Second feature film from Mike Judge which takes a look at the unavoidable future of mankind...sort of.
I once saw a woman on the Maury show who had called her child "Lemonjello". Honestly. She had called her child Lemon Jello. That sort of decision takes a special kind of idiocy. It's that kind of idiocy that Judge looks at in "Idiocracy" where he imagines a world entirely populated by the sort of people who willingly submit themselves to the "Jeremy Kyle Show" and who think that the films of the Wayan Brothers are amusing.
I realise that mocking that sort of "culture" makes me appear like the worst sort of snob...and I am.
I'm also proud of it.
It's not that I don't like "stupid". I do. I really liked "Role Models" and I am addicted to shows like "Judge Judy" and "Americas Next Top Model" but I also like things that are knowingly intellectual, arch and artistic. The danger of the world we live in is that too many people are brought up to believe that notions of beauty and sensitivity are the preserve of intellectuals; which they are not, they belong to all of us.
This is turning into a rant.
So what.
While the world that Judge paints in "Idiocracy" is unlikely (can anyone really imagine "Fuddruckers" changing their name to "Butt-Fuckers"?) his point is valid. Unless we start to promote a love of education (I don't mean school or college) then where will our society end up? Too many bright, hard working, dilligent and creative people don't have children for fear of what a world like ours will do to them but the consequence of that is that only people who are dim, lazy, demotivated and boorish will have children and then they will have children...you get the general idea.
This wasn't a particularly well made film, once again Judges weakness in constructing a plot is all too apparent, and the performances from the leads (Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph) are stuck in second gear his central premise is an important one and he does manage to hit the target more than once with his observations on a society utterly in awe of big corporations and the dark art of advertising.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Idiocracy...coming to a town near you unless you do something about it.
This is a favorite movie of myself and Jared. I agree that the acting and plot were lacking, but his stupid society of the future was perfect. Unfortunately, it seems that society is becoming more and more moronic with each year. This future may be closer than you think. Have you seen the Jersey Shore?
ReplyDeleteI saw this a few months ago. I really liked the premise, but felt it flagged a bit once that had been explored. Still, I thought it was very worthwhile, and had a couple (although not enough) of really funny moments in it.
ReplyDeleteWorking where I work, visions of this kind of future helps me feel safe about having lots of work for many years to come.