10 Futurama Episodes Probably Made Out Of Spite
3. A Taste Of Freedom (S5E4)
Set on National Freedom Day, this episode had plenty of controversial nuggets stashed between every plot twist. National Freedom Day takes place in America on 1 February and honours the day that President Lincoln ended slavery by signing the 13th Amendment.
The episode is so cleverly put together and makes reference to publicity scandals such as the Fighting Dukaki issue, in which presidential candidate Michael Dukakis was photographed riding an M1 Abrams tank. His campaign went downhill after the photo was released, and the Futurama creators have a lot of fun mocking it in the episode.
Overly enthusiastic about the whole idea of freedom, Zoidberg becomes enemy number one when he eats Nixon’s recently unveiled Earth Flag. From then onwards, Zoidberg's actions only make it worse for him as he attempts to preserve all things Freedom Day but only ends up further ruining things.
This episode doesn't mock the day itself, but rather some people's motivations for the celebration as well as some of the questionable events that took place back in the day. It also highlights how people can be so quick to judge, showcasing was is commonly known as “cancel culture”.