Third World of the Antares system
Antares 3 | |
---|---|
Star | Antares |
Inhabited by | Antarians |
First appearance | "Attack of the Killer App" (6ACV03) |
Antares 3 is the Third World of the Antares system. It is inhabited by the Antarians, whose children work as slaves and do most of the work, except the whipping. After attending the Annual e-Waste Recycling Festival in 3010, the Planet Express crew was sent there by Professor Farnsworth, who had possibly been paid by Mayor Poopenmeyer, in order to deliver e-waste (6ACV03).
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Antares 3 seems extremely polluted and toxic due to the tons of garbage that is disposed of on the surface, and is lethal to several species, including a bird who dies after flying through the smoke and a dog who loses his tail after drinking still water.
Resemblance to Alang
The nature of the planet and its inhabitants, including their faux-Indian accents, while a general allusion to First World mistreatment of the Third World on Earth, presumably is a reference to the Indian town of Alang in particular.
The people of Alang work as ship breakers. Decommissioned ships from across the world, ranging from passenger lines to chemical tankers, are deliberated beached on the Arabian Sea coastline just outside Alang and are then scrapped by the locals, who salvage whatever they can from the ships' husks. Almost the entire community is involved in either scrapping or supporting the scrappers.
Alang is notorious for its reputation for having little or no regard for the safety or long-term health of its workers and the ships that are dismantled there often contain severely harmful toxic substances such as asbestos, PCBs and mercury. Not only does this have a severe impact on the health of the workers, it also impacts badly on the local environment.
The Third World of Antares could also be a reference to Guiyu, in China. Guiyu is a town known for its disposal of e-waste, including cell phones, and believed to be the second most polluted area on Earth.
Image Gallery
Stripping down the Planet Express ship.
Stripping down Bender.
An Antarian city.
Additional Info
Trivia
- Antares is an actual star, much like Omicron Persei and several others appearing in the Futurama universe.
- The title of "Third World", and the deplorable conditions the Antarians live and work in, refers to the conditions that exist for many people in developing nations on Earth; also known by the political term "third world".