Idiocracy

[Once in a while you need stupid. This film, suggested by SB Dave (Desert SBs) and SB Mike (Post Island SBs) is very stupid, but it is stupid “with vision” if you like, you know, kinda know what I’m saying. Unfortunately, I think the timeline is off. No way it will take humans 500 years to reach this level of idiocracy. Rentable, or you can view this on Hulu. SB SM]

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From Wikipedia: Idiocracy is a 2006 American science fiction comedy film directed by Mike Judge from a screenplay written by Judge and Etan Cohen. The plot follows United States Army librarian Joe Bauers and prostitute Rita, who undergo a government hibernation experiment. Joe and Rita awake five hundred years later in a dystopian anti-intellectual society. The cast includes Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, Terry Crews, David Herman, Justin Long, Andrew Wilson, and Brad Jordan.

The concept of Idiocracy dates back to a concept Judge envisioned in 1996. Judge finished a script with the working title 3001 in 2001, rewriting the film a year later. Filming took place throughout 2004 at Austin Studios and other cities in Texas. Idiocracy serves as a social satire that touches on issues including anti-intellectualism, commercialism, consumerism, dysgenics, voluntary childlessness, and overpopulation. 20th Century Fox was hesitant to promote the film, refusing to grant it a wide release, and did not screen the film for critics. The decision not to market Idiocracy was seen as unexpected, following the success of Office Space (1999), and led to speculation. According to Crews, the film’s satirical depiction of corporations made the film financially unviable, while Judge attributed 20th Century Fox’s decision to negative test screenings; Judge stated that 20th Century Fox believed that the film would develop a cult following through its DVD release, similar to Office Space.

The film was released in the United States on September 1, 2006. It was not screened for critics, and the distributor, 20th Century Fox, was accused of abandoning it. Despite its lack of a major theatrical release, which resulted in a mere $495,000 gross at the box office, the film received positive reviews from critics and has since become a cult film.^[1]

What was the point of Idiocracy?

The narrator (Earl Mann) explains that natural selection is indifferent to intelligence, so that in a society in which intelligence is consistently debased, stupid, irresponsible people easily out-breed the intelligent, creating, over the course of five centuries, an irremediably dim and sexually motivated dystopia.

How far in the future is Idiocracy?

Though it was a box office bomb when first released in 2006, Idiocracy gave viewers a vision of the future that has come true in startling ways. It’s the story of an average man frozen in a capsule who thaws out 500 years from now to find a world overrun by garbage, idiocy, corporatism, and violence.

Sample dialogue (with a Carl’s Jr. vending machine)

• Carl’s Jr. Computer: Enjoy your EXTRA BIG ASS FRIES!
• Woman at Carl’s Jr.: You didn’t give me no fries, I got an empty box.
• Carl’s Jr. Computer: Would you like another EXTRA BIG ASS FRIES?
• Woman at Carl’s Jr.: I said I didn’t get any!
• Carl’s Jr. Computer: Thank you! Your account has been charged. Your balance is zero. Please come back when you can afford to make a purchase.
• Woman at Carl’s Jr.: What? Oh no, NO!
• [She hits the machine. An alarm goes off, and a sign appears on the computer saying “WARNING! Carl’s Jr. Frowns Upon Vandalism”]
• Carl’s Jr. Computer: I’m sorry you’re having trouble. I’m sorry you’re having trouble.
• Woman at Carl’s Jr.: Come on! My kids are starvin’!
• Carl’s Jr. Computer: [the woman kicks the computer, and it sprays a fast-acting tranquilizer in her face] This should help you calm down. Please come back when you can afford to make a purchase. Your kids are starving. Carl’s Jr. believes no child should go hungry. You are an unfit mother. Your children will be placed in the custody of Carl’s Jr. Carl’s Jr… “Fuck You, I’m Eating.”
• [Joe approaches the computer]
• Carl’s Jr. Computer: Welcome to Carl’s Jr. Would you like to try our EXTRA BIG ASS TACO? Now with more MOLECULES!

And who can forget the famous “Welcome to Costco” scene: