Idiocracy: A Satirical Film

Idiocracy is a satirical film about a future in which humankind has significantly dumbed down. Unlike many other films, Idiocracy’s political message is bold and clear. It blames corporatism for a lot of problems that countries like America face today. Many critics suggest that this was the reason for which Fox decided not to advertise and promote this film at all. The Economist refers to Idiocracy as,” One of the most unjustly neglected films of the past years.”
Basically, it would not be in Fox’s best interest to hype a film like Idiocracy which bites the hands of which it feeds them. The American entertainment industry almost fully depends on advertisements from large corporations. Screenwriter Nihar Patel described the movie as,” Daring because Idiocracy satirizes American consumer culture and many prominent corporations. The list of targets includes fellow news corps subsidiary Fox News.” In the film companies like Costco now own mile long supermarkets and Carl’s Jr. greets their customers with explicit language.

To put in briefly, the plot of Idiocracy involves Luke Wilson who is put to sleep as part of a military experiment for 500 years.

Luke is then awoken 500 years later in the year 2505, to a world full of idiots. Luke is then forced to take an IQ test where he is discovered to be the most intelligent man alive, and is looked upon to bring civilization back to its glory. In this future, people have become so obsessed with the media, brands, and other insignificant things that the real issues are forgotten and never resolved. This resulted in a society where people live their lives solely on what the corporate media tells

them.
Not only does big business in Idiocracy control the minds of the citizens, but it even has control over the highest levels of government. One example from the movie is the energy drink “Brawndo”, whose parent company slowly began buying federal agencies starting with the FDA. Soon “Brawndo” was labeled as the ultimate drink and got to the point to where it replaced water completely. This is similar to how oil monopolies and tech companies have not only bribed but manipulated many branches of the government today. “The stupid-funny future is all around us,” jokes Rob Walker from the New York Times.
To conclude with, Idiocracy is definitely a wake up call for America. Many argue that Idiocracy will not take 500 years to come true as the movie suggests, and that it is already well and alive today. Unlike previous science fiction films, Idiocracy is one the first to bring to life a dark future where society resembles a herd being guided by the greedy corporate elite.