We agree, the Simpsons have lost their luster, they are no longer the cultural phenomenon that catalyzed the entertainment of the nineties and 2000s, yet they still manage to get people talking due to the incredible coincidences, if not actual prophecies, which have actually come true over time. Let’s retrace the history of this curious phenomenon with the most famous previews.
Artificial intelligence replacing workers
Above all, the topic of AI is at the forefront. In season 23, episode 17, titled “Them, Robots,” Mr. Burns replaces the nuclear power plant’s employees with robots who end up rebelling. The fired workers will then be called to save him. A plot that many see as an all too current metaphor: today several studies highlight how automation and artificial intelligence could wipe out tens of millions of jobs within a decade, affecting both clerical and manual roles. A study conducted by Stanford University also highlighted the decline in job offers for young people between 22 and 25 in the sectors most exposed to AI, with a contraction of 13% starting from 2022.
Space tourism becomes reality
The series’ predictions also touch on space. In the 1994 episode “Homer in Deep Space,” episode 15 of season five, the Springfield householder is chosen by NASA to go into orbit alongside astronaut Buzz Aldrin in an effort to make space travel more appealing to the common man. Today, tourist suborbital flights and missions with well-known people on board suggest that mass space tourism is no longer just science fiction.
The new flu
On the health front, fans are linking another episode to what is now called the “super flu” in the United States, the new flu strain that is causing the highest levels of contagion in the last 21 years, with New York among the cities most affected in terms of number of hospitalizations. “Marge in Chains”, from 1993, episode 21 of the fourth season, tells the story of an imaginary virus that arrived in Springfield from Japan in shipping crates, unleashing social chaos and collective panic: an episode that went viral already during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its disturbing similarities with reality.
Hostile smart homes
The series did not even miss a satirical reflection on smart homes. In season 13, episode 1, “Fear Does Ninety XII”, in the story “Robot Sweet Home” the Simpsons move into a house completely controlled by the voice (in the original version dubbed by Pierce Brosnan, a voice that will fall in love with Marge and try to kill Homer), which manages every aspect of domestic life and will become, as mentioned, progressively hostile and threatening. A touch of satire that today sounds like a warning, considering that the vast majority of American homes are equipped with smart devices, from refrigerators to doorbells, to robot vacuum cleaners.
Aliens and global wars
There is no shortage of references to aliens and global wars. In 1997, “Springfield Files”, the tenth episode of the eighth season, features two FBI agents – Mulder and Scully, directly from the X-files series – dealing with an alleged extraterrestrial that Homer claims to have seen in the woods, while multiple references to a possible Third World War appear in the series.
In 1995, in the episode “Lisa’s Wedding”, episode 19 of season 6, the girl’s future boyfriend, Hugh Parkfield, discusses the Second World War and a new global conflict with Homer and Bart. In the 1987 short “World War III” Homer is convinced that World War III has already begun and orders the family to find a place in a shelter (a short which was later revived and shown in the main series episode “The 138th Spectacular Episode”, season 7).
In episode 19 of season 16 of 2005 “Apocalypse or no apocalypse“, Homer becomes convinced that the world is about to end.
The prophecies that came true
Among the Simpsons’ supposed predictions, some turned out to be surprisingly accurate. In 2000, a full sixteen years before it happened, season 11 episode 17 “Future Bart” showed Lisa Simpson becoming the first female president of the United States, after a predecessor named Donald Trump left her with a big budget hole. When Trump was actually elected president in 2016, the coincidence left the world speechless.
In 2012, season 23 episode 22 “Lisa Becomes Gaga” featured Lady Gaga suspended in the air by a harness during a concert in Springfield, wearing a sparkly costume. Five years later, in 2017, the singer performed at the Super Bowl by descending from the roof of the stadium with a harness and a very similar costume, hovering above the audience just like in the animated episode.
In 1995, in the aforementioned “Lisa’s Wedding,” season 6, episode 19, Lisa’s boyfriend, Hugh Parkfield, uses a wristwatch to make video calls. Twenty years later, with the arrival of the Apple Watch and other smartwatches, that technology has become an everyday reality for millions of people.
In the 1998 episode “From Riches to Rags,” Season 10, Episode 5, a sign is seen in front of the 20th Century Fox studios reading “A division of the Walt Disney Co.”. Twenty-one years later, in 2019, Disney actually purchased 20th Century Fox for over $70 billion.
Suggestions, coincidences, conspiracies: Matt Groening’s series remains a unique cultural phenomenon, capable of anticipating social trends with a satire so lucid that it seems prophetic, fueling the debate for over thirty years on how much is creative genius and how much is fortunate coincidence.
