Marty's Walkman.
- "With a brisk smile, Strickland dispatched the next set and then reached for Marty's stereo with something like renewed passion. The jaws of the vise pressed in, causing a low scraping sound, almost as if the set were crying out in pain. Then, with a particularly loud snap, the Walkman's splintered remains shot out of the vise in all directions. Momentary panic crossed Strickland's features as shards of plastic flew past his eyes and head. / "It's all yours, McFly," Strickland said, quickly regaining his composure. "
- —From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, page 13)
The Walkman was an audio cassette player sold in the 1980s by Sony, Aiwa, and Panasonic.
Marty McFly owned a black and silver Walkman of the Aiwa brand, model number HS P02 MK2, on which he listened to rock music.
History[]
Hill Valley High School principal Mr. Strickland would confiscate any Walkmans he came across, and engaged in an execution-style session — namely, placing them in a woodworking vise and crushing and destroying them during detention for violators. After the destruction of each Walkman, Strickland would then invite its owner to come up and claim the shattered remains.
Marty used his Walkman as a torture device by playing an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo which woke up George McFly. Disguised as a space alien named "Darth Vader", Marty threatened to melt his brain with the device.
Behind the scenes[]
- According to the novelization, Marty's Walkman was the fourth to be confiscated by Strickland and crushed when he served detention before the Battle of the Bands. Interestingly enough, Marty has another throughout the movie Back to the Future. This could be explained by the assumption that Marty simply had many others.
