I have a friend who is a good person overall but really buys into the "real life is becoming Idiocracy" bit. I was frustrated, because I'm not the best real-time arguer so I don't think I did a good job of expressing why the movie is disgusting trash.

I attempted to talk about how it blames people instead of systems, and how it's an awful eugenics narrative. But we quickly got into a rabbit hole about whether intelligence can be passed on genetically or not and if that matters, and other dumb topics that went nowhere.

What's a concise and offline-compatible way of explaining why Idiocracy is bad & decent people should find it gross?

  • Alex_Jones [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    One of the bigger things that bothers me about the movie is that it ignores the nature of class. For instance, it suggests that people have a lot of kids because they're stupid instead of the reality of being on the receiving end of legislation and systems that keep them immersed in propaganda and kept from accessing health care, childcare, nutrition, or education.

    If the movie changed slightly and reflected capitalism left unchecked for centuries, the movie could still make sense. Instead of some eugenics explanation, it could be lead in pipes/air, lack of education, and exploitation by a tiny upper class that keeps the rest satiated with the meaningless things.

    But at that point, it would be Brave New World with extra steps.