Idiocracy Actually Has A Better Society Than Real Life, Stream On Hulu
If you’re reading this, you likely already know of Idiocracy, the 2006 comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge which centers on a dystopian society of dummies. While the film was obviously written to represent a satirical take on the worst-case scenario for the future of humanity as we know it, I would argue that the film presents one crucial detail that actually makes the world of Idiocracy a better place to live than our actual reality.
In the film, the smartest people alive are immediately thrust into positions of power, as a means to ensure that their big brains are put to good use, in stark contrast to real life.
Dystopian Future Isn’t As Bad As It Sounds
Let’s rewind just a little bit for those of you who may not have seen the hilarious film. The plot of Idiocracy centers around an Army librarian of slightly lower-than-average intelligence named Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), who is selected to undergo a cryosleep mission that causes him to wake up 500 years in the future. Unfortunately, upon waking up, Joe learns that basic intelligence has been bred out of modern society by some reasoning that is a little unintentionally fascist on-part of the filmmakers.
As Joe attempts to navigate the bold new world and get answers to satisfy his confusion, he is bullied by an anti-intellectual establishment, and placed in prison through a Kafkaesque series of blunders. Up to this point, Idiocracy seems like the worst possible scenario for any society, complete with a grain shortage because the people in charge of agriculture have been watering their crops with an off-brand stand-in for Gatorade called Brawndo.
Intimidating Intelligence (Kind Of)
The turning point for Idiocracy takes place while Joe is in prison. While he is being processed, he is made to take an incredibly basic IQ test that essentially determines he is the smartest man currently alive. As soon as his results are confirmed, he is immediately taken to the White House, given a title as Secretary of the Interior, and shouldered with the responsibility to save the barren crop yields.
Smarter Than What We’re Currently Dealing With
While the world of Idiocracy obviously still has its problems, this one detail genuinely makes the dystopia a better place to live than modern-day America, as our politicians are too dumb to pour Brawndo out of a boot with instructions printed on the heel. Watching this movie right now, in the midst of one of the dumbest election cycles of our lifetimes, truly makes you appreciate just how good a system would be that forced the smartest humans into a position of authority, instead of the humans dumb and starved for attention enough to actually run for office.
A Blessing In Disguise
This is an issue that pervades both sides of the political spectrum as well, best evidenced by the fact that the upcoming debates are implementing new rules to prevent either candidate from turning the whole operation into even more of a clown show than it already is. If you ask me, I’d say this Idiocracy style of governance would be a massive blessing right now, especially in the wake of the global pandemic.
Stream Idiocracy On Hulu
GFR SCORE
If you haven’t seen Idiocracy yet, now’s as good a time as any to jump on Hulu and stream the movie. The film has aged in a number of interesting ways, which makes watching it in 2024 a real blast. The movie currently touts a 71 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and continues to crack up audiences across the globe with each passing year.
