Conclusion: Only Tomorrow

In discussing changing ethnic attitudes in recent history, I mentioned the case of the character Apu in The Simpsons, suggesting that it would be unimaginable for media today to portray such a figure (see above, Chapter 3). In many other areas too, a modern audience must look with astonishment at media depictions of just a quarter century past; that gulf of comprehension indicates the speed of changes in this era. So swiftly have these transformations occurred – and are continuing to occur – that only with difficulty can we imagine how they might develop in the near future, say over the next two decades. Can we even contemplate the world of 2040?