Biblical References In Futurama

[on:]

what is with all the biblical and religious references in futurama?
In the episode "A Leela Of Her Own" or "Fear Of A Bot Planet", i'm not sure which one, there is a reference "Glorx 3:16" or something along those lines. I dont understand it

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[Reply #1 on:]

They're making fun of it, like they do everything else. Religion is such a big part of our everyday culture it makes it real easy to make jokes about it.

[Reply #2 on:]

what about in "Amazon Women In The Mood" how the Amazonians worship a super computer that is actually a Fembot. What are your opinions on this?

[Reply #3 on:]

Hillarious!

[Reply #4 on:]

I dont understand your reply Teral

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[Reply #5 on:]

the pc gave them everything

[Reply #6 on:]

What about the time in "A Tale Of Two Santa's" when Bender is being executed and Zoidberg walks in dressed as Jesus. That seems pretty blastfemous

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[Reply #7 on:]

Hardly.  It's not like it insults Jesus or is disrespectful to him in any way.

As Venus said, religion is a big part of life, so it makes it's way into the show.  Also, Groening's "no notes" policy allowed the show to be more free in what it does, and writers naturally go crazy when they're allowed to do things they couldn't on other shows, including jokes about religion.

[Reply #8 on:]

i guess teral and dothebartman are right. On a lighter note, who is your favourite religious/biblical character in Futurama?

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[Reply #9 on:]

why with the ?s i mean just watch it for fun not for ?s it is just dumb to do that

[Reply #10 on:]

The Glorx 3:16 joke is a reference to that guy who would put up signs saying John 3:16, and it became sortof a fad.

Remember that wierd guy who would sit behind home plate?

Anyway it was a joke on that.

[Reply #11 on:]

Glorx 3:16 in (Raging Bender was it?) is a reference to wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Austin 3:16", not to the Bible.

And uh...whats with the Spoiler in every post? Just make that your signature or something if you're going to post that every time. It isn't even a spoiler.

[Reply #12 on:]

No, it's in Fear of a Bot Planet, at the blernsball game, at least originally, and yes, it IS John 3:16.  The alien is wearing a rainbow wig and holding a Glorx 3:16 sign, which is something that was seen enough in olden (70's?) days to become a cultural reference.

[Reply #13 on:]

yea that one guy who was at all those important sporting events who wore the rainbow afro wig holding a john 3:16 sign... its o bvious thats what its about if you know what im talking about.
the guy eventually kidnaped someone because he thought god told him too and he is in jail for life and he picks up garbage because he doesnt have bany remorse because he said it ws the right thing to do but it was the wrong time

[Reply #14 on:]

Matt Groening has always poked fun at religions, both in The Simpsons and Futurama.  Everything from Father Changstein-El-Gamal and the First Amalgamated Church, to the Church of Trekkies, to (IMHO) the most blatant stab at organized religion, the scene in which Bender becomes pharoah.  The followers chanting 'Free us from thought and responsibility' and 'We're dumb' pretty much summarizes Groening's thoughs on religion in general.

Surprised nobody has mentioned 'Godfellas' yet and what it says about religion.  It's definitely a more thoughtful veiw than Groening's norm.

[Reply #15 on:]

I guess your right, because it is such a big part of life you can't not make jokes about it

[Reply #16 on:]

 

Originally posted by Thorias:
 The followers chanting 'Free us from thought and responsibility' and 'We're dumb' pretty much summarizes Groening's thoughs on religion in general.

Not neccesarily.  Remember that both shows (Futurama and Simpsons) were/are team written, and there are actually plenty of jokes in both shows that aren't even to Groening's taste, as evidenced by the audio commentaries.  Plus, both shows were/are written by people with lots of different beliefs (religious or otherwise), so a lot of things make it into both shows that are fueled by the opinions of those individual writers, and not Groening.

That said I wouldn't be surprised of those jokes do in fact reflect Groening's views.  But it's not a certainty or anything.

[Reply #17 on:]

Also religion is a way to bridge the gap between today and the time period depicted in Futurama. It allows us something to relate to in the show, something even slightly recognisable from our time, far in the future, even satirically messed around with.

And it's funny.

[Reply #18 on:]

another thought... groening obviously thought all religion was the same as he had the "amalgated church" with father algamat something changstein*

[Reply #19 on:]

^there mostly making fun of religion buddy, I was watching a commentary and they were talking about abput there hate of religion. so calm down.

[Reply #20 on:]

I thought it was funny in the Farnsworth Parabox when the profs are trying to decide if they are evil or not, and he says something like "Good news, after studying the scriptures, we've decided that neither of us are evil. The Bible is the real good news...anyway!"