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''Idiocracy'' is a 2006 American
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
co-produced and directed by
Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...
from a screenplay written by Judge and Etan Cohen based on a story written by Judge. The plot follows
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
librarian Joe Bauers and
prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
Rita, who undergo a government
hibernation Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic reduction entered by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is mos ...
experiment. Joe and Rita awake five hundred years later in a
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n anti-intellectual society. The cast includes Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard,
Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...
, David Herman, Justin Long, Andrew Wilson, and Brad Jordan. The concept of ''Idiocracy'' dates back to a concept Judge envisioned in 1996. Judge finished a script with the working title ''3001'' in 2001, rewriting the film a year later. Filming took place throughout 2004 at Austin Studios and other cities in Texas. ''Idiocracy'' serves as a social
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
that touches on issues including
anti-intellectualism Anti-intellectualism is hostility to and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectualism, commonly expressed as deprecation of education and philosophy and the dismissal of art, literature, history, and science as impractical, politica ...
,
commercialism Commercialism is the application of both manufacturing and consumption towards personal usage, or the practices, methods, aims, and distribution of products in a free market geared toward generating a profit. Commercialism can also refer, positi ...
,
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
, dysgenics,
voluntary childlessness Voluntary childlessness or childfreeness is the active choice not to have children and not to Adoption, adopt children. Use of the word ''childfree'' was first recorded in 1901 and entered common usage among Feminism, feminists during the 1970s. ...
, and
overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a state in which the population of a species is larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migr ...
.
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
was hesitant to promote the film, refusing to grant it a
wide release In the motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across a country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical release in ...
, and did not screen the film for critics. The decision not to market ''Idiocracy'' was seen as unexpected, following the success of '' Office Space'' (1999), and led to speculation. According to Crews, the film's satirical depiction of corporations made the film financially unviable, while Judge attributed 20th Century Fox's decision to negative
test screening A test screening, or test audience, is a preview screening of a film or television series before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complet ...
s; Judge stated that 20th Century Fox believed that the film would develop a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
through its DVD release, similar to ''Office Space''. The film was released in the United States on September 1, 2006. Despite its lack of a major theatrical release, which resulted in a $495,000 gross at the box office, the film received positive reviews from critics and has since become a
cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
.


Plot

In 2005,
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
librarian Joe Bauers is selected for a government
suspended animation Suspended animation is the slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. States of suspended animation are common in micro-organisms and some plant tissue, such as seeds. Many animals, including l ...
experiment as the most average individual in the armed forces. Lacking a suitable female candidate, the military hires a prostitute, Rita, by dismissing charges against her and paying off her
pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...
, Upgrayedd. A scandal involving the officer overseeing the initiative and Upgrayedd forces the closure of the military base under which Joe and Rita were placed in hibernation, suspending the project indefinitely. Over the next five hundred years, average intelligence decreases due to societal expectations, discouraging well-educated individuals from having children as the less-educated reproduce indiscriminately;
genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...
is forgone in favor of hair loss and
erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a Human penis, penile erection with sufficient rigidity and durat ...
treatments. As a result, infrastructure deteriorates, low comedy and vulgarity defines culture, and
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
is left unfettered. Five hundred years later, a garbage avalanche disturbs Joe and Rita's hibernation chambers. Joe awakens in Frito Pendejo's apartment in previously-occupied
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Asking for help he is laughed at as homosexual by the residents who speak a mixture of "hillbilly, Valley Girl, inner-city slang, and various grunts." He enters a hospital, believing the army administered hallucinogenic drugs to him. Joe realizes the year upon reading a magazine and his hospital bill, but he is arrested at a
Carl's Jr. Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast-food restaurant chain store, chain owned by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., who also owns Hardee's, with franchisees in North and South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa. ...
for not having a
bar code A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...
tattoo and being unable to pay his bill. Joe is sent to trial; Frito represents Joe but alleges he destroyed his apartment. The judge perceives Joe to have a homosexual demeanor, finding him guilty and sentencing him to prison. Rita resumes her job as a prostitute. Joe is sent to a correctional facility, where a faulty identification machine registers his name as "Not Sure", and takes a simplified aptitude test. He escapes from prison after deceiving a guard by saying he had served his sentence and was scheduled for release. Joe visits Frito, who agrees to guide him to a time machine—located within a large Costco Wholesale store—after Joe promises to create a savings account in Frito's name when he returns to the 21st century, earning him billions in
compound interest Compound interest is interest accumulated from a principal sum and previously accumulated interest. It is the result of reinvesting or retaining interest that would otherwise be paid out, or of the accumulation of debts from a borrower. Compo ...
. With Rita, Joe and Frito enter the store, but Joe is arrested after his bar code is scanned. Joe is taken to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and appointed secretary of the interior by president Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho due to extraordinary performance on the aptitude test. In an address, Camacho states that Joe will resolve unfruitful crop yields,
dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transpo ...
s, and a stagnant economy, among other issues, within a week or face imprisonment. Joe and Rita visit a crop field. Frito gives him a useless map to the time machine. Joe discovers that the country's crops are being watered with Brawndo, a sports drink whose parent company owns the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...
, the
Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
, and the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
; the concentration of
electrolyte An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble Salt (chemistry), salts, acids, and Base (chemistry), bases, dissolved in a polar solven ...
s in Brawndo has destroyed natural
topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...
, causing dust storms. Despite opposition to his plan in the form of
circular reasoning Circular reasoning (, "circle in proving"; also known as circular logic) is a fallacy, logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with. Circular reasoning is not a formal logical fallacy, but a pragmatic defect ...
from the Cabinet, Joe convinces Camacho to use water instead of Brawndo in irrigation. Consequently, Brawndo—who employs half of the population—files for bankruptcy, inciting riots as immediate improvement to the crops did not materialize. At the Extreme Court, Joe is sentenced to public execution in a monster truck demolition derby against undefeated rehabilitation officer Beef Supreme. Rita and Frito discover that Joe's reintroduction of water to the soil allowed crops to grow. Rita pays a cameraman to broadcast the crops on the stadium's Jumbotron, prompting Camacho to grant Joe a presidential pardon. After discovering the time machine is just an amusement ride, a detail Frito was aware of, Joe becomes president and marries Rita, with whom he has three children, who are "the three smartest kids in the world." Frito becomes vice president and has 32 children, "the dumbest kids ever to walk the earth".


Cast

* Luke Wilson as Joe Bauers / Not Sure – A former librarian in the United States Army and eventually the
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. * Maya Rudolph as Rita – A prostitute and eventually the
first lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...
. * Dax Shepard as Frito Pendejo – A lawyer and eventually the
vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
. *
Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...
as Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho – The
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. * Andrew Wilson as Beef Supreme – A rehabilitation officer * Brad Jordan as Upgrayedd – A pimp Other cast members include David Herman as the secretary of state, Justin Long as Doctor Lexus, Stephen Root as Judge Hector, Anthony "Citric" Campos as the Secretary of Defense, Thomas Haden Church as Brawndo's chief executive, and Sara Rue as the attorney general in an uncredited role.


Themes

The idea of a
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n society based on dysgenics can be traced back to the work of eugenicist Sir
Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...
.
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
' 1895 novel ''
The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...
'' postulates a society of humans who have devolved due to leaving the work to others, while the "Epsilon-minus Semi-Morons" of
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...
's 1932 novel ''
Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hier ...
'' have been intentionally bred to provide a low-grade workforce. Perhaps the closest predecessor is the 1951 short story " The Marching Morons" by Cyril M. Kornbluth.


Production

Early working titles included ''The United States of Uhh-merica'' and ''3001''. Filming took place in 2004 on several stages at Austin Studios and in the
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
cities of Austin, San Marcos, Pflugerville, and
Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...
. Test screenings around March 2005 produced unofficial reports of poor audience reactions. After some re-shooting in the summer of 2005, a UK test screening in August produced a report of a positive impression.


Release

''Idiocracy''s original release date was August 5, 2005, according to Mike Judge. In April 2006, a release date was set for September 1, 2006. In August, numerous articles revealed that release was to be put on hold indefinitely. ''Idiocracy'' was released as scheduled but only in seven cities (Los Angeles, Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Mike Judge's hometown, Austin, Texas), and expanded to only 130 theaters, not the usual
wide release In the motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across a country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical release in ...
of 600 or more theaters. According to the ''
Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...
'',
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
, the film's distributor, was entirely absent in promoting the feature; while posters were released to theaters, "no movie trailers, no ads, and only two stills", and no press kits were released. The film was not screened for critics. Lack of concrete information from Fox led to speculation that the distributor may have actively tried to keep the film from being seen by a large audience, while fulfilling a contractual obligation for theatrical release ahead of a DVD release, according to Ryan Pearson of the AP. That speculation was followed by open criticism of the studio's lack of support from
Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...
, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', and ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
''. ''Time''s Joel Stein wrote "the film's ads and trailers tested atrociously", but, "still, abandoning ''Idiocracy'' seems particularly unjust, since Judge has made a lot of money for Fox." In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Dan Mitchell argued that Fox might be shying away from the cautionary tale about low-intelligence dysgenics because the company did not want to offend either its viewers or potential advertisers portrayed negatively in the film. This theory has been given extra weight by Terry Crews, who stars in the movie as President Camacho. In a 2018 interview with '' GQ Magazine'', he talked of advertisers being unhappy at the way they were portrayed, which affected the studio's efforts to promote the movie. He said, "The rumor was, because we used real corporations in our comedy (I mean, Starbucks was giving hand jobs) these companies gave us their name thinking they were gonna get 'pumped up', and then we're like, 'Welcome to Costco, we love you' elivered in monotone All these real corporations were like, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute' ... there were a lot of people trying to back out, but it was too late. And so Fox, who owned the movie, decided, 'We're going to release this in as few theaters as legally possible'. So it got a release in, probably, three theaters over one weekend and it was sucked out, into the vortex". In 2017, Judge told ''The New York Times'' that the film's lack of marketing and wide release was the result of negative
test screening A test screening, or test audience, is a preview screening of a film or television series before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complet ...
s. He added that Fox subsequently decided to not give the film a strong marketing push because the distributor believed it would develop a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
through word-of-mouth and recoup its budget through
home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...
sales, as Judge's previous film '' Office Space'' had.


Box office

From a budget of $2.4 million, ''Idiocracy'' earned a worldwide total of $495,303; $444,093 domestically, and $51,210 internationally.


Reception

Although it was not screened in advance for critics, ''Idiocracy'' received positive reviews. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has a score of 71%, with an average rating of 6.4/10, based on 52 reviews. The website's "Critics Consensus" for the film reads, "Frustratingly uneven yet enjoyable overall, ''Idiocracy'' skewers society's devolution with an amiably goofy yet deceptively barbed wit." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reviewer Carina Chocano described it as "spot on" satire and a "pitch-black, bleakly hilarious vision of an American future", although the "plot, naturally, is silly and not exactly bound by logic. But it's Judge's gimlet-eyed knack for nightmarish extrapolation that makes ''Idiocracy'' a cathartic delight." In an ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' review, Joshua Rich gave the film an "EW Grade" of "D", stating that "Mike Judge implores us to reflect on a future in which Britney and K-Fed are like the new
Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
." '' The A.V. Club''s Nathan Rabin found Luke Wilson "perfectly cast ... as a quintessential everyman"; and wrote of the film "Like so much superior science fiction, ''Idiocracy'' uses a fantastical future to comment on a present. ... There's a good chance that Judge's smartly lowbrow ''Idiocracy'' will be mistaken for what it's satirizing." Gerald Casale, a founding member of the new wave band
Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...
, said ''Idiocracy'' is "the movie Devo should have made." John Patterson, critic for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', wrote, "''Idiocracy'' isn't a masterpiece—Fox seems to have stiffed Judge on money at every stage—but it's endlessly funny", and of the film's popularity, described seeing the film "in a half-empty house. Two days later, same place, same show—packed-out." Brazilian news magazine '' Veja'' called the film " politically incorrect", recommending that readers see the DVD and wrote "the film went flying through mericantheaters and did not open in Brazil. Proof that the future contemplated by Judge is not that far away." Critic Alexandre Koball of the Brazilian website CinePlayers.com gave the movie a score of 5 out of 5. Another staff reviewer wrote, "''Idiocracy'' is not exactly ... funny nor ... innovative but it's a movie to make you think, even if for five minutes. And for that it manages to stay one level above the terrible average of comedy movies released in the last years in the United States."


Home media

''Idiocracy'' was released on DVD on January 9, 2007. It has earned $9 million on DVD rentals, over 20 times its gross domestic box office revenue of under $450,000. In the UK, uncut versions of the film were shown on satellite channel Sky Comedy on February 26, 2009, with the Freeview premiere shown on Film4 on April 26, 2009.


Spin-offs

In August 2012, Crews said he was in talks with director Judge and Fox over a possible ''Idiocracy'' spin-off featuring his President Camacho character, initially conceived as a
web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...
. A week before the 2012 elections, he reprised the character in a series of short sketches for Funny or Die. Before the 2016 presidential election, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' published an article stating that Judge and Cohen would produce ''Idiocracy''-themed campaign ads opposing Donald Trump's presidential campaign if given permission from Fox to do so. Crews later told ''
Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'' that the ads would not go forward as planned, but that they would have featured Camacho wrestling in a cage match against the other candidates.


Legacy

During the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, the film's co-writer Etan Cohen and others expressed opinions that the film's predictions were converging on accuracy, a sentiment repeated by director Judge during the elections that year. At the time, Judge also compared Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
—who was later elected president—to the film's pro wrestler-turned-president Camacho. When asked about predicting the future, he quipped, "I'm no prophet, I was off by 490 years." Comparisons have been made between the film and Trump's first presidency. An article for '' Collider'' pointed out the ways in which Trump's positions echoed the political decisions of the characters in the film in areas such as science, business, entertainment, environment, healthcare, law enforcement, and politics.
Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
s have spawned comparisons to Trump and characters in the film.


See also

*
Dumbing down Dumbing down is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, cinema, news, video games, and culture. Originating in 1933, the term "dumbing down" was movie-business slang, used by screenplay writers, meanin ...
* Dysgenics * Fertility and intelligence * Kakistocracy * '' The Marching Morons''


References


External links

* * * {{Mike Judge 2006 films 2000s science fiction comedy films American science fiction comedy films American satirical films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Mike Judge Films about suspended animation American dystopian films 2000s dystopian films Films about fictional presidents of the United States Films set in 2005 Films set in the 26th century Films shot in Austin, Texas 20th Century Fox films Films about television Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set in the White House Films with screenplays by Etan Cohen Films with screenplays by Mike Judge Films scored by Theodore Shapiro 2006 comedy films 2000s political comedy films Films about intellectual disability 2000s American films English-language science fiction comedy films