Remember how great 2006 was? George W. Bush was the President, the subprime bubble was yet to pop, and the movie Idiocracy had just premiered to both critical and cult acclaim. Produced in the age of the McMansion and "would you like to super size that combo?", Idiocracy offered us a dark outlook on the long-term prospects of human civilization.
Set 500 years into the future, Idiocracy portrays an American society governed by the stupidest. Truly moronic citizens ooze through a desolate, corporate controlled hellscape. In 2505, the most trusted public institution is Costco, water has been replaced by "Brawndo," the movie's Gatorade equivalent, and Carl's Jr. functions as a stand-in for social services. The movie's thesis was simple: without predators to thin the herd, natural selection simply stopped 'working' in human beings*. Where 'intelligent' humans put-off having children often enough to render their intelligence extinct, those less intellectually gifted members of our civilization just kept breeding and breeding and breeding. The movie's opening scene explains this succinctly:
Though Idiocracy was produced ten years ago, its message is perhaps even more potent in the age of a potential President Trump. Back in February, Etan Cohen (who wrote the script with director Mike Judge) fired off the following tweet:
Which led to Cohen to team up with Judge and Terry Crews (who plays President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Drew Herbert Camacho in the film) to create a series of political ads that took a shots at Trump. Unsurprisingly, Fox shelved the ads, Judge told The Daily Beast.
In the wake of that, Judge will be reuniting with Crews and Dax Shepard (who plays Frito) for a 10th anniversary screening of Idiocracy in Los Angeles. Shepard Fairey's Make America Smart Again voting initiative has partnered up with LA’s outdoor screening event series, Eat|See|Hear, for their final outdoor movie of the summer. . The event will take place on Saturday, September 24 at 5 p.m. in the Echo Park Tennis Courts and Baseball Field. For tickets, visit Eat|See|Hear's website.
Take a peek at Make America Smart Again's website for more information about the specific location and tickets.
*The writer recognizes that natural selection doesn't ever stop 'working,' and in an evolutionary context has nothing to do with traits like intelligence. It's a movie for Pete's sake.
