As Russia continues to enact its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it's unsurprising that the geopolitical absurdity of the world has once again been foretold by the ever-clairvoyant American cartoon comedy The Simpsons. But as showrunner Al Jean has noted on the series' track record of predicting world events, this one, while "very sad," was "not hard to predict."
In response to a flood of news surrounding the violence in Ukraine today, the showrunner tweeted a link to a News18 article titled "Did The Simpsons 'Predict' the Russia-Ukraine Crisis Way Back in 1998?" The article cites Season 9, Episode 19, "Simpson Tide," in which Homer joins the US Navy and accidentally fires a sub captain out of the vessel into Russian waters.
The following clip, which has gone viral in recent days, chronicles the fallout of Homer's actions:
In response to a flood of news surrounding the violence in Ukraine today, the showrunner tweeted a link to a News18 article titled "Did The Simpsons 'Predict' the Russia-Ukraine Crisis Way Back in 1998?" The article cites Season 9, Episode 19, "Simpson Tide," in which Homer joins the US Navy and accidentally fires a sub captain out of the vessel into Russian waters.
The following clip, which has gone viral in recent days, chronicles the fallout of Homer's actions:
In a subsequent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jean noted that this instance of The Simpsons' long-running history of "predicting" world events is different because it's "sadly more the norm than it is the prediction."
He said:
In terms of predictions, there are two kinds we have: the trivial, like Don Mattingly getting in trouble for his hair in "Homer at the Bat." And then there are predictions like this. I hate to say it, but I was born in 1961, so 30 years of my life were lived with the spectre of the Soviet Union. So, to me, this is sadly more the norm than it is the prediction. We just figured things were going to go bad.
"Historical aggression never really goes away, and you have to be super vigilant," Jean added. "In 1998, when this clip aired, it was maybe the zenith of US-Russia relations. But, ever since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin got in, almost everybody has made it clear that he's a bad guy and bad things are going to happen."
He continued, "There is the kind of prediction, where we reference something that has happened, happening again — we hope it wouldn't, but sadly, it does."
Read the full interview here.
