Idiocracy (2006)

My first impression? While it is labeled as being a “dark comedy”, I think it’s more like a horror movie for any viewer with an IQ of over 110.

The premise is simple… after years of highly intelligent people waiting longer to start families while the people of lower intelligence multiply like rabbits, the world gets to the point where dumb is the norm in about 500 years. And thanks to a military experiment in cryogenics gone awry, two perfectly average people find themselves trapped in the future and being the smartest people in the country.

I’ll be honest - this film was extremely painful for me to watch. I didn’t find it funny at all, but I could just imagine how some people would. It was full of proletarian humor and overblown stereotypes that glorify stupidity. It is a scary thought indeed to think that the country could backslide into a society where almost everyone has the mental capacity of Beavis and Butt-head.
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(By the way, it was written and directed by Mike Judge – the bloke who brought the aforementioned moronic duo to us in the first place.)

So while I found it unfunny and nauseating, I got the point. And that’s why I don’t mind recommending it to people – because it does make a good case for why we should be encouraging people to get an education and not fill their heads with mindless garbage such as monster truck shows and fart jokes.

I think my husband put it best when he told me “The first ten minutes are great, then it falls to shit.” Well, the first ten minutes really hit home for us, and I’m sure they will hit home for a good many people I know. And that’s what makes it so troubling … because it’s not entirely unrealistic.


Film information: Idiocracy