``Back to the Future'' The story of the McFly family and Hill Valley that embodies American history

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2017.12.25Akira Murayama

Hill Valley, a fictional town that embodies American history

The history of the town of Hill Valley will be further explored as the setting of "Part 3" moves to 1885 in the Wild West era. In 1885, Hill Valley had finally become a town, and the town's symbol, the clock tower, was still under construction. The tavern that became the cafe that appears in ``Back to the Future'' was already in operation, and the ancestors of the Statler family, who later ran a car dealership, bought and sold horses and hauled manure for Biff to run into. The Jones family, who are fertilizer producers, have already started their own business.

Marty's ancestors farm on the outskirts of town, and Biff's ancestor, the rogue Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, also lives in Hill Valley. All of them have made Hill Valley their home, and their sons, daughters, and grandchildren have grown up, worked, married, and raised children in Hill Valley. Hill Valley is a town that has survived by old-fashioned Americans who ``protected the land of their pioneer ancestors,'' and it can be said to be a microcosm of America's traditional values.

From here it's a bit of fun, but where exactly is the town of Hill Valley? The actual filming locations are concentrated in the Los Angeles area, but it is said to be set somewhere in Northern California. Based on the traffic signs in the movie, it is thought to be along National Route 395 in the United States (there is also a sign for ``Route 8'', but this is quite far from the expected area, so let's put it aside for now) ).

There is also a town called "Lone Pine" along Route 395 in California, and it is tempting to conclude that it is a model of the place where the Lone Pine Mall is located, but the real Lone Pine seems to have a mall. A rural town that is far from large. However, it is the location where many Western movies were filmed, and the Western Movie Museum has become a modest tourist attraction.

In conclusion, it is impossible to identify any town along Route 395 that could be considered a model for Hill Valley. However, a map of the railroad routes around Hill Valley appears in Part 3, so there is no doubt that the South Pacific Railroad is located along the railroad tracks that crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Roughly 200 to 300 kilometers northwest of San Francisco. It seems safe to assume that it's somewhere between California's capital city of Sacramento and Nevada's casino city of Reno.

The area was the site of a gold rush in the mid-1880s that attracted gold diggers from all over the world. Although the gold rush had already ended around 1885, which is depicted in "Part 3," California developed due to the rapid influx of people, towns were born one after another, and railroads were opened across the American continent. “Hill Valley” was also born in this historical flow, and became the hometown of ordinary people like the McFly family.

"Back to the Future" takes place between 1955 and 1985. The trilogy is an epic story spanning 130 years from 1885 to 2015. Furthermore, when you watch the film with American history in mind, you can feel the deep background behind each and every detail and supporting character, and the audience can let their imaginations fly even further. This may seem a bit of an exaggeration, but why not rediscover ``Back to the Back to the Future'' from the perspective of ``a saga depicting America itself''?

Text: Akira Murayama

Born in 1971. Writes articles for magazines, newspapers, movie sites, etc. Representative of “ShortCuts,” a review site for distribution-based works.

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