Nowadays, cartoons are becoming just as prominent as live-action shows. Watching a single episode can take you on a journey in the creator’s imagination. Airing for over 30 years and nearly 800 episodes, The Simpsons has had its time in the limelight. However, it’s done more than just making people laugh. Some people have said that it has even predicted future events.
Does this really mean everything that happens in the show goes?
Technology
The first time that The Simpsons went into the future was in 1995 with Lisa’s Wedding. Lisa tying the knot wasn’t the only thing people got excited about. The episode is set in 2010, and new devices were being introduced, from smartwatches to video calling and even touchscreens. At the time, the viewers may have had a good laugh about these devices. Little did we know that these devices would become part of our everyday lives. It’s not to say that the show caused this to happen, but it could be a possible factor. Eventually, when the iPhones came out and tablets became more popular, they started to appear more in the episode, showing how much the present events affect the show than fully future predictions.
However, the show also does a great job exaggerating these future elements. Along with the smartphones, there were also holograms and robots to help with everyday tasks. Because we’re only spectators, we never really expect these things to come to life. Interestingly, even though this seems surprising and hard to believe now, holograms are used in the present. But because it’s usually by the workforce, we never have fully explored it or realised it was there.
As for the “robots”, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the best one to describe this prediction. While the show is still a comedy, The Simpsons has explored the impact of technology performing tasks that people never expected. This was first shown in the episode, Them, Robot when Mr Burns replaces all his human employees with functioning machines. At the moment, we almost have “robots” of our own. However, in a way, it becomes less about predictions but what devices are introduced to make this a reality. In that sense, the show should feel more like a coincidence rather than being taken literally. At the end of the day, people should have the time to laugh and enjoy each episode.
Presidency
On occasion, The Simpsons has dived into politics, and have had some success with what they’ve shown. What really struck fans was the show’s approach to Donald Trump. This started as early as 2000 with the episode, Bart to the Future. In the year 2030 (one that we are surprisingly close to!), Bart becomes a nobody while Lisa becomes President of the United States. A little tidbit of this discovery is when she reveals in a meeting about the recent crisis caused by “former” president, Donald Trump.
Not only did the prediction talk about who was going to be president but also what the presidency would lead to. Interestingly, this wasn’t just out of place. It was revealed that even during the time, Trump had already shown his involvement in the political cases which likely is where the inspiration came from. While The Simpsons may make the predictions, it also shows how informed they are with the current news. It’s incredible when you think about the effort they make to do so!
People
As we know, the cartoon is about the family’s everyday situations in Springfield. Sometimes, it’s completely out in the open, or it’s something that people can really relate to. We have a mix of both of those in the episode, Boy Meets Curl, where Homer and Marge compete in a competition in the Olympics. Later, the real sports team goes against Sweden and end up winning.
Ironically, this event happens in real life when the USA beats Sweden in the Winter Olympics 8 years later. The best part about this is that it doesn’t even need to feel like a superstition. With the Olympics being an intense competition, there’s going to be a lot of training involved to help them feel ready. It gives us a perfect time to celebrate rather than believing that this is the prediction coming true.
However, because it has had so many guest stars, The Simpsons has also explored the insight into a celebrity’s life. This was shown in the episode, Lisa Goes Gaga, when Lady Gaga helps Lisa get her confidence back. By the end, the singer performs at the Super Bowl for good spirits. Despite Gaga’s popularity at the time and her excitement to record this, the episode received one of the lowest ratings of the series. Although she remains relatively true to her character, Gaga feels more like a caricature of who she really is.
Despite this, the real prediction coming true is when Lady Gaga really performed at the Super Bowl, even wearing a similar outfit to how she was portrayed in the show. In that sense, it goes to show that despite what the audience thinks, how the actors and creators feel about their projects really matters. It should be something for people to laugh at, but still be something for the team to really enjoy and take part in. These predictions are still coincidences, but it’s still in good fun.
Should we take it all literally?
The Simpsons is still a cartoon that airs every Sunday. Instead of something that we rely on, it should be something that we can laugh at. As Matt Groening said, this show has something for everyone to relate to. These ideas could be a way for us to think and even experiment. That’s the best thing about society, having the chance to try something different regardless of the result.
