Dark Aspects Of The Jetsons That Went Over Your Head As A Kid
When you think of the future, you think of The Jetsons. We complain that the future — aka today — is not exactly what the cartoons told us it would be. Where are our flying cars (we did have those in the 30s but that didn't last), our robot maids (the Roomba doesn't count), or our floating houses? But if we're being honest, The Jetsons is not the utopia we all thought. If you think about it real hard, The Jetsons is super dark.
When we meet the Jetson family, they live in floating houses. Seems like a cool idea until you think, "but wait, what happened to the ground?" The Verge reports a rebooted comic series explored what made the Jetsons move to the clouds. In the comics, a giant meteor hit Earth causing massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and rising ocean levels.
That disaster on the ground may have also affected the population. Science fiction tends to be racially homogeneous, writes Vulture, and The Jetsons is no exception. Part of this is because the cartoon, like many things in our childhood, is a product of its time. But if you believe Earth was devastated then a good chunk of people could've been caught in the disaster, says The Verge, and difficult choices of who gets to live must've been made.
Rosie might lead a robot uprising
One of the most endearing characters in The Jetsons is Rosie the Robot. As a kid, you might have wished for a robot maid. Arré writes Rosie the Robot makes people comfortable with the idea of robots taking over human labor. And we are seeing this come to fruition already. Automation has increased in certain sectors forcing human labor to focus on more skill and creativity-based jobs, Vox explains. Also, Rosie talking back to George Jetson might be a sign of the impending robot uprising.
The Verge also points out Rosie doesn't seem to be a paid employee which means ... she's an indentured servant. Rosie clearly thinks for herself but does the Jetson family even think of her as a person? And speaking of labor, George's boss repeatedly fires him even though he seems to be doing an okay job pushing buttons. Mr. Spacely isn't a very fair boss and if George were real, he could file for wrongful termination.
And while we're on the subject of ruining your childhood, Gizmodo reports Jane Jetson was 18 when she gave birth to Judy (with the possibility of her being 17 when she got pregnant) and George was 25. It's a little creepy. So ... do you still want a future like The Jetsons or is the show ruined enough for you?