Idiocracy (2006)

the audience applauded

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Watched this for the first time a few years ago. Watching it again recently, it has become even more foreboding. It is a parable of dumbing down the masses which is happening a lot faster than the 500 years in the movie. One only has to look at the Twitter ramblings of Trump, Brexit and Boris Johnson's rise to prominence despite his madcap statements to see that we are hurtling towards a potential disaster. Gun control in the US, the rise of UFC and the extremes associated with that "sport" is leading us toward a world where Running Man Death Race or Rollerball will replace traditional sports. The movie is uncomfortably funny, high brow in concept, hilariously low brow in humour. Watch it and you'll never look at modern advances in the same way again.

It's an imperfect movie for an imperfect world, but its ungilded truth shines through, clear as day. It is possibly the most subversive film ever made, for those who are ruminating about why it was buried. One day it will be required viewing for history classes, if there are any schools left. If you want a clear and reasoned argument against the long term survival prospects of our species, look no further. If you don't get it, don't worry, it's probably your genes which are to blame. If you watched it and gave it less than 8 stars, this movie is about you, not for you.

This movie is actually an autobiographical depiction of the Trump presidency so far. Terry Crews does a great job as Trump although Crews' portrayal comes across as much too competent in comparison to the real life Trump. The world has been reduced to impulsive shallow people who only care about money and sex and self promotion. Enter the 2 stars, Maya Rudolf and Wilson who are well below average intelligence as part of a botched scientific experiment. At first they are ridiculed and persecuted by Trump and his followers because they use logic and they believe in science. Compared to Trump supporters they are actually geniuses. When Wilson tries to convince Trump that crops will grow if they use water from toilets instead of gator aid Trump and his followers mock him because they think water is only used for flushing toilets. Trump decides to do a public execution of Wilson in a modern day version of his reality show called "Your Fired". In this version of the show he uses actual fire to kill his rivals. This movie is a very accurate representation of Trump's rise to power. I don't get why it is not part of the documentary genre but I guess that's because it's hard to believe that someone like Donald Trump could rise from a reality TV star to actually garnering enough votes to become the leader of the free world.Trump nearly destroys the civilized world and only then do his followers realize a very stupid man and woman from the past can use their high school level understanding of science to save the world.This is a hilarious movie that depicts what can happen if you stop thinking for yourself.

There is so much I could write about this movie, but I think that the first three minutes sums it up perfectly. The uneducated and irresponsible are reproducing at much faster rates than educated and responsible people. Nowadays, with so many safety measures and warning labels, natural selection is not doing enough to kill off the stupid. As such, the general population is getting dumber and dumber. This movie is a phenomenal prediction of the future. Additionally, it does a great job at showing how unchecked capitalism can take over a culture, as demonstrated by the comical amounts of advertisements and sponsors on everything in the movie. I believe that there is one major reason that this movie did not do so well: It hits too close to home and that offends people. Nobody wants to feel stupid, yet we are all guilty of performing some "idiocies" demonstrated in this movie from time to time, like lazing in front of the television for hours or blindly following trends, not questioning the reason these trends exist in the first place. I put this movie on the same level as stories like "Fahrenheit 451" or "1984" because it makes people take a second look at their lives and question the reason that certain systems are in place. People don't like this reminder. People just want to live in their happy little bubble, continue to sit contentedly in their parlor and watch "Ow, my balls!" all day and have it be socially acceptable or even encouraged. I believe, however, that people NEED to be reminded to think for themselves and question the world around them and "Idiocracy" does this in a wonderfully silly way.