Marty's Life Dream (In Question Form):
Can I become a rock musician and stay with Jennifer without being rejected?
Point of Attack/Catalyst:
Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) bringing him out to the mall parking lot to introduce him to the DeLorean and film his time-trip
Collision/End Act One:
Libyans show up, kill Doc Brown, and force Marty to escape in the DeLorean to 1955.
Main Tension of the Movie in Question Form (Occupies Act Two):
How does Marty get back to the future?
Example of Rising Action:
Marty must avoid his mother's advances/must make his father more courageous/must warn Doc about his impending murder
Midpoint:
Seeing the fading photograph of his family, and the discovery that Marty may have prevented his parents from getting together, thus erasing him from the universe
Culmination/End Act Two/Answer to Main Tension:
The Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, where George punches out Biff, Marty gains the courage to play well in front of people, and George and Lorraine get together. Doc manages to rig a lightning strike to hit the DeLorean at 88mph, sending Marty back to 1985.
Example of Falling Action:
Doc survives because he read Marty's letter and wore a bulletproof vest to the meeting. George and Lorraine are revealed to be a successful, confident couple with Biff stuck washing their car.
Resolution/Answer to Life Dream:
Marty's own courage allows him to succeed, and his confidence will catch him if he fails; he sees the rewards of his hard work in his relationship with Jennifer and his happy family.
Works Cited
Zemeckis, Robert (dir). Back to the Future. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin
Glover. Universal Pictures, 1985. Film.
