"Life imitates art, much more than art imitates life," Oscar Wilde said, proving it in the worst possible way.
Has it ever occurred to you how many times a screenplay for a movie or TV series "predicted" the future? And not just the future, but tragic scenarios of tragedies and disasters that would cost the lives of countless people or would result in the destruction of architectural wonders - symbols of popular and beloved cities?
The shocking coincidences that followed could also be described as "diabolical", as the creators of successful and popular film and television scripts could never have imagined that after 20 or 30 years, their inspirations would take shape and, in fact, , in the most tragic way.
The catastrophic fire at Notre Dame de Paris
It was Monday afternoon, April 15, 2019, the first day of Holy Week for Catholics, when the Paris Fire Department announced the news of the fire that broke out in Notre Dame, also known as Notre Dame, one of the most magnificent architectural monuments of the Gothic style and a reference point for the French capital.
The catastrophic fire, as it turned out hours later when firefighters managed to put it out, caused very serious damage to the iconic cathedral, which in 2013 turned 850 years old.
Overwhelmed and shocked, the French and citizens from all over the world watched the historic Notre Dame de Paris, one of the "landmarks" of the French capital, a monument of French and world heritage, surrender to the flames.
The gloomy images of the fiery Virgin Mary traveled around the world, causing global shock, sadness and mourning for the enormous destruction of the architectural masterpiece.
Breathless, some up close and others through television receivers and other screens, saw the famous "arrow" of the cathedral burning and collapsing, dragging with it centuries of history and one of the strongest symbols of the "City of Light" ».
Ο Victor Hugo used the cathedral as the setting for his novel The Virgin of Paris, written in 1831, and almost a century and a half later, Walt Disney Pictures based on it, released the American animated film The Virgin of Paris.
With several differences from the original story it was considered one of its darkest animated films. Disney because of her mature subjects. The filmmakers could never have foreseen the enormous destruction suffered by one of the most recognizable symbols of Paris, almost 20 years later.
And yet, in the last scenes of the film, Our Lady of Paris seems to surrender to the flames, as Judge Frolo in order to avenge the young Esmeralda, who had rejected him, decided to burn the center of the French capital in order to burn the beautiful gypsy .
Terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon
On the same day as the fire at Notre Dame de Paris, quite coincidentally, six years earlier Boston would have experienced its own tragic event. At noon on April 15 and during the 117th Boston Marathon - the number of participants in it exceeded 24.000- the explosion of two bombs near the finish line caused chaos and panic, while it claimed the lives of three people and injured 183 others, many of whom, in fact, had to be amputated to be saved.
The explosive devices, as it turned out later, were improvised and consisted of explosives, metal balls and pieces of metal, while they were placed in backpacks and black nylon bags. One of the two perpetrators of the terrorist attack - two brothers from Chechnya who declared themselves extremist Islamists - one fell dead after an exchange of gunfire with police and the other, after being arrested, four days after the attack, was sentenced to death in May 2015.
The devilish coincidence with this tragic event has to do with the most popular American series "Family Guy", Aired on Fox, and in an episode on March 14, 2013, the protagonist of the series, Peter Griffin, appears to be embracing Islam and being entangled in an extremist Islamist organization.
During the episode, therefore, and in his attempt to communicate with a friend, he accidentally activates two time bombs from a distance, while a little later he falls with his car on the runners who participated in the Boston Marathon.
Following the terrorist attack and the uproar caused, the episode titled "Turban Cowboy" which officially aired on March 17, 2013 was withdrawn from both the channel's site and the Hulu subscription.
Attacks of 11 September 2001
September 11, 2001, which plunged an entire nation into deep mourning, has been remembered by the world as the day of the greatest terrorist attack in the world, which changed the world as we have known it forever. The terrorist attacks of 11/XNUMX marked a turning point in world history, bringing about many changes in international relations as well as in social and political life.
Following the hijacking of four civilian aircraft and the collision of three of them with Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (the fourth crashed in the open) about 3.000 people lost their lives, while 24 are still missing.
An episode of the American animated series "The Simpsons"By Matt Greening, who is 30 years old and has influenced American and world culture more than any other through successful screenplays with intelligent humor, many doses of satire and criticism on many levels, which aired on September 21 in 1997 could only be described as prophetic.
More specifically, during the episode, little Bart Simpson holds in his hands the front page of a newspaper, which is interpreted by many as a clear reference to the tragic event. It shows the number 9 below the title New York, while next to it and in the background are the Twin Towers, the tops of which seem to form the number 11. At first glance, this is not particularly prophetic, however, if one considers that the September 11 has gone down in history as 9-11 (the 9th of September and the 11th of the day of the terrorist attack), can explain how this connection comes about.
In fact, it is not a few times that this series has "predicted" the future in some way, such as when in March 2000 an episode was shown with Trump presenting himself as the new President of America!