Now playing nearly every night on some cable movie channel (at last count, we had over 15 assorted Cinemaxes, HBOs, Showtimes and Starz!s), Mike Judge’s Idiocracy is no Office Space. It certainly has some worthwhile things to say about the conditions under which we live and what may await us down the road from here, but you don’t get the frightening moments déjà vu that you do with Office Space. Idiocracy’s premise is brilliant: In the future, our culture and people in general will be much stupider thanks to relentless advertising and the triumph of attitude over substance. The naked commercialism of NASCAR + the whup-ass of WWE Raw – interest in science or art among young people = Our Bleak Future. Concept gets an A+, but execution proves much trickier. What makes this movie worth your time—and it is—are the details.
We got a good look at the money the other night, and it still gives us a chuckle. See, in this future, money isn’t something you’d use to, say, buy a house or put your children through school. Money is flash and muscle, a sign that you’re better and cooler than everyone else. Money doesn’t translate to security or even freedom—it translates to a mad pimped ride or some other conspicuously expensive lowbrow toy. People don’t receive money because they perform a service valuable to society, they receive money because they are awesome.
One character hands Maya Rudolph a bill; she glances at it and says something along the lines of “Wow, I guess money has changed a lot.” It’s a 10 million dollar bill; the portrait in the oval is of (rather than some wussy old president) a long-haired dude wearing a black vest and a hell-yeah grimace. Slogans like “In God We Trust” have been replaced by “That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!” and “Haulin’ Ass, Gettin’ Paid!” The current-era buzzword “extreme” itself has been amped up in the future: People long for “exxxtreme” products and experiences—the 10 million dollar bill announces itself as “Ten Exxxtra Large.” Read this thorough post at SpeakUp for more insight into the 'roided-up logos and brands in Idiocracy.
The clever stupidity of Idiocracy goes on and on. Sponsorship run wild (and a dearth of creativity) leads people to name their children after products—one main character is named Frito, and the President of the United States (a former porn star and professional wrestler) is Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. The president’s cabinet members wear giant bling-bling medallions that bear their departmental seal. And the House of Representatives has a rowdy, fight-night ambience befitting its new name: House of Representin’.
Just see the movie, wuss, 'cause it’s kickass and stuff. Suck it! Hasta la vista, baby. Seeya, wouldn’t wanna be ya. Fight for your right to party. Boo-ya! Peace.
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