These days, every major event, including the recent unfortunate Ahmedabad plane crash and political unrest between countries, follows a common claim: this was predicted. The moment something happens, people dig up old scriptures and quote movie clips to justify their claims. While most of these predictions are exaggerated coincidences, some of them did get it right. So, if you wanna know what’s coming next, stream these TV shows and movies that eerily predicted the future.

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1. The Simpsons (1989-present)

It will be a sin to begin the movies and shows that predicted the future watchlist without giving The Simpsons the top spot. The American sitcom has made it to several watchlists over time, owing to its uncanny prophecies of real future events. The series has made countless predictions about politics, the environment, and the world in general. It is best known for foretelling Donald Trump’s presidency in the US in Season 11, Episode 17 (2000); he came to power in 2016. In Season 10, Episode 5, The Simpsons predicted Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox, and even though it was initially used as a joke, it turned out to be true in 2018 when Disney finally bought it.

In other notable predictions, people assumed that The Simpsons also predicted the spread of coronavirus, referencing its Season 4, Episode 21 titled Marge in Chains. However, it was a false assumption, as proven by The Hollywood Reporter‘s conversation with Bill Oakley, the episode’s co-writer. He said, “The idea that anyone misappropriates it to make coronavirus seem like an Asian plot is terrible.”

2. Her (2013)

Are you also using AI like ChatGPT or Replika as your local therapist, best friend, or muse? Did the 10-year-old you ever imagine turning to a bot for every minor inconvenience in your life? Or confiding in it more than your mom or a close friend? What once felt unimaginable is now a part of our everyday reality. But Spike Jonze’s movie, Her, saw it coming long before we did. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, the film depicts him as a lonely person. He ultimately finds love and companionship in Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), a female AI, and that’s how the 2013 movie predicted our future, the current reality.

3. Black Mirror (2011-19)

This is one of the most regarded series in the cinema world for unknowingly giving accurate tech-related predictions. Black Mirror‘s Be Right Back (2013) episode came true when companies started launching AI like Replika and grief bots. In the BRB episode, a young woman creates a living avatar of her deceased boyfriend by sharing all his personality traits and habits with the AI. As reported by CBS News, users these days are using grief bots to interact digitally with the avatars of their departed loved ones.

Another episode, The Entire History Of You, imagined memory implants through an embedded computer chip in human skulls. This dystopian narrative came true when Elon Musk‘s company, Neuralink, implanted its first-ever brain chip in a human to revolutionise brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). As explained by Capitol Technology University, Neuralink aims to unlock the potential of controlling devices solely through thought.

4. Contagion (2011)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Contagion predicted the coronavirus outbreak before anyone else. The movie follows MIV-1, a highly contagious respiratory virus that spreads through touch. In the film, the virus originates from a pig who ate a leftover banana dropped by an infected bat. The pig is then butchered and taken to a chef working at a fancy restaurant. He cooks the pig and touches someone without washing his hands, spreading the virus. That’s how Contagion shares a striking resemblance to the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. The Truman Show (1998)

Jim Carrey-starrer The Truman Show follows the life of a salesman, Truman Burbank, unaware that he lives in a made-up reality. Every person around him is fictional, and his hometown is constantly under the surveillance of 5,000 cameras. His life resembles that of a contestant in a reality TV series. Director Peter Weir unintentionally predicted our future with his movie, as today, we live in a social media-driven world, constantly putting our documented lives out there. The movie predicted the reality TV age, where people are constantly gazed at and judged by others. The film taps into the anxieties of modern society, where people doubt the authenticity of their reality.

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