Thursday, April 29, 2010

Idiocracy

To put it as bluntly as possible, I find people stupid, shockingly stupid, even. Imagine my joy as I watched Idiocracy, and found a slightly exaggerated view of humanity’s idiocy. The star of this Mike Judge film isn’t Luke Wilson or even Maya Rudolph; in my opinion the star of the movie is simply stupidity. If the movie was reduced simply to 90 minutes of stupid people doing stupid things, the film would be somewhat less substantial, but I doubt it would lose much of it’s appeal.

The most substantial aspect of this film that I enjoyed was the premise of the film. The general idea that humanity will continually grow less and less intelligent due to the decreasing continuation of smart genes is a rather pessimistic outlook, and yet it is one that I have very little difficulty believing. In my own experiences I have seen time and time again that the people who should never be allowed to pass on their genes, or raise children for that matter, are the first to have kids.

Aside from this one premise, the rest of the movie is really just speculation as to what the future generations of bumbling Americans will be like. This speculation is what gives the movie most of it’s appeal in my opinion. The film’s dystopian future isn’t completely unlike any other novel or film’s; we see giant corporations, mountains of trash, and the deterioration of society. These are all elements that have been noted countless times in other movies. What makes Idiocracy different is that the focus of the film isn’t dreariness through oppression, but dreariness through stupidity.

One aspect of the film’s vision of the future I found particularly interesting and humorous was the ways in which certain corporations and businesses evolved. Gatorade turns into Brawndo, the largest company in the world. Starbucks and most eateries turn into brothels; we are unsure whether these establishments are catered towards sex, food, or both. Culture, art, science, and in fact most aspects of civilized life shift their focus towards sex, or scatological humor. The sad thought, is that I have to note that I don’t feel as though modern day America is very far off…

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