I hate the movie Idiocracy. I have watched it, I even recognize that it's supposed to be satire. However, from first time that I watched Idiocracy there was just something about it that bothered me. I could not place it at the time. Then I watched it again, a light bulb went off. I realized why I didn't like the movie. It's very simple. The movie is flat out classist. Which wouldn't be such a big deal, after all, I don't have to watch it ever again. Except there is a tendency for people on this Site to reference it.
The classism is visible within the first few minutes of the film. The "Smart" couple is upper middle class and well off. The "Stupid" man is visibly poor and sleeping his way around a Trailer Park. It only goes downhill from there. To the point where the Mentally Challenged people of the future, are gross exaggerations of Blue Collar Stereotypes.
Let's move past the point where the movie seems to imply that only intelligent people should be allowed to have children, otherwise THAT is the future that is in store for us. Or the fact that things like The Flynn Effect are totally ignored. Feck, or even how we don't know exactly what factors contribute to someone being highly intelligent. Since it doesn't seem to be completely genetic, and environment may be a factor.
Some time after the movie came out. Bill Maher ended his show citing it as an example of what America was truly like. This wasn't the first time I saw someone using it as an example. However, it seems to be the point where I remember the practice as becoming common. At least among Progressive and Liberal Circles. I'm not exposed to them very much, however I would be very surprised if it wasn't true of the Libertarians as well.
Now, whenever the topic is television. Whether it is yet another thread about Fox News. Or even just a discussion about how Cable News fares in the ratings compared to pure entertainment programming such as Two and a Half Men or Survivor. Someone invariably gets self righteous about not owning a TV and says that Television is dumbing us down because they're watching TV instead of Reading, and that we are becoming JUST LIKE Idiocracy. Of course, this ignores the fact that many people both read and watch TV. Or that studies seem to indicate that the opposite is true (I don't have any references to this fact linked at this time, if someone could post links to some for me I would greatly appreciate it).
Also, whenever the discussion is that the majority of Americans are somewhat disconnected from Politics. Someone invariably says that it's just like Idiocracy. With the implication that people who don't follow politics are stupid. Since this is a political site, and most of the members here are political junkies. It's easy to forget that politics isn't actually an extremely interesting topic. All to often popular positions like Universal Healthcare for all, Job Creation, and ending the Drug War aren't even anywhere near being on the table. So people don't see politics as being related to their daily lives. Or a political topic is both arcane and boring. Rachel Maddow's constant search for a way to make Filibuster Reform interesting, until she finally started calling it "The Tarentino," is a prime example.