I’d argue Idiocracy is actually quite the opposite of what the OP was talking about. It has a mildly eugenics-y vibe where the world is bad because poor, stupid people have poor, stupid kids that outnumber the smart ones.

OP is talking about something environmental that can affect anyone.

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skinfaxi an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Isn't is well-known that higher education correlates with lower birthrates? At the very least college years are prime child-rearing years.

> Educated women delay the onset of childbearing and have fewer children overall compared with less-educated women

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3449224/

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afavour an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah, Idiocracy isn't wrong on the facts about our current day scenario. The issue is where it takes that: poor, lower educated people will inevitably have poor, lowered educated children who will in fact get less and less educated as time goes on, and they will take over, leading to... idiocracy.

There's a whole conversation to have about the assumptions in that. Is the implication it's genetic? The children of lower educated people aren't capable of moving to greater things? Or is it societal, that our education system fails the poor and doesn't give them the tools they need to thrive?

The movie isn't really interested in interrogating any of that and I don't think it needs to. Like I said, I see it as a fun movie that isn't that deep. But there's a common thread of opinion on the movie that holds it up as a biting satire ("Idiocracy is a documentary!" is essentially a meme at this point) and those folks don't seem to engage with the topic either. A worrying number of people seem to have a takeaway of "poor people shouldn't procreate as much".

Anyway, to bring it back to the actual topic at hand (and why I originally replied): I think something like VAST goes directly against what Idiocracy implies. We're all potential victims to distractions that reduce our capacity for executive function. A more accurate movie might show people of all financial and educational achievement glued to endless social media feeds.

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sitkack an hour ago | parent [-]

The number one goal in a functioning democracy should be to have the highest possible education rate.

	▲	maerF0x0 15 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Number one? Highest? I disagree with the extremes. Why wouldn't self defense be number one, in many cases/times? Why wouldn't we simply stop spending on education at break even ROI? (to be clear that's not the same as the education creates a salary bump equal to the tuition ... there are Nth order effects of education that should be priced into my point)

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kaikai 8 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Education is not a proxy for intelligence. There are plenty of smart people who don’t have formal education (including many in this forum).

Yes, higher education rates lead to lower birth rates. The movie still has eugenics vibes, by implying that the “wrong kind of people” are reproducing.

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jahnu 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Honestly, as fun as the film is I’ve noticed people very rarely mention that disturbing premise.

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afavour 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah I don't hate the movie by any means I just think it isn't as deep as people often credit it as being.

…and if you do credit it with incisive societal commentary you kind of have to engage with the weird implications of what it's saying rather than just come away feeling superior about not being one of the dumb underclass.

	▲	collingreen 7 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The point of the commentary isn't cryofreezing or the eugenics/handwaved-backstory. Those are a few minute intro just creating the setting and don't make sense nor do they have anything to do with the rest of the plot. The fun in idiocy is the "isnt this dumb!" take on a bunch of society that is one big dumb step worse than current life but certainly recognizable. Everything turned into advertising. Costco expanding into everything. Brainless tv and the related celebrities (that people love for the gimmick but don't give a shit about as people). Health care that only supports a diagnosis by matching to a few kid-friendly tiles. Politics as professional wrestling, nepotism, incompetence, and overpromising. For a related laugh, go look at one of the online quizzes from 2016 about "which of these ten quotes are from a real presidential candidate and which are from president comacho". Idiocracy is a fun, silly satire that is nearly a cartoon, from a bunch of folks who made a bunch of successful social commentary cartoons. It very much isn't a eugenics story - if Mike judge were actually writing that as the intent I think it would be dark and with a vicious ruling class.

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svachalek an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It would be interesting to remake it, replacing the premise that people are genetically stupid with just the idea that they're habitually stupid from generations of reliance on AI and social media.

	▲	deepsun 2 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		An with proper view on the management. You see, Idiocracy is too optimistic, because their leader genuinely tried to solve a global problem, which is already unbelievable today. Moreover, when their plan didn't work, they really listened to their experts and changed their mind. It's too good.
	▲	kaikai 7 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Wall-e!

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Electricniko 18 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

There is an even darker, older story with a similar premise. And it also has undertones of today with the billionaires' promise of space colonization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons