Mediocrity Rules!

by Katrina Bertz

The theme of Idiocracy revolves around the dangers of modern capitalism and consumerism. It presents a futuristic world, which is an exaggeration of what could happen. This is a common theme in comedy: the political satire. As King states, “some forms of comedy, such as political satire and black comedy, can be sharp, controversial and, in some cases, commercially or politically risky for those involved,” (King p.2). The same can be said for Idiocracy in that, it was a smart satire, which was poorly marketed by the distributors and misunderstood by audiences due to its content. It posits a world that has gone through years of de-evolution, to the point where everyone is incredibly dumb and corporations completely control the population. This is what Mike Judge was trying to say with his film: if we continue to allow corporations to control us, as well as continue to make reading and writing less important, this future is not that far off.

To convey that kind of a message while keeping the film a comedy, however is difficult. There must be a blend of absurd situations which could never happen (like Starbucks offering hand-jobs and facing famine because people are unaware of the values of watering crops) and plausible situations (like the corporation Brawndo controlling all of America and marketing campaign slogans being repeated by the people as though they are scientific fact). “It is the simultaneous presence of the two frames of reference- absurd and plausible/logical- that is central to the creation of the comic effect,” (King p.15). It becomes satire by this “biosocial” construct, telling a cautionary tale and disguising it with absurd situations. This is where the comedy comes through.

Idiocracy suffered the same fate as many other political satires throughout the history of American film; it was too smart for people to truly understand what the writer was trying to say. In Idiocracy’s case, however this adds extra irony to its fate. The plot is about a future world where people don’t understand complex themes and concepts. Idiocracy didn’t do well because audiences couldn’t grasp its concept. This is why the film’s theme is so important: while the actual de-evolution of the human race seems extremely unlikely, the notion of corporate take-over and the loss of intellectualism seems highly likely.

King, Geoff. Film Comedy. Wallflower Press. London and New York. 2002. Print.