Idiocracy

"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.

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?

I saw this sometime back in 2009-10, and thought it was kind of fun, but completely over the top and ridiculous. It felt like a wafer thin plot used to run one cheap joke after the other, all based on roughly the same premise. That humanity's race towards stupidity, in 500 years time, has reached maximum peak.

Well... Guess what...

It is now August 2020 and I just saw this again, for the second time in my life. It turns out Idiocracy has transformed into some sort of Kafka'esque nightmare! When watching those first ten minutes after Joe wakes up in 2505, when he's walking around trying to get his bearings in the sea of morons, getting assaulted because he sounds smart, I wasn't thinking "this is beyond ridiculous" (like I did 11-12 years ago). Now I just couldn't help feeling totally frustrated about the whole situation, and empathetic with Joe. My wife, who was seeing it for the first time, reacted with a blunt "This is a total nightmare!".

Don't get me wrong now. This is still a great comedy, it has just gone from an over-the-top ridiculous one, to a prophetic piece of commentary on current society. It was of course just that even back in 2006, but it was just NO WAY to imagine how far (or low) we would have come in a mere 14 years. I think Mike Judge's estimate of 500 years is far too generous. We'll reach Idiocracy in no more than 100 - unless we manage to blow ourselves up before that, which actually seem far more likely.

It turns out that Idiocracy was not actually a Sci-Fi, Adventure Comedy movie but rather a documentary about the year 2020 by a time traveler.

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.