America Becoming an Idiocracy

[marmar]

Published on Sunday, May 22, 2011 by CommonDreams.org
America Becoming an Idiocracy

by Brian Moench


In the 2006 satirical science fiction comedy, Idiocracy, the protagonist Joe Bauers, “Mr. Average American", is selected by the Pentagon for a top-secret hibernation program. Forgotten, he awakens 500 years in the future, to discover a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he's easily the most intelligent person alive and their only hope for survival.

With the Republicans bullying their way through state and federal legislation, the movie has become prophetic to the point where the only thing that isn't believable is that this devolution will take another 500 years. Idiocracy already has its living, fire-breathing poster child, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the ranking Republican and former chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

You may remember Rep. Barton as the Congressman who on behalf of the American people apologized to the CEO of British Petroleum, Tony Hayward, for having our Gulf of Mexico get in the way of Hayward's oil spill. "I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, is subject to some sort of political pressure. (It) amounts to a shakedown, so I apologize."

How about Barton’s grasp of CO2 as a greenhouse gas? “It’s odorless, colorless, tasteless, doesn’t cause cancer... there’s nobody that’s ever been admitted to a hospital because of CO2 poisoning. Hell, “CO2 is in our Coca-Cola!” ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/22-2

[Donnachaidh]

1. this guy reads DU

Many of us have been saying this for a few years now. Idiocracy is a documentary on the American way of Life.

[autorank]

12. The film is simply a riot

IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
CLIP http://www.popmodal.com/video/1397/Idiocracy--Justice

Well worth the time.

:hi:

[chalky]

19. That film depressed the hell out of me.

It seemed more prophetic than funny.

But then again, I do live in Texas.

[autorank]

21. LOL

Not in Austin, right;)

It has a sort of happy ending with the first family setting the 'new world' values. Don't want to give
away too much.

[FLAprogressive]

2. becoming?

[jtrockville]

6. Easy to predict the future if you describe the present....

and claim it's "soon to be", But it only works on the unobservant.

[provis99]

3. you know the scary part?

Barton is just middle of the road for Republicans; scores of them are stupider than him. Look at Coburn and Inhofe in Oklahoma, or most of the Indiana delegation (remember how Dan Burton shot a watermelon in an effort to prove Hillary Clinton murdered Vince Foster?; or my former Congressman Jeff Hostetler, who decided that the 2nd Amendment meant Americans were entitled to their own personal nuclear weapon, and who got caught trying to smuggle a gun on a plane).

Or how about Michelle Bachmann, or Peter "I support IRA terrorists, but don't like Muslim terrorists" King, or Steve "Professional racist" King of Iowa, or Ron "Destroy all government" Paul, or Darrell "Car Thief" Issa, or Allen "I was a Killer Mercenary" West, or ...you probably get the message.

[ixion]

4. Idiocracy was a documentary

[autorank]

13. +1

so was "The Matrix"

[99th_Monkey]

14. That whole "Not Sure" thing was hilarious, not to mention "Upgrade" the pimp. ~nt

[The Wizard]

5. No Contest

Dumbest country on Earth

[Populist_Prole]

7. It depicts the future 500 yrs hence, but it's really more like 30.

I see so many elements depicted in the movie right now.

I've always maintained it was more a documentary than a satire as well. Looks like I'm far from alone.

Wasn't Fox PO'd about this movie? They're not portrayed very flattering, but I think the reason they are is that it all hits too close to home.

[Odin2005]

8. I'm begining to hate the Idiocracy references.

Every elder generation thinks the folks younger than them are morons.

[99th_Monkey]

15. Where do you get that out of the movie?

Geez man, we're obviously all in this together, regardless of age.

I saw it more as commentary on the ugliness and dysfunction of corporate-owned government.

[Odin2005]

16. People keep on claiming that everyone is getting dumber.

[99th_Monkey]

17. Well, now that you mention it

I saw the movie several years ago, and thinking back, it did have some of that vibe,

but then it also had sort of a happy ending; where everyone got smarter again eventually.

So it's all good really.

[Odin2005]

18. True, I wasn't attacking the movie, I was attacking the popular invokation of it.

I thought the movie was fucking HILARIOUS.

But a lot of the popular invocations of the movie have a "every generation jeeps getting dumber" undertone. it goes hand in hand with other elder pearl-clutching.

[Donnachaidh]

23. uh, the basic premise of the movie was that every generation WAS getting dumber

Good God! How did you think they got that way -- evil rays from martians?

[izquierdista]

9. I think Coca-Cola's got electrolytes in it too.

[BobbyBoring]

10. NO!

Only Brawndo has electrolytes!

President Camacho rules!

[UpInArms]

11. is Ow My Balls showing tonight?

[Donnachaidh]

24. try watching *World's Dumbest* on tru TV

They usually have dumbest daredevils that get kicked in the junk, either by a foot or a moving vehicle...

[Citizen Worker]

20. Joe Barton is far from alone.

[Overseas]

22. K&R.