# Idiocracy - Cecil's favorite movie (or worst nightmare)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2009, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461 "2009-09-01T09:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/21 "2009-09-01T19:34:08Z")
The world of 1984 was nothing like the world of _1984_. EPIC FAIL, George Orwell! Unless, of course, it wasn’t so much a prediction of the future as a commentary on the author’s own time. “Big Brother” caught on as a metaphor not because it was part of some abstract vision of the future, but because it reflects the unease people felt then and feel now. “You talk like a fag and you’re shit’s all retarded” caught on as a catchphrase not because it’s some futuristic gibberish, but because it reflects the way people respond _today_ to things they don’t understand. _Star Trek_’s holodeck is a speculative extrapolation of technology. _Ow, My Balls!_ is an _America’s Funniest Home Videos_ highlight reel. Is Mike Judge a classist snob? I don’t know, but it seems to me the white-collar types in _Office Space_ don’t come off too great either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/22 "2009-09-01T19:41:42Z")
> [@myskepticsight](#): > > In Idiocracy, EVERYONE is stupid except Joe and the hooker chick that were from the past. The common folk are dumb, the doctors are dumb, the president and cabinet are all dumb. It’s not about class, it’s about the decline of civilization as a whole. Which made me wonder: who made the microphones? Who made the plane the doctor’s girlfriend flies? Who made the movie and TV cameras to allow “Ow, my balls!” and “Ass” to be filmed. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/23 "2009-09-01T19:46:28Z")
> [@Absconditus](#): > > movies that had stories so you cared about who’s ass it was, and why it was farting… > [@Absconditus](#): > > who’s ass it was, and why it was farting… > [@Absconditus](#): > > who’s ass it was > [@Absconditus](#): > > who’s ass > [@Absconditus](#): > > who’s Irony? > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It and similar stories like _The Marching Morons_ strike me as basically rather disgusting class bigotry, since it’s based on the assumption that the common people are stupid. No, it’s based on the assumption that stupid people have more babies. Now, you can argue whether or not that’s true, but you’re not allowed to get the whole basic premise wrong. Next time, watch the damn movie before you rant about it. ---
**Author:** ![Absconditus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Absconditus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absconditus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/24 "2009-09-01T19:47:32Z")
> [@](#): > > I didn’t say you did. I was making a generalization. Hence “people.” I apologize. Since you made the comment on my thread about _Idiocracy_, I thought perhaps you were including my observations in your generalization. No harm done. ---
**Author:** ![Absconditus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Absconditus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absconditus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/25 "2009-09-01T19:50:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Irony? Since I was quoting directly from the screenplay, I don’t think I was being ironic in using “who’s” instead of “whose,” which is the correct usage in the referred instance. Mike Judge may have been, though. Or maybe he’s an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/26 "2009-09-01T20:05:07Z")
> [@Absconditus](#): > > Since I was quoting directly from the screenplay, I don’t think I was being ironic in using “who’s” instead of “whose,” which is the correct usage in the referred instance. Mike Judge may have been, though. Or maybe he’s an idiot. Where, if anywhere, did you get a copy of the physical screenplay used for shooting? It should be pointed out that Google shows 91 results for the grammatically-correct “whose ass it was and why it was farting,” including oft-used-for-research IMDb and Wikipedia, as opposed to 32 for the incorrect “who’s ass it was and why it was farting.” ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/27 "2009-09-01T20:05:36Z")
Yeah, fuck Jonathan Swift, too! Those poor Irish never did end up selling those babies! What a moran! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/28 "2009-09-01T20:10:20Z")
[Morans](http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/f/f/get_a_brain_morans.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/29 "2009-09-01T20:28:09Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > [QUOTE=Der Trihs] > It and similar stories like The Marching Morons strike me as basically rather disgusting class bigotry, since it’s based on the assumption that the common people are stupid. No, it’s based on the assumption that stupid people have more babies. Now, you can argue whether or not that’s true, but you’re not allowed to get the whole basic premise wrong. [/QUOTE] Nonsense. Poor people have more children; the whole logic behind such works is that poverty=stupidity, therefore the fact that poor people have more children means that the future will be full of stupid people. That’s what the “idiocracy” scenario has ALWAYS been about. America sterilized thousands of poor people under that theory; after all, if they were poor they _ **must** _ be stupid, and we can’t let the stupid outbreed the smart ( aka wealthy ), now can we? ---
**Author:** ![Absconditus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Absconditus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absconditus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/30 "2009-09-01T20:31:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Where, if anywhere, did you get a copy of the physical screenplay used for shooting? Off of Google, that frustrating den of ambiguity, which obtains frustratingly incorporeal results. Damn abstractions and their non-existent eyes! Whether it was the final, accepted shooting script or not (The character of Frito is listed as Dizz), it was still written by Mike Judge and used, at one time or another, as justification to make a pile of images and sounds out of a collection of words and pulp. Whether the usage was ironic or not, I’m unable to declare. ---
**Author:** ![Absconditus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Absconditus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absconditus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/31 "2009-09-01T20:37:40Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s what the “idiocracy” scenario has ALWAYS been about. America sterilized thousands of poor people under that theory; after all, if they were poor they must be stupid, and we can’t let the stupid outbreed the smart ( aka wealthy ), now can we? A strangely robust number of responders seem to think this comedy was meant to be taken seriously. Why is _Idiocracy_ derided for being “silly” and “unlikely,” whereas, say, _Spaceballs_ is cheered for being silly and unlikely. It’s a comedy, ladies and gentlemen; please ease up on the righteous indignation. The folks who started _Big Lebowski_ threads never had to abide by this. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/32 "2009-09-01T20:45:53Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Which made me wonder: who made the microphones? Who made the plane the doctor’s girlfriend flies? Who made the movie and TV cameras to allow “Ow, my balls!” and “Ass” to be filmed. Who didn’t realize Brawndo wasn’t very healthy, and shouldn’t replace water, and wouldn’t be sufficient hydration to grow plant life? How do you forget about the useful properties of one of the most useful substances on earth? And Joe wasn’t some genius, he was very average. But at least the damn dude knew water would help plants grow. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/33 "2009-09-01T20:50:23Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It and similar stories like _The Marching Morons_ strike me as basically rather disgusting class bigotry, since it’s based on the assumption that the common people are stupid. On the contrary, it’s based on the fact that stupid people are common. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/34 "2009-09-01T20:50:57Z")
> [@Absconditus](#): > > A strangely robust number of responders seem to think this comedy was meant to be taken seriously. Why is _Idiocracy_ derided for being “silly” and “unlikely,” whereas, say, _Spaceballs_ is cheered for being silly and unlikely. People haven’t used the premise of _Spaceballs_ to engage in forced mass sterilizations; there’s one difference. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/35 "2009-09-01T21:46:22Z")
> [@Absconditus](#): > > A strangely robust number of responders seem to think this comedy was meant to be taken seriously. They are addressing the premise of the movie, which you also did in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/36 "2009-09-01T21:49:35Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > (It’s also a classic example of the truism that comedy is conservative.) Interesting, I haven’t heard this angle before. Can you elaborate a bit? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/37 "2009-09-01T21:54:31Z")
I must be out of the loop could someone please link to a news story for all these forced mass sterilizations based upon the premise of Idiocracy please because google isn’t bringing anything up. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/38 "2009-09-01T21:59:21Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Nonsense. Poor people have more children; the whole logic behind such works is that poverty=stupidity, therefore the fact that poor people have more children means that the future will be full of stupid people. That’s what the “idiocracy” scenario has ALWAYS been about. America sterilized thousands of poor people under that theory; after all, if they were poor they _ **must** _ be stupid, and we can’t let the stupid outbreed the smart ( aka wealthy ), now can we? The movie never once suggests that the stupidity is native and genetic, which is the only basis on which your criticism is valid. Rich people get better educations. Far from being a conservative premise, it’s much more an extrapolation of the current problems facing public education–i.e., the education of poor people. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/39 "2009-09-01T22:04:02Z")
> [@Absconditus](#): > > A strangely robust number of responders seem to think this comedy was meant to be taken seriously. Why is _Idiocracy_ derided for being “silly” and “unlikely,” whereas, say, _Spaceballs_ is cheered for being silly and unlikely. It’s a comedy, ladies and gentlemen; please ease up on the righteous indignation. > > The folks who started _Big Lebowski_ threads never had to abide by this. The movie Idiocracy takes on an arrogant, self-satisfied, eletist tone. Spaceballs does not. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461/40 "2009-09-01T22:09:33Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Interesting, I haven’t heard this angle before. Can you elaborate a bit? It doesn’t mean politically conservative, it means it has a conservative attitude: it always mocks new things. That’s not to say older things are always accepted, but new ideas and inventions are where new material comes from. “Look at all these hipster jerks with their iPhones!” “What’s with this Twitter thing?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-cecils-favorite-movie-or-worst-nightmare/508461.md?page=3)