Idiocracy

IDIOCRACY (2006). When this film came out, it was looked at as a broad satire of how infantile our culture could become. Now? Events may already overtaken it and made it seem too mild!

Mike Judge's tale is a riff on Woody Allen's SLEEPER where a man from the present ends up in a future he doesn't recognize. An "average Joe" (Luke Wilson) circa 2005 wakes up centuries in the future to find a world so dumbed down that he's the smartest man around! Joe meets up with Frito (Dax Shepard) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) and they end up in the orbit of the boisterous President Camacho (Terry Crews). Together they try to upgrade the intelligence of the American public - good luck with that!

Judge and Etan Cohen's screenplay is a bit scattershot at times, but it is fitfully hilarious too. The most popular show on TV is "Ow! My Balls!" about the various way a man's marbles can be whacked. Costcos are the size of cities and junk food is not only king - but, often the full meal. Again - is this really "centuries from now?". The supporting cast include Thomas Haden Church as Brawndo's CEO and uncredited bits by Sara Rue and Stephen Root.

Fox was so scared of the film it was barely released. Even when theaters requested the rights to show the movie, they were often denied. Of course, this only made the cult surrounding it only that much stronger.

Now, sit back, take a big swig of Brawndo and enjoy the future! Er...the present....? Past?

Was this a missed warning sign? The current climate in America is kind of portayed here. Though some would argue, that it doesn't depict all of America, not even just the one side who seems to have a glutton for punishment and seems to like to vote against their own interests. So while there is some relevance to current events, this go far out.

Still if you feel uneasy watching this, it doesn't mean something is wrong with you. Quite the opposite is the case, everything is right with you. Quite ridiculous at times, it is there for entertainment purposes ... no really! They weren't trying to do a documentary! All kidding aside, this can be viewed as fun - no matter what your political background is.

If you watch An Inconvenient Truth and Idiocracy I bet the next film you're gonna watch is "The Final Exit" by Derek Humphry.

This horror film depicts the future in a way not even Orwell or Huxley have considered. Far more dystopian than 1984 or Brave New World. Not even Fahrenheit 451 could have made me so worried about the future.

It haunts my nightmares now and I keep a defibrillator nearby all the time. I learned a better way to use it watching the last season of Breaking Bad.

Watch with caution. Don't let children watch it.

Very scary. Not for the faint of heart.

"Idiocracy," a satirical masterpiece by Mike Judge, is a film that was truly ahead of its time. Released in 2006, its portrayal of a future society plagued by anti-intellectualism, rampant consumerism, and a general decline in critical thinking skills seemed like a far-fetched exaggeration. However, watching it today, the film's satirical commentary feels eerily prophetic and uncomfortably close to reality.

In an age where misinformation spreads like wildfire on social media, and political discourse often devolves into name-calling and ad hominem attacks, "Idiocracy" hits uncomfortably close to home. The film's portrayal of a society where entertainment and spectacle are valued over knowledge and critical thinking serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of apathy and intellectual laziness.

A great film that was well before its time - for the petition to have Idiocracy moved to the documentary section place your thumb here - there's not much else to say other than it's real strength is in its realism; taking poorly-educated people into a future where education is no longer valued and intelligence is ridiculed and then watching them come to terms with this realisation (now i'm just filling space because the silly thing won't allow me to stop typing until i have fulfilled my quota of characters, which is in itself a pretty silly idea when you think about it - i just wanted to say it should be a documentary... ah okay, now we're done.