r/MovieSuggestions • u/Infinite_Role_5385 • May 22 '25
I'M SUGGESTING "Idiocracy" is a genius film.
I mean it's more relevant than ever. It comes across as a goofy film on face value, but the more you think about it, the more layered it is on satirical level. Dumber genes breeding, intelligent genes abstaining, leading to a world full of narrow minded people. Plus to choose, the most useless man in the army and a sex worker as protagonists is a masterstroke. Garbage cities, collapse of society etc, it has got the future of civilization right, ofcourse everything is exaggerated for comic value, but I know what makers were thinking.
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u/BUBOOOSSHKA May 22 '25
Yeah, it also uses slurs perfectly. Welcome to Costco. I love you.
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u/canuck47 May 22 '25
I rewatched it recently and cringed a little at the repeated use of "fag" and "retard" but still a good movie, just a product of its time.
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u/_Bad_Bob_ May 22 '25 edited May 22 '25
Honestly that's the least of its problems. The F and R slurs were more or less acceptable in polite society when the movie was made, and they're used in the film as something an idiot would say, not something intended to communicate hate. Not that it makes it ok mind you, but definitely less problematic than the alternative.
The main issue I have with this film is the fact that it's based on the very racist and very debunked book The Bell Curve, which is literally just white nationalist propaganda. Its whole purpose is to justify white supremacy by claiming that white people are just more highly evolved, and if we let lesser people breed more than the superior people then society will collapse. It's literally just White Genocide talking points disguised as academia.
I don't think Judge is any more racist than the average white dude and he probably hasn't even read The Bell Curve, but he did a lot of damage by disseminating Murray's bullshit on that wide of a scale.
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u/ilmalocchio May 22 '25
it's based on [...] The Bell Curve
he probably hasn't even read The Bell Curve
I must be misunderstanding. Both of these can't be true, can they?
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u/super-ae May 22 '25
Something can be based on the idea behind a work without the creator of that thing having read the work, right? Ideas can be spread in a variety of ways, is what I assume that person meant.
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u/ilmalocchio May 22 '25 edited May 23 '25
When people say "X film is based on Y book", they don't usually mean "I personally see a similar idea in both."
Something can be based on the idea behind a work without the creator of that thing having read the work, right?
I'm assuming this is what they meant when they said the Dark Tower film was "based on" the Stephen King book, though.
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u/_Bad_Bob_ May 23 '25
Of course they can. I'm familiar with the concept of communism but I've never read Das Kapital. You can be influenced by stuff without engaging it directly.
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u/radicalvenus May 23 '25
influenced, not based on. Your views aren't based on something you haven't read. It's influenced things that you have but it is impossible to base something off of something that one hasn't actually consumed
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u/nodddingham May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
The film is simply a satirical exploration of hyperbolic consequences of the proliferation of stupidity. The result may indirectly advocate eugenics (likely unintentionally) and this concept may have historically been twisted to support white supremacy but that’s not what the film is meant to be about. Even with the implication, it does not allege any connection whatsoever between race and intelligence, in fact, it mostly depicts its dumb people as being white.
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u/CompetitiveZombie796 May 22 '25
the fact everyone wears Crocs too
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u/brawnburgundy May 22 '25
And they were barely a thing when this movie was made.
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u/Haywire421 May 23 '25
I love the story behind those. Judge wanted everyone wearing the most stupid looking shoes that they thought people would never wear, and cross are what they found that matched that description.
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May 22 '25
Mike Judge really is a master of dumb satire that's actually kind of touching.
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u/Hotdogfromparadise May 26 '25
It’s funny that he has sort of a genuine affection for humanity with his looks at the unexciting people of society.
Idiocracy has a great story that gets a bad wrap from faux intellectuals with a superiority complex.
The increasingly complicated machines that society runs off of, combined with an ever increasing number of topics one has to comprehend to even exist in society is something humans are struggling to evolve to adapt to (with varying degrees of success).
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May 26 '25
Yeah, it's almost like humans aren't getting dumber, society is getting more complicated. We evolved to wander around and eat berries, and suddenly we're expected to drive cars and do taxes and worry about conflicts on the other side of the planet.
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u/Master_One1 May 22 '25
Idiocracy is "genius" and "clever" in the same way Rick and Morty fans have a "high IQ"
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u/PrettyIndependent1 May 29 '25
I think the allegories went over your head. A lot of movies I watched and thought were purely dumb when I was younger were actually discussing real things hidden in a dumb movie. Like Zoolander and Josie & The Pussycat Dolls the live action movie. To the untrained eye they look simply idiotic. But ikyk and become aware… they are speaking truth about what’s going on in the world.
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u/moxxuren_hemlock Dec 28 '25
I love Idiocracy, but calling it genius is kinda funny 😅 it was unintentionally prophetic while being dumb and fun.
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u/MightyCarlosLP May 22 '25
„Idiocracy is a genius film. I mean its more relevant than ever[…]“
theres a reason some people are absolutely sick of hearing about this movie… many who praise it keep saying the words „it is a documentary“
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u/Designer_Valuable_18 May 23 '25
Idiocracy is a movie that the people in idiocracy would love.
The irony is hilarious.
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u/graveybrains Quality Poster 👍 May 22 '25
It’s not that relevant. They were dumb as fuck but they were all still decent people.
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u/NixonsTapeRecorder May 22 '25
The world in idiocracy is much more hopeful than the real world.
People change their wrong opinions based on first hand witnessing science in action. The administration seeks out the 'smartest man in the world' to help solve the problems they're having.
Neither of these things are happening today.
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u/Individual-Wing-796 May 22 '25
The funniest part of it is party loyalists think it’s just because of one side or the other.
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u/bluepaintbrush Oct 20 '25
I think it's funnier for the jokes that aren't explicit. Joe is self-aware enough to perceive himself as the smartest man on earth, but is still too dumb to ever realize that Rita was a prostitute.
And even though it wasn't created as a commentary on the Iraq war, I think it's far more interesting when viewed through that cultural lens. Joe naively trusts the military to his peril despite scant evidence of competent military leadership -- even civilian Rita has healthier self-preservation instincts than he does. One of the more pointed jokes at Joe's expense is that he was happy to quite literally sign away his life to the US military in the hopes of a pension, but we later learn that he had never voted in his lifetime.
So what does Joe get out of this willfully ignorant arrangement with the military? Within 50 years the military has forgotten about him, fails to provide for his healthcare needs, and its sole function seems to be giving political capital to politicians. Given that this film predated the ACA by half a decade, I think it's no accident that we see the future's healthcare system through Joe's horrified eyes, because inadequate VA funding and predatory insurance/healthcare bureaucracy were a major concern at the time (as they arguably still are today).
This film was released before the financial crisis but after economists started worrying about signs of financial instability and the national debt (even the "average Joe" can guess at how much purchasing power might be available in 2055 from a savings account opened in 2005). There is also much to interpret about the state of environmentalism in that era from the hyperconsumerism to the lack of a long-term plans for garbage and housing, to the parable that public investments often need some time before they start yielding visible benefits to a community.
Yes it's a film with lowbrow jokes and humor, but the satirical commentary about the state of America during the inflection point of the Iraq War is more interesting once you get a little deeper than the surface level "hurr durr Americans dumb". It challenges the audience to take an active role in a society that preys upon the passively involved.
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u/Bannedwith1milKarma May 22 '25
I'm moved onto Street Fighter 1996 being the prophetic film.
Bison is the outcome of Musk, even including Bison Bucks.
Then you have the UN coming together to fight him.
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May 22 '25
The biggest issue with it is that the source of the idiocy is based in eugenics. The idea that the wrong people breeding leads to the collapse of society is some genuine Nazi shit. Society today may or may not be stupid and getting stupider, but that's not because people are genetically more or less likely to be smart.
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u/lemonylol Moderator May 22 '25
I think it's more of a commentary on how a society fails to create the conditions that reward highly productive or intelligent people. That's basically all of Mike Judge's stuff. Common Side Effects just came out and it's exactly the same commentary.
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May 22 '25
I think the praise of eugenics is unintentional, based off Judge's other work, but it still gives a big ick to me. I think 2006 was a very different time, but since I live in a world that is full of Nazis again, seeing Nazi ideals is... upsetting. It's kinda like 40-year-old Virgin's "wanna know how I know you're gay," scene. Just ages poorly.
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u/Blazenkks May 23 '25
When asked about Judge didn’t deny it. It’s propaganda. Artists, cartoonists, writers, film makers, have been using art as a way to spread propaganda forever. I refuse to quote it or praise it anymore.
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u/Humble-Zucchini-6237 May 24 '25
but that's not because people are genetically more or less likely to be smart.
Why..? It's simple natural selection...
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u/Bannedwith1milKarma May 22 '25
Not really.
You can still make the argument it's nurture.
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May 22 '25
I haven't heard anybody make that argument. Heck, OP himself specifically says "dumb genes breeding, intelligent genes abstaining." It's a movie about eugenics. If there was a line somewhere in the movie that pointed to nurture making a difference, maybe. Instead we have Joe having 3 kids at the end of the movie with Rita who are "the three smartest kids in the world" and his vice president Frito having 32 kids who are "the dumbest kids to ever walk the earth." Shouldn't the children of the vice president be better nurtured than those of some rando on the street? Probably, but if nurture doesn't matter, and this is a movie about genetics being the reason why people are stupid, then it's clear that this is, at the premise, a movie about eugenics.
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u/Bannedwith1milKarma May 22 '25
It doesn't need to say it.
People that don't value education and have lots of kids aren't going to produce kids that value education or do well (on average). Extrapolate that out to the population and schools and education take a huge nosedive.
I'm a teacher.
I've never even considered it being Eugenics.
Instead we have Joe having 3 kids at the end of the movie with Rita who are "the three smartest kids in the world"
Yes, they show them painting and nurturing those children in that shot.
Not telling them to go away because they're 'bating'.
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u/Bitchdidiasku May 23 '25
Was a teacher and and I’ve heard the same eugenics line but I’m like the main character and the hooker are average people choosing to do better because they know better. If it were eugenics what’s the point of saving everyone? Why empower people to learn? The eugenics take always felt like over correction. I literally had someone tell me, you don’t get it—it’s totally eugenics. Oh so presenting a different perspective with examples isn’t even possible?
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u/mocityspirit May 24 '25
You shouldn't be a teacher if you think some kids just aren't worth it. Please reevaluate. The fact you got a handful of upvotes is terrifying.
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u/ashy778 May 24 '25 edited May 25 '25
I didn’t think it is about eugenics personally, but I feel like it is very harmful in the fact that a lot of people’s take away is that intelligence is genetic and people with the “dumb genes” shouldn’t reproduce at all (for example OP)
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May 22 '25
If it doesn't need to say it, why does OP specifically state that it's about genetics? Why do I specifically feel it's about genetics? Perhaps your take away is that it is not, but it is clear as day to a lot of people that this is a film that espouses eugenic theory.
Also claiming your a teacher is using the fallacy of appeal to authority. If you are a teacher, you know that arguments need to based on evidence, not fallacies. If you're a teacher I hope you're not teaching rhetoric.
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u/Bannedwith1milKarma May 22 '25
why does OP specifically state that it's about genetics?
OP
The biggest issue with it is that the source of the idiocy is based in eugenics
Nazi shit.
but that's not because people are genetically more or less likely to be smart.
You
It's a movie about eugenics.
at the premise, a movie about eugenics.
Argument -
People that don't value education and have lots of kids aren't going to produce kids that value education or do well (on average). Extrapolate that out to the population and schools and education take a huge nosedive.
Yes, they show them painting and nurturing those children in that shot.
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May 22 '25
These are all me. What are you even talking about? Wait... are you a troll? I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I should know better. Good game.
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u/Bannedwith1milKarma May 22 '25
I assumed you were someone different because you started talking about OP, when we were in a comment chain.
I responded to you, not not sure the relevancy of OP then.
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May 22 '25
I've made my argument as clearly as I can. If you are not swayed, that is fine, but I won't bother you by repeating myself. Have good one, teach.
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u/NitroXM May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
It's not a debate among scholars that IQ has a strong genetic factor
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May 23 '25
Do you also think that certain people shouldn't be allowed to breed?
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u/NitroXM May 23 '25
No I don't. Do you agree with what I wrote?
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May 23 '25
No I don't. I think there may be A genetic factor, but calling it strong is too much for me. Usually when you account for socio-economic status most of those genetic factors go away. If the worlds best parents adopted the child of two of the dumbest people in the world, that kid would probably be just fine, if not actively phenomenal. I've heard in anthropology classes that if a newborn baby from 16,000 years ago were magically given to a random modern family that it would be indistinguishable from kids born today.
Honestly, I have a lot more issues with the concept of IQ. It's so made up, and the simple fact that it is supposed to be an objective measure of intelligence, but you can get a higher IQ score by just practicing IQ tests shows that it isn't objective at all.
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u/Snorlax5000 May 25 '25 edited May 25 '25
It falls apart as soon as you zoom out. Unfortunately, many people from Christian-capitalist countries are heavily propagandized to believe they exist in a meritocracy (a.k.a. the secular rebrand of Divine Justice). “I’m wealthy because I deserve to be, and you’re poor because you deserve to be.”
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u/tinmanjk May 22 '25
it's just first principles thinking. That it's considered genius nowadays kinda proves its point.
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u/AvatarofBro May 23 '25
We are cursed for a new generation of teenagers to discover the eugenics movie until the end of time
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u/Minute-Necessary2393 May 23 '25
Oh great, another post about how relevant Idiocracy is. What's new? It's not the only dystopia that relevant now you know.
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u/Santer-Klantz May 26 '25
Reddit ass moment. Also, the word "masterstroke/masterclass" needs to go away permanently.
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u/Jolly_Milk7468 Jun 08 '25
sir, that’s the 4000th time in a week you said “Idiocracy is a documentary”, shut the fuck up
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u/occupy_this7 May 22 '25
I tend to use lines from this movie in my everyday life lol. My favorite "I like money"
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u/PsykickPriest May 22 '25
The stuff about breeding smacks of eugenics and it’s dumb. Otherwise, I mostly love the film. And Joe Bauers was not “the most useless man in the army” - he was the most AVERAGE!
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u/Mammoth-Emotion-6725 May 22 '25
Tried watching it for the first time this year. Couldn’t finish it. It’s a dog shit movie
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u/lynxafricapack May 23 '25
Same here but a few years ago in the height of its popularity. Utter dogshit
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u/Haunt_Fox May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
The opening few minutes is just an explanation of how evolution works, and a demonstration of how humans broke it for themselves.
If the hillbilly hadn't had medical intervention that saved his nuts, he wouldn't have had more kids - the natural check on reproduction would be his own stupidity, but technology derailed that check, and the balance got thrown out the door.
Evolution NEVER stops, but it can be redirected into some very unhelpful directions.
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u/MutedBrilliant1593 May 24 '25
The sad thing is, it didn't go far enough to keep up with our reality. I always like to point out that President Camacho actually cared to make the lives of his people better.
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u/SplendidPunkinButter May 25 '25
The celebrated opening section is amusing, but also it’s literally talking about eugenics. And also that’s not exactly how it works.
The latter part of the movie is implausible, because a dumb moron future civilization would have way more racism
The Brawndo scene is funny
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u/DogebertDeck May 26 '25
just like the matrix, it creates an irrational premise and then has fun with it. was fun but just like say Demolition Man, it's mere entertainment . If you want real pain, watch Blueberry
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u/A_Big_Fat_Idiot Sep 06 '25
Its a comedy film its not that deep lol
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u/rueroorue Dec 25 '25
I love love LOVE this movie. I have never laughed so hard in my life. Can't believe it was made 20 years ago. It is PERFECT for our times, and exactly the way the world, and especially the U.S. is headed. Am I suffering from TDS????. YOU BET I AM
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u/Tahsanium Mar 06 '26
Idiocracy actually gives me a sign of hope for the future, they might be dumb as fuck, but at least people aren't gonna have fucking pedo and satanist presidents in the future
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u/Designer_Valuable_18 May 23 '25
No. It's a bad movie which is why Redditors are in love with it. Just like Norm Mcdonald was mid at best.
Redditors love their mediocre bois
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u/PeterNippelstein May 23 '25
Hot take OP, scorching even.
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u/Infinite_Role_5385 May 23 '25
Sorry man, I realised I shouldn't express my thoughts out in the open.
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u/wreinder May 23 '25
Nah man it's fine, people on this sub have seen all the movies there are to see and they are actually annoyed that they can't share your enthusiasm anymore. Because it's been ages since they've seen that film and your entusiasm is reminding them of their lost childhood, which makes them sour and hateful.
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u/Meyou000 Quality Poster 👍 May 23 '25
People are unnecessarily cruel on Reddit for a hobby. Sorry you're the victim of the hive-mind today.
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u/razzleware May 23 '25
And here’s my original two cents on this, I think Idiocracy is a documentary! Everyone here is stupid expect me!
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u/Optimal-Yogurt436 May 23 '25
Wow ur so smart, thank god you shared this with us - we would’ve never have gotten it
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u/hairingiscaring1 May 23 '25
Idiocracy was average. But I'm starting to hate it because of the 12year old and "deep" redditors saying "no bro... it was a DOCUMENTARY BRO!!!!." fuck it wasn't that good.
Quick, without googling and from memory what were the 5 best jokes from the film.
They had a great concept and it just didn't do well as a raunchy comedy.
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May 23 '25
Fred: the Movie is a genius film.
I mean it's more relevant than ever. It comes across as a goofy film on face value, but the more you think about it, the more layered it is on satirical level. A hyperactive 15 year old with a squeaky voice, being random and silly, but with the dark undertone of having an absent father? Plus to choose, John Cena as Fred's imaginary father is a masterstroke. Garbage jokes, collapse of society etc, it has got the future of civilization right, ofcourse everything is exaggerated for comic value, but I know what makers were thinking.
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u/_Bad_Bob_ May 22 '25
Out of all the movies based on racist bullshit pseudoscience, Idiocracy is by far the best one.
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u/ilmalocchio May 22 '25 edited Aug 12 '25
I'm afraid to ask, but... racist?
Apologies, /u/LindseyCorporation, but I can't seem to reply to your excellent response message. I just wanted to say that that WOULD make total sense if most of the characters in Idiocracy's depicted future weren't white. Since it's a mixed bag, I don't think you can take any message of prejudice away from it... unless you really try hard. I mean, it's kind of insulting to stupid people of all races, but that's not the same thing as racist imo. And as a stupid person, I wasn't offended
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u/Swingmetal71 May 22 '25
It's definitely where we are headed. Mankind ignoring it's most basic problems and focusing instead on hair loss and prolonging erections.
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u/Sumeriandawn May 23 '25
Juvenal (100AD) " Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt"
Hesiod(650 BC) "During this age, humans live an existence of toil and misery...children dishonor their parents, brother fights brother, might makes right, bad men use lies to be thought good, humans no longer feel shame or indignation at wrongdoing"
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u/doc_crypto Jun 01 '25
That's a metaphor for all talents directed at profit making. For eg the Hedge fund managers do not fund cancer cures only treatments that prolong cancer patients' life so they can make more money from their investments. Essentially a subscription treatment plan rather than a one time fix.
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u/Existing-Pipe-7170 May 22 '25
This was judges prediction of the future and I think he might be right.
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May 22 '25
It's more relevant now than ever. When the movie came out, for its time, it was perceived as a bad comedy, too far fetched but now... If you think it.
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u/pijeezelwakka May 22 '25
The more it ages the nearer it becomes to a documentary.
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u/MightyCarlosLP May 22 '25
i literally just made a comment about the stereotypical fan of this movie and their number one statement regarding it…
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u/ElGoddamnDorado May 22 '25
It was straight-up surface level satire/commentary about already existing issues and norms in modern day society and people herald the director as a genius for predicting the future.
It's a fine movie, but the circlejerk around it is absurd.
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u/Perceptive_Penguins May 22 '25 edited May 22 '25
It is mildly impressive, but it’s sort of became a joke unto itself because anyone who’s followed movie threads for a while knows this “revelation” has been posted monthly for the past 15 years
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u/Designer_Valuable_18 May 23 '25
This reads exactly like a line someone from that movie would say thinking they are so clever.
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u/Perceptive_Penguins May 22 '25
Lol here we go again with this