In 1963, the creators of TV cartoon shows such as The Flintstones and The Yogi Bear Show, created a show set in the near future that entertained children for two years, before being rebooted in 1985 and 1987. That show, famously known as The Jetsons, gave children of the Cold War era a glimpse into how the world would turnout by the year 2000. Because of this cartoon, adults often make jokes questioning where are their flying cars and robots.
One aspect of The Jetsons that is often overlooked is the reason why their futuristic cities are sitting on adjustable columns, high in the air. Because of pollution on ground level of Earth, the architects of what would become Orbit City as well as other cities from the cartoon, created these highly elevated cities to avoid the severe levels of pollution and smog. Hanna-Barbera made projections of a society that not only rapidly moved into the future within 37 years, but also gave hope that even with the potential of Earth becoming polluted, humans could find a way to avoid the filth.
The majority of fans when the show originally aired were obviously children, so the aspect of mass pollution was lost on them. Children focused more on the flying cars, the talking dog (Astro), the robots, and all the gadgets that George Jetson and his family took for granted. In a time before the United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed and climate change became known to the mainstream, The Jetsons forecasted a future where it was necessary for humanity to avoid what we had created.
Some could view The Jetsons as a hopeful promise of a future, even if it has yet to come, but it could also be seen as a forewarning to a future that shows that humanity failed to effectively deal with what we had done to our own planet. A hidden layer of despair, covered with the promise of technology. With all the technology that they had at their disposal, it appears that none of their scientists took the time to try to figure out how to reduce the pollution levels and let humanity enjoy the natural resources of Earth. Without being on the surface of Earth, how would Elroy ever get a chance to enjoy a wonder of the world like the Grand Canyon? How would Judy ever get to enjoy the sand between her toes while strolling along the beaches of Southern California?
In 1987, the space-age family ran into the prehistoric Flintstones family in a movie called The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. In comparison, it would seem that the life of the Jetsons in Orbit City is better and fare more free of stress, but without the worries of pollution and the fact that Flintstones lived in a time less harmful to their surrounding environment, it could be said that the Flintstones were the ones truly living in a utopia known as Bedrock. At least Fred could take Wilma and Pebbles to the beach, forest, or desert without worrying about the filth that the Jetsons would have to wade through.
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