Bottom Line: Idiocracy is Socially Irresponsible, Self-Serving Crappola of the Highest Order
Idiocracy is not just an evil movie. It’s diabolical. First, it misinforms the public about a very serious problem, and it does that by undercutting the perceptions of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, Carl Sagan. Because of this movie, when people think of “the dumbing down of society,” Mike Judge and Etan Coen’s smug, facile script will not only be the definitive take, but the last word on the problem–not the brilliant Sagan or any other perceptive social critic, for that matter.
Secondly, Idiocracy revives and popularizes eugenics theory, a pseudo-science that advocates a “culling” of human society of so-called “undesirables,” based in both a deep-seated ancient paranoia of and revulsion for the so-called mentally feeble or disabled, as well as ethnic groups and specific demographics that proponents feel will “taint” them.
Third, the movie peddles in bigoted tropes about poor people and specific regions of the United States, the worst being that they’re all genetically feeble because they practice inbreeding.
Fourth, rather than be actual satire, Idiocracy, it’s just another self-serving, smug, petty missive by Hollywood creatives, who always default to the Civil Libertarian argument that they can’t be held accountable at all for their work potentially having a negative impact on society, since the problem lies with society itself.
However, as blacks from the Deep South knew all too well when the KKK sprang back to life after Birth of a Nation–and as James Brady knew all too well when a deranged man identifying with Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver (1976) tried killing him and President Ronald Reagan–this issue isn’t a matter for debate; it’s just plain fact. People have been heavily influenced by entertainment since the beginning of time, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. To pretend that they aren’t influenced at all, as a Hollywood creative, is both an expression of false humility and intellectual dishonesty.
Additional Reading
The evil subtext of Idiocracy didn’t go unnoticed, so when the movie hit its tenth anniversary, many people wasted no time calling the film out. I invite others to not only read the following articles but spread the word about them, so no one is lulled by the so-called “harmlessness” of Idiocracy:
Carl
How big is the mirror that you jerk off in front of?
minababe
I normally don’t allow comments like these, but I allowed this for a reason. All of the most abusive comments on this blog have come from foreign nationals like Carl, who hails from Australia. Other abusive commenters like him have come from all over the world, the two most recent ones from Jamaica and Asia, in which the last one issued a death threat to me and my family.
Understand, Carl, that rather than angering me, you’ve helped me make an important decision in terms of this blog. So, thanks for your comment. I would also strongly suggest you post using a VPN if you want to go around trolling people. I would never doxx you but some other blogger would in a heartbeat. You’re not as anonymous as you think you are.