years. This is a sign that our young country, not even 250 years old, stands to change its cultural values every decade with more magnitude than older and more �cultured� nations, which are still experiencing cultural changes that are inevitable to all mankind.