Idiocracy... the movie.

[BeHereNow]

The Independent Film Channel is currently airing "Idiocracy" released in 2006.
I just happened upon it, unable to sleep, hoping to find a boring movie to put me to sleep.
When I first saw this film, I laughed and thought, "Yeah, that IS America in a hundred years..."
I haven't seen it in years, but I am no longer laughing.
It seems an all too possible future in ten years at this point in time.

You see, I made the mistake of watching C-Span this morning, Washington Journal to be exact.
some of the callers could have been characters from the movie.

The ignorance that has infected and is loudly worn like a badge of honor by some of our
fellow citizens is truly alarming- and a little too close to the theme of this film to ignore.

Just thinking out loud.

BHN

[BeHereNow]

1. About, for those who may have not seen it-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy
The portrayal of Fox News in the film is probably what made it "go away."
BHN

[Muskypundit]

2. That is one of my favorite movies

And it actually makes you think, through the ridiculousness of it all, that maybe that's where we are heading.

[BeHereNow]

3. Sooner than later, is my fear.

I need to stop watching/listening to the callers on C-span in the morning on Washington Journal.
I can not tell you how some of the guests and callers elevate my anxiety level before I even get out of bed...
I am on the Pacific coast, so the program starts at 4:00 AM here-
I need to stop watching it.
Because it is SO clear that the level of "STUPID" is at an all time high
and there is nothing we can do to fix it.
It's just too depressing to think about anymore.
BHN

[markbark]

4. xkcd has something to say about that...

People aren't going to change, for better or for worse.
Technology's going to be so cool. All in all, the future will be okay!

....Except climate; we fucked that one up.

[Hugin]

9. Said with stick figures...

Figures.

I would expect Mary Worth quality drawings in an advancing society.

[joshcryer]

26. LOL, clever. Nice. :)

[HughBeaumont]

20. Except the movie's not about the first five minutes.

It's a satirical take on a possible end-game of zero-sum hypercorporatism (and the hyperconsumerism that's forced to fuel it) run rampant, destined to happen no matter how smart or dumb the population is. It hardly pines for eugenics.

Hat guy talks in the same manner (not ideology, manner) as this Ron Paul supporter I know . . . constantly interrupting because he's already decided that whoever he's talking to is stupid. Pretty much why he'll never gain any ground in this country.

[redqueen]

23. +1

I like some xkcd comics, but it fails pretty hard sometimes. This is one of those times.

[Cooley Hurd]

5. The more we allow technology to think FOR us, the closer we get to the premise of the movie...

The applies especially to information gathering...

[hayrow1]

6. Just need to aks?

Wouldn't it be better to be able to arrest Newt for "Being a Dick" than having to watch him run for president?

[hobbit709]

7. I've been saying for years that it was a documentary.

Doesn't look like I'm far off the mark.

It's like reading Null-ABC by H. Beam Piper. Came out in 1953 and it's way too eerie about the current conditions.
http://www.manybooks.net/titles/piperh1834618346-8.html

[Hugin]

10. Precisely. n/t

[BB1]

25. I thought it was

a movie after a book by some Kornbluth. Found it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons

Strikes close to home, too.

on edit from wiki: The 2006 comedy movie Idiocracy adds a few twists to the "Marching Moron" effect: in this story, two subjects participating in a suspended-animation experiment ("the most average guy" in the U.S. Army and a common prostitute) sleep for 500 years, only to awaken in a future so incredibly dumbed-down that the ability to give the answer to "2 + 3" qualifies one as a genius. The cultural elite has become extinct, but the decaying society is kept somewhat functional by machines, and the government is actually run on behalf of a few mega-corporations. These corporations are staffed and directed by morons with the limited aid of management computers programmed during the more intelligent past.

[MarkCharles]

8. Next airs on Feb 13 at 8 PM

So I set my V R to capture it, in case I forget to tune in.

[quispquake]

11. Funny, and then not so much...

I remember watching this, laughing at first, and then staring in horror as I realized this was what's happening...

[Aristus]

19. I don't remember laughing at all when I saw it.

Afterward, I was depressed for a few days, thinking: "500 years in the future? That's how we are now!"

[lunatica]

12. I often think of that movie

I've referenced it many times of late.

[rucky]

13. Washington Journal is a loony bin.

[man4allcats]

14. I saw it for the first time about a year ago

on the recommendation of a young friend. She asked me later what I thought of it, and I replied that as I watched it I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I have to agree that it's a little too close to today's reality to be labeled as a funny movie. The way things are, it's not so funny.

[sendero]

15. To say this movie was prescient..

... would be an understatement. There are some parts that veer uncomfortably close to racist IMHO, but I don't think that was the intent or that it was motivated by racism.

This movies nails America painfully.

"come back when you can afford to to make a purchase" - Carls Jr.

[backscatter712]

16. Boy I could sure use a Starbucks right now.

[mulsh]

17. 'I can't believe you like Idiocracy, I like Idiocracy too'

I"m not sure about the breeding angle and dystopian future but the gutting of our educational systems and thoroughly denuded news medias certainly seems to be hastening our slide into "Idiocracy".

The same guy made "Office Space" another very accurate portrait of modern life. Oh, and don't lets forger Mr. Cornholio. Brilliant.

[Initech]

22. The new B&B episodes have been brilliant too.

Especially the one about standardized testing:
"Beavis & Butthead you two are the worst students this school has ever seen! And now thanks to that No Child Left Behind law we could lose our funding! I could lose my job!"
"Did he say something about a child's left behind?"
"Yeah I definitely heard him say something about a child's left behind!!"
"No wonder you're gonna lose your job!"

[thelordofhell]

18. Go AWAY!!! Batin'!!

[BeHereNow]

28. Care to elaborate? Your post makes NO sense to me.

"Batin'?" What the hell does that mean?
BHN

[Initech]

31. It's a scene from the movie.

"The Masturbation Network: Keeping America 'baiting for over 300 years."

[BeHereNow]

33. Thanks- got it! For a moment I thought...

The poster was accusing me of flame-baiting! LOL.

BHN

[thelordofhell]

39. Here's the scene

[Initech]

21. Next on the violence channel - an all new Ow! My Balls!

[hunter]

24. That's pretty mild. How about this?

[Populist_Prole]

27. Best satire ever. One of my fave films.

And as was said, it could be viewed as much as a documentary as a comedy. I own the DVD, and lent it out to others to watch to reviews that mirror mine: Funny and frightening at the same time. The only person who didn't like it was a faux news junkie.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. I call it a documentary

It s willful and spans all sides of the spectrum.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

30. I shit you not. This movie gave my ex-wife nightmares. She has a pretty good sense of humor

Last edited Mon Feb 6, 2012, 10:52 AM - Edit history (1)

but I noticed she didn't laugh much during the movie. The next morning she woke up and told me she had nightmares all night about the near future.

[BeHereNow]

32. Tell her she is not alone-

And whatever you do- DO NOT ALLOW her to listen to the callers
on Washington Journal on C-Span!
She'll need medication, like I do, for depression and anxiety.
BHN

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

40. Oops. Forgot to add the prefix ex - . As in ex-wife. I still need to get used to that. But

thanks.

[WCGreen]

36. My wife made me turn it off as well....

Even thought Crosby, from Parenthood, was in the movie....

[REP]

34. Read "The Marching Morons"

"Idiocracy" was inspired by this story. It's much darker. Its first appearance was in the April 1951 issue of Galaxy (last image in my .sig)

[BeHereNow]

35. I dont know if I can handle it right now, but will add it to reading list...

I am beyond depressed and constantly fighting anxiety.
No more fuel for the fire right now-
but when I am feeling stronger, I will check it out for sure.
Thanks for the recommendation!
BHN

[Manifestor_of_Light]

37. It is scary.

I got my law degree at Costco. Really. Err, maybe they have better ones at Target. ???

One statistical spot of hope: Regression towards the mean.

[pa28]

38. Idiocracy seems more prophetic every time I see it.

I love the vending machine scene but the whole movie is full of gems.