Idiocracy Ramble

Idiocracy recently burrowed itself into my brain because a video appeared in my YouTube feed titled “WTF Happened To Idiocracy.” It discusses how Idiocracy was severely buried by 20th Century Fox to the point they didn’t bother making a theatrical trailer for it. I’ve never heard of a Hollywood studio so resentful of a film they’re profiting from that they didn’t put a trailer into theaters.

This reminded me of that clip from The Joe Rogan Experience I previously commented on regarding whether or not you can currently make an edgy comedy. I believe that no matter how offensive or polite a comedy film is, Hollywood doesn’t want it. Idiocracy‘s horrible release confirms my beliefs. That film came out in 2006, a time when we were allegedly so politically incorrect and free, and 20th Century Fox saw no value in one of the better films released the same year they proudly endorsed a far worse film also starring Luke Wilson.

I’m not shocked by this because Hollywood is a humorless town. Privileged people with no ties to reality always lean towards heavy handed drama. Along with finding no home in a stuffy awards season, comedies also fail to be as financially lucrative as any IP tentpole. Just the existence of comedies like Idiocracy has always been surprising.

Post-2006, Idiocracy became my generation’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. By that I mean it quickly went from unique cult classic to something with a very exhausting presence.

While still respecting Idiocracy, people have made it so repulsive during Donald Trump’s political reign. Milquetoast MSNBC liberals love putting a smug grin on while saying “this film predicted everything.” It’s another example of politics ruining everything. I weep for anybody who didn’t see this film before “Idiocracy Was Supposed To Be A Warning, Not A Documentary” shirts were readily available next to other nauseating slogans like “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History.”

I resent the idea that Idiocracy predicted anything because it was made during the Bush administration. No matter how much the Democratic Party attempts to rehabilitate his image, George W. Bush was a more dangerous entity than Donald Trump. Trump is a bi-polar clown who just wants to entertain stadiums and play golf. Bush was a hollow Lonesome Rhodes doll operated by Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Similar to how fast Idiocracy went from unique to exhausting, it’s unforgivable how quick George W. Bush went from 21st Century Hitler to cuddly Resistance grandpa.

Staying on Trump for a second, I’m thankful he won’t live long enough to be rehabilitated. Thank Christ he’s too old to see the day he holds hands with Rachel Maddow at the 2040 DNC. The reality we live in is fucked enough. We live in a world where Ronald Reagan, the alt-right entity of his time, is now considered the traditional GOP candidate.

I’m not sure how any Republican shocks Americans anymore given how long they’ve been fucking around. Could a single book ever contain every unhinged, drunken night during Richard Nixon’s presidency? Between the Nixon and Ford administration, two administrations Henry Kissinger had a home in, how are we capable of pretending Trump is this new, unimaginable threat to democracy?

One of the few slogans I don’t roll my eyes at is “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” When it comes to predicting the future, there’s no safer bet. Not only do people give zero fucks about the past, they really don’t care about the present either. People rarely noticed Idiocracy coming out of the Bush years and acknowledged we were already living in Idiocracy. Whether it’s Jackass or America’s Funniest Home Videos, Ow! My Balls! was already a hit show.

Realizations like that make the “Idiocracy Was Supposed To Be A Warning” shit that more infuriating. Things were already fucked before Idiocracy existed. Honestly compared to our bullshit world, Idiocracy is a utopia. Just imagine getting a handjob while drinking a Pumpkin Spice Latte as Chet Baker’s “Autumn Leaves” plays in a Starbucks. I bet I’d no longer uncontrollably mutter “I should put a fucking gun in my mouth” and quickly look around to see nearby heard me if I lived in a place as delightful as Idiocracy.