Eighties film fan Hadley Freeman on BTTF’s message about rebellion, love and ambition down the ages for young and oldIn Back to the Future, it is emphasised from the beginning how mortified Marty is by his weak father and drunken mother, and how disappointing they are as parents. It is only when he goes back to 1955 that he is able to teach his parents how to be the people they always wanted to be and, by extension, the parents he wants them to be.