Marty and Doc Brown are friends in 1985. When Marty is in 1955, he looks up his name in the phone book and says "Great, you're alive!"
I never understood why he'd say that, like hey here I am 30 years earlier and he's dead, so I'm friends with a zombie
He just saw Doc shot by the terrorists, like a few hours ago from his own perspective, so he feels relieved when he sees him alive. He came back thirty years in the past, but for Marty, it doesn't matter because what he witnessed happened very recently from his own point of view.
That's a great line, now that I think about it, because it really shows what time travel does to your perception of time.
In spite of what the newspaper told him, and Doc's story about the date he invented time travel; I would wonder if, maybe as a result of the shock and disorientation of time travel, Marty was just not sure of Doc was alive yet at a that point in time. I mean, any reasonable person would know that Doc wasn't 30 years old in 1985, but younger people tend to have a skewed sense of what's old and any real appreciation for the passage of time. Anything outside their personal frame of reference of time - that is, anything older than them - is increasingly harder to comprehend. So 30 years in the past might as well be 70. I think few people understand the difference until reach those landmarks, where things are 20 or 25 years in their past; then there's a huge difference.
"I'm in it for the power and the free robes." - Harry Stone
here I am 30 years earlier and he's dead, so I'm friends with a zombiehahaha that cracked me up, good evaluation, funny as all hell.
Yeah, Marty didn't mean Doc HAD DIED, and is thus NO LONGER alive.
Marty obviously meant Doc had ALREADY BEEN BORN, so he's 'alive' instead of being 'pre-alive' or in a 'pre-birth' state (roaming free somewhere in the astral plane until incarnation time).
Also, this is a new situation to Marty, he doesn't know all the variables; for all HE knows, he's in another dimension or parallel timeline where Doc had died in a war or whatnot, so to get the confirmation that he is alive is a relief.
Think of all the nightmares YOUR imagination would conjure in such a completely alien, new situation - you can't be sure of anything before you confirm it somehow!
I recently caught that too! Lol! It's obvious he'd be alive otherwise, he wouldn't have built the time machine for Marty to have wound up in 1955. Not to mention like you said, he's been friends with the Doc so yeah, he would have been friends with a zombie.
shareIn spite of what the newspaper told him, and Doc's story about the date he invented time travel; I would wonder if, maybe as a result of the shock and disorientation of time travel, Marty was just not sure of Doc was alive yet at a that point in time. I mean, any reasonable person would know that Doc wasn't 30 years old in 1985, but younger people tend to have a skewed sense of what's old and any real appreciation for the passage of time. Anything outside their personal frame of reference of time - that is, anything older than them - is increasingly harder to comprehend. So 30 years in the past might as well be 70. I think few people understand the difference until reach those landmarks, where things are 20 or 25 years in their past; then there's a huge difference.
I never understood why he'd say that
"Because he's dazed and confused. He knows Doc invented time travel but he still questions been in 1955 for a while too. "
Your grammar is congruent with your name.
In any case, you probably mean to say "being", not "been". Sigh.
As in "I just saw you killed but now you're alive again!"
shareWell, remember that before he time traveled, Doc was killed by the Libyans. I think he was just happy to see his name in the phone book and that he was alive. Maybe it seems a little silly to say, but it was a reaction to what Marty had just been through.
shareI always interpreted it as Marty simply happy to find/confirm that Doc Brown lives in the town and can help Marty.
However, because he uses the word "alive" it suggests he's also relieved after previously seeing him killed.