Idiocracy (2006)

[Sasquatch]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

[dead0man]

Pure genius, like most of Mike Judge's stuff.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Great movie.

[Bigby]

FF, even if it fuels my misanthropy.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Frustrated by Skyfall price on Google play 3 days ago, I was hesitating to rent that one, since it's cheap there (less than 2€), but well, I feared not only the price was cheap, then, whatever again.

Thankfully I have that bro full of blu-rays and downloaded stuffs, which makes that I can wait, and since I don't necessarily watch movies when I visit him, I have more chances not to be disappointed by movies, which might be how it might happen with that one too.

[SATW]

great movie. ff.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

It's total smart-arsed pseudointellectual garbage

[ingemann]

It's total smart-arsed pseudointellectual garbage

While I haven't seen it, the whole premise is precisely what Tetro Kornbluth describe, and the film may be quite good, I don't know, but don't make a mistake, the premise was quite popular in the early 20th century, and served as a major part in very ugly policies of mass sterilisation, or in case of Germany killings, of undesirable with perceived "inferior" genes (and here I don't talk about the Jews, but the mental handicapped, handicapped, promiculous young girls, homosexuals and a lot other groups). Someone I knew worked at a German mental institution in the 80ties, and he described that there was no one above a specific age (people born before 1946) at the institution, this policies was push through to avoid a degenerated future humanity as shown in the movie.

[Simfan34]

It's total smart-arsed pseudointellectual garbage

I never got the impression it was supposed to be anything other than slapstick comedy, much less any kind of "intellectual" project.

Either way it now seems, at least here in New York, that large families have come back into fashion amongst the wealthy and are now something of a status symbol. This trend does not seem limited to this city, or, indeed, this country.

This trend, assuming it is not fleeting, would contradict the premise of the film! (This is also a very good trend for other reasons, but that's for another time.)

[VPH]

Is it on Netflix?

[Orser67]

For a while so many people called Idiocracy underrated (and it was shown on Comedy Central so much) that it became a little overrated, but it's still a good film.

My main complaint is that there's only about 60 minutes of "movie" after the opening narrative.

[Nhoj]

Simfan is correct 90% of the movie is slapstick comedy, its just the fanboys who are smart-arsed pseudointellectuals.

[dead0man]

It's total smart-arsed pseudointellectual garbage

It's only interpreted that way by people that are only half as smart as they think they are.  It's just a comedy, like everything else Mike Judge makes.  Perhaps you aren't familiar with his work?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Like many comedies, it derives humor by poking at things we can't fully acknowledge. I don't know that it makes it intellectual or pseudointellectual, but it is what it is.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unoMMru4-c0

Holy Christ that is vile. I mean are the people praising this film seeing the implications of what theis satire is suggesting?

[Antonio the Sixth]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unoMMru4-c0

Holy Christ that is vile. I mean are the people praising this film seeing the implications of what theis satire is suggesting?

...

Yeah, it's despicable.

[Joe Republic]

Chill out guys.  Like you've never looked at the creeping stupidification of modern society and wept.  Were you asleep during the Bush administration?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Chill out guys.  Like you've never looked at the creeping stupidification of modern society and wept.  Were you asleep during the Bush administration?

Oh, I think we're all well aware of what happened during the Bush administration, such as the ugliness that frustration with the admittedly bad situation brought out in some leftists.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

It's a comedy, not serious social commentary.

[dead0man]

It's a comedy, not serious social commentary.

Of course, but some people enjoy being outraged.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

It's a comedy, not serious social commentary.

Mike Judge is the creator of Office Space and King of the Hill. Comedy that also functions as social commentary ('serious' or otherwise) is his brand.

[DINGO Joe]

Of course, the saviors of society are a human version of "Futurama's" Fry and a prostitute. 

At the end of the movie, there is at least some vague sense that maybe education is the way out of the predicament, and lack thereof was the way in.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks its an awful movie with awful politics.

[dead0man]

It's a comedy, not serious social commentary.

Mike Judge is the creator of Office Space and King of the Hill. Comedy that also functions as social commentary ('serious' or otherwise) is his brand.

I think "serious" is the difference though.  Yeah, KotH had social commentary, but it clearly wasn't "eugenics is good" or whatever the haters are implying about Idiocracy.  It played on stereotypes and it made fun of stereotypes.  Mike Judge, like most middle class, cracker Americans was raised by or at least knew of people exactly like Hank Hill.  Hell, I'm like 27% Hank Hill (which is more than canceled out by the 19% of me that is Jello Biafra).  It made fun and loved suburban America.  Office Space made fun of working in offices and middle class white dudes.  Idiocracy makes fun of group think, corporate America and dumb people.  Yes, the "hero" is always a middle class white guy, but he's also the butt of most of the jokes.

I'm not saying it's a great movie, or that you should like it and you're a moron if you don't.  I'm saying it's not making the argument that we should sterilize dumb people or else we're doomed.  There may be morons that think that's the point and think that it's a good idea, but they clearly aren't the majority nor was that the intent of the creator.

[Antonio the Sixth]

OK, I'll go out on a limb and say it: Although something that could be roughly defined as intelligence obviously does exist in an objective sense, any use of this notion when discussing politics or society is invariably and perhaps inevitably a cover for classism, racism, sexism, etc.

And that's something I've probably been guilty of before.