Idiocracy is not about eugenics! (A much needed rant about this and the other misunderstandings of this film.)
OK, well in my introductory post when I first started out this blog, I said cheatout.com is a blog about theater, and sometimes film/tv will be talked about. I guess you can sorta count my silly post about Dumb and Dumber as my first post about a film, but this one will be a more concrete film analysis. (Even though the aforementioned post touched on analysis briefly.) 🙂 But, unfortunately Donald Trump is president again. And since it’s the go-to thing to jokingly talk about the movie Idiocracy being a documentary I thought it’d be a good time to talk about the movie Idiocracy–and all the shit people got DEAD WRONG about it. And I’m talking about people on the right and left. But this article will focus on us SJW lefties. Because folks, everyone is human. Whenever I google Idiocracy I’m disappointed to find progressive sources say this movie is pro eugenics, or that it’s elitist. Something with progressive messages can go way over people’s heads, and progressives are just as susceptible to that as anyone. What really pisses me off is that people say this movie is gawking at poor people while laughing at them and looking down on them. That’s bullshit! This film is in in no way a piece of God awful entertainment that does this–you’re thinking of Judge Judy!
Many well meaning people are saying this movie makes a mockery of us poor people while calling us stupid. But they’re missing the biggest points of this movie: anti-intellectualism and rabid consumerism are horrible things that have consequences. Let’s look at the “dumb” people in the movie. They have low comedy, they have more kids then they can take care of, they constantly have unprotected sex, they eat nothing but junk food, and so on. These things are all true. But guess what? The people aren’t born this way and the movie shows us this. It’s quite clear that wealthy, greedy and selfish corporations took over the government, and in turn, ruined lives of everyday people. This is something we’re already no stranger to. The people lack intelligent conversations, nutritious food, responsible life choices, art and more desirable things because these things were taken from the get-go and not because it’s who they are!
Folks, lemme tell you something: I grew up around this! And that includes people loosely saying slurs like fa**ot. Is saying that word a good thing? No. Do people still say it? Yes. It’s hard to confront this but I think it’s necessary. In other words, the movie is not excusing it–it’s telling us that people say it and it’s not OK. And as someone who has experienced the trauma of poverty all my life, I don’t find this movie insulting. I find it empowering. Wealthy corporations team up with right wing “leaders” to create a society so obsessed with consumerism that it eventually consumes you! The problem is not poor people, it’s the owners of this country.
When the populace experiences cuts to education, healthcare, nutritious food, the environment, and so on, all while shitting on kindness and critical thinking, where does that leave us common people? We don’t choose irresponsible behavior—it chooses us. And then we’re blamed for it. With humor, hope and compassion, this movie sheds a light on this reality! Yes, the people in this movie are, for lack of a better word, dumb, but it’s the wealthy corporations fueling this. When you work your ass off day after day while seeing barely anything (if anything) come from it, and go to your crumbling home, you have nothing to enrich your life. No bread and roses. So people lose hope, they lose the will to make things better because that was taken from them. So what else is there to do but melt into your gloomy realities and partake in this behavior of stupidity? It’s only natural and capitalism knows this.
Oh, and what about the so-called intelligent people in this film? Well, the people at the beginning are over thinking having children. And that costs them their happiness. They’re at the other end of the extreme. I think the film is a commentary on how the “smart” and the “dumb” should learn from each other and work together, or otherwise face societal collapse. Think about it; what do the powerful choose? Vapid things like fighting ED or baldness. No bread and roses, no revelations, no thinking, no discoveries. Just base, and primitive desires with no one bothering to stop and think. And meanwhile the rich get richer. So maybe the elite aren’t so much better. Not when they don’t use their knowledge and intelligence for the good of humanity. That was their job. That, in a word, is one of the biggest points of this movie. (Also, I should mention, there’s nothing wrong with fighting ED or baldness. The problem is when it’s done for shallow purposes while ignoring the downtrodden.)
Don’t believe any of this? Well, I implore you to read between the lines! There’s a lot of subtle and even not so subtle things in this film. Look at the clothes people wear! They’re riddled with corporate logos. Look at people’s names for Christ sake. Beef Supreme, Velveta, Frito, and so on. People get their college education from Costco! People are advised to have an energy drink everywhere to the point of people not seeing the importance of water. The film literally shows us how this God awful corporation took over important government programs like the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and the FCC. (In other words, important organizations that are meant to protect us are taken over by wealthy, greedy corporations–sound familiar?!) This is all one of the biggest commentaries of the film. The movie is not saying the poors are to blame. We’re driven to live a stale life of no intelligence because our access to such things is taken from us both by force and manipulation.
And folks, don’t get me wrong when I talk about “low comedy”. Because sometimes it does work. It works in Idiocrasy, Dumb and Dumber, and another Mike Judge piece of film/tv, Beavis and Butthead. We’re laughing at the grim realities of these characters, not at them. We’re laughing at the absurdity of the situation as a ways of healing from the absurdity of life. It’s not nonsense, the jokes are telling us something. Basically comedies about stupidity are smart—when they’re done right. That’s why we laugh at the people in Idiocrasy enjoying the mindless and unfunny film called “Ass”. Because Ass is their version of Freddy Got Fingered and other piece of shit movies.
Is Idiocracy a documentary? Well, it sure as hell feels like it. Because a large population of the world is succumbing to the Trump Cult. (Yeah, bitch. I called it a cult.) And even though the people in the movie aren’t mean spirited like the Trump Cult, it’s still pretty bleak for them. But as we see people coming to their senses and leaving the Trump Cult, the movie paints a nice picture of the “dumb” people in the film wanting to change things. I find that hopeful.
Oh, and let’s not forget the person Maya Rudolph plays: Rita. Now, most movies would go in a misogynistic direction with characters like her and this one doesn’t. Yes, she has sex appeal. No one is saying that’s bad. But that’s not all she has. Look at the other qualities about her: she’s smart, witty, funny and sweet. We also see her heartbreaking struggle which is actually quite moving. And in the end she becomes a hero! Think of that!
In a word, this movie is one of those rare perfect examples of the “Show, Don’t Tell” rule. I highly encourage anyone who interpreted this movie badly to give it another watch.
