Ben Oliver

Now
Banner image for Idiocracy
film

Idiocracy

Water? Like out of the toilet?
14 June 2020

I’m probably not the only person watching this at the minute, but post 2016 it feels eerily prescient. Terry Crews’ professional wrestler of a president, elected for being famous, is pretty close to the bone. It’s like Mike Judge is reaching out to us from the past saying “I told you so”.

As a film it’s amazing Idiocracy even survived. It was starved of production budget, then left to wither and die upon release. Un-promoted and un-screened for critics, it was only word of mouth that earned it really high DVD sales and cult status.

I’m glad it worked out because it’s a great cautionary tale for us all. It’s not subtle, but sometimes you need a slap in the face rather than a gentle prod.