Friday, January 12, 2007

Idiocracy: Funniest Film Comedy of '06

Forget Little Miss Sunshine or Borat. Idiocracy is so good it changes the way I look at the world. It's inspiring and depressing. Inspiring because of the satire; bleak because of its depressing message. The story is about an average-intelligence guy who wakes up in 2505 to a world full of idiots and garbage. People who are even slightly smarter are called "faggots."

Here's the classic intro from the director of Office Space.



Unlike most satires, Idiocracy is not above dick jokes. Of course Judge is mocking people who only get broad comedy, but he also belongs to the tradition of Rabelais and Swift, both of whom were just as adept at lowbrow humor as well as highbrow.

The movie might be a little preachy, but for Hollwood - the town that honors the Forest Gumps and Dane Cooks of the world - it's not a cliched message: get your shit together, planet Earth. This message inspired me in many ways.

See I'm an Arab and an American. The two cultures cannot be more diametrically opposed. Arabs are mostly Muslim, Americans Christian. Most Arabs, being Muslim, frown down on alcohol. Most Americans love alcohol. Most Arabs are stereotyped by Americans as being humorless, austere and smelly. Most Americans are stereotyped by Arabs as decadent, imperialistic and vain. But both cultures are run by frighteningly stupid, militaristic autocrats that have no love for their constituents and threaten to take away more freedoms every day. So these two opposing cultures have one thing in common, which must mean it is true for the human race: Humans are evolving into a warmongering, angry and obstinate species that has long ago abandoned reason as something that "faggots" resort to. Of course, I'm a stupid human, what do I know?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are a wise man. easily the funniest and smartest comedy made this year. Mike Judge's Masterpiece for sure.

Mo Diggs said...

Thank you. I can watch it over and over again.

Cibbuano said...

I've seen previews for this - I've been looking forward to it, but it's been under the radar.

Can't wait to see it on DVD...