Netflix: Back 2 Censoring the Future

Flying DeLoreans, stolen plutonium, and pornographic magazines might seem like classic tropes from an episode of the adult animated   science fiction   sitcom , “Rick and Morty.” But those images are from the 1985 film, “Back to the Future.” The 1980s was an interesting time, particularly for movie goers. Are you hungry? You can have bowls of monkey brains for lunch in “Indiana Jones And the Temple of Doom.” Do you enjoy animated musicals? Check out Jessica Rabbit’s sensual performance in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Are you looking for love? I hear ghosts are giving oral sex in “Ghostbusters.” By today’s age ratings standards, it’s shocking these films were featured in theaters with a PG rating. Back then, audiences had a much different perspective on what they considered lewd and offensive.

Younger generations are getting a ‘taste’ of that perspective as content streaming platforms present older programming. Consider Millennials watching “Tropic Thunder” and, for the first time, witnessing blackface. Robert Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus: a white actor, playing an Australian actor, playing a black man. They might find it difficult to know what to think: is it a brilliant satirical take on Hollywood hubris or extremely insensitive and offensive? “Tropic Thunder” cannot be broadcast on TV without heavy censorship. Enter Netflix- it’s a no-brainer for it to present films and programs from years’ past. However, when Netflix acquired the licensing rights for the “Back to the Future” Trilogy, it caught flak from consumers who spotted a revision to the cult classic’s second installment.

Omitting or including additional content after a theatrical release is common practice for most studios. Consider 1995’s gangster classic “Casino” with 422 f-bombs and several other contentious scenes not appropriate for television airplay. When audiences watch “Casino” on TV, the experience is more comical than an episode of “Golden Girls.” It just doesn’t translate well. Disney rereleased 2018’s “Deadpool 2” back in theaters as “Once Upon a Deadpool” with a PG-13 rating and featuring 20 minutes of completely new footage, though it is a censored version. Unrated versions or director’s cuts can be released alongside the theatrical version to appease audiences who crave racy content. Similarly, Netflix gives its subscribers the option to see the 2015 theatrical release, “The Hateful Eight” or the extended, four-part mini-series version.

“Back to the Future 2” fans voiced concerns over social media about an omitted scene. Marty McFly sneaks into Mr. Strickland’s office to acquire Biff Tannen’s confiscated Sports Almanac magazine from the future. After locating the magazine, the scene cuts to Marty rifling through the pages, only to realize the Sports Almanac had been swapped with Biff’s smut magazine titled “Oh Lá Lá.” Netflix released a cut of the film which omitted footage showing the cover of the magazine but left in the other pages of women exposing themselves.

Jason Ingolfsland’s article claims “Back to the Future 2” was edited by Netflix and released for the U.S. on its streaming platform. More recently, Philip Palermo states that Netflix swapped out a censored version of the film after fans and screenwriter Bob Gale noticed the change. Gale expressed his discontent to The Hollywood Reporter asserting that the version available on Netflix was “a foreign version which neither director Robert Zemeckis nor I even knew existed, for some country that had a problem with the “Oh Lá Lá” magazine cover.” Gale insisted he asked Universal Pictures to destroy that version of the film but doesn’t blame Netflix. He continues “the issue stems from the version Universal supplied to Netflix, rather than the streaming company actively trying to alter the film.”

In fact, Netflix doesn’t edit films it receives from studios, and only streams content made available to them; they’re essentially “blameless.” Gale suggests fans focus frustration at Universal Studios. Thankfully, “Back to the Future” fans can rejoice as Netflix added the unaltered original version of the film back onto its platform. Though Netflix has not released an official statement or commented on the matter. In the future, Biff won’t need to hide the pages of his Oh Lá Lá magazine from Mr. Strickland, he’ll just swipe right on Tinder.