Idiocracy

This film was strange. Different from all other movies the class has viewed thus far, and definitely more modern, being made only a short time ago. I guess 9 years isn't that recent, but it sure is closer to this day and age than Modern Times is. With the more modern creation date comes much more modern humor. From this standpoint, I related Idiocracy with the last film we watched, MASH. Both are rated R, but I found little to no similarity in material between the two. Sure, MASH had a few glimpses of nudity, some drug use, and a few curse words. But nothing I would deem R rated material. Idiocracy, however, is soo much worse. The film is coated with extremely crude humor involving sex, drugs, violence and, of course, foul language. This comparison relates directly to the main theme I found in the film.

That is, a criticism on humanity as a whole. In the film, everyone who lives 500 years in the future is unbelievably stupid. No one knows practically anything. It is surprising to me that the human race still existed. If it wasn't for the presence of the machines doing basically all of the work, I don't think there would be a human left on Earth. The main feeling that I experienced throughout the entire film was complete frustration. Every time Joe tried to explain his situation, he was either ignored or mocked for his use of civilized language. No one could understand him. I cannot imagine what I would do in a world where no one could answer a single question I asked. To be honest, I would have an extremely difficult time not going crazy. I felt myself losing a little sanity just watching the movie.

But, I digress from my point. While the film appears to be highly exaggerated, is it really? let me revert back to my comparison of MASH and Idiocracy. As I stated, MASH was filled with little one liners that, on average, would take at least a few seconds for the normal viewer to understand and enjoy. MASH made you think. It wasn't just in your face. I feel as though a lot of the films in earlier times were like this (with exception from a few.... Life of Brian........). Most films, Like Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter, had intuitive humor. Films today, as so clearly demonstrated by Idiocracy, do not. Such films portray humor that the dumbest of dumb understand and laugh at. Jokes such as flipping Fudruckers into Buttf*ckers don't require any thought at all. I think that was actually a joke that I laughed at... When I was in middle school....

As we can see, a dumber world is not a as ridiculous idea as the more educated populous would like to hope it is. We are on the track for becoming a stupider world. So I suppose that this criticism is not so much a criticism at all, as much as it is a prediction. And a scary one, at that.