In 2006, Mike Judge’s Idiocracy hit theaters, where it initially flopped. The scathing satire on capitalism and life in America didn’t gain a following until it was released on home video. It became a cult classic with a fan base who constantly point out how scarily accurate a depiction it is.
It seems that New York Times readers agree and have ranked it the film that best captures the American experience.
On the eve of America’s 250th birthday, the NYT polled readers on “What film most definitively captures the American experience?”
Out of 3,000 responses, Idiocracy was ranked #1. “Some commenters seemed almost sad to list it, linking it to their feelings about the country today, while more than one described it as a documentary,” the Times said.
Idiocracy
For those unfamiliar, Idiocracy takes place 500 years into the future. In that time, America has become violently anti-intellectual, creating a filthy corporate-branded dystopia. The country is now run by President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho (Terry Crews). And if you’re wondering what political experience a man with such a robust name carries, the answer is none.
President Camacho is a “five-time ultimate smackdown champion and porn superstar.” Which may sound like an insanely far-fetched idea for president. At least until you realize Ronald Regan was an actor before becoming governor, then president, and Donald Trump was a reality TV star and the head of several failed business ventures.
In one of the film’s most referenced scenes, we see a shot of the White House where President Camacho had put an above-ground swimming pool on the lawn. It sits alongside other debris, a tire swing on the front porch, and a lovely satellite dish on the roof. When President Trump decided that the White House lawn needed a ring for a UFC fight on the grounds, people couldn’t help but deepen the comparison.
In Defense of Camacho
The problem is, this isn’t fair to the fictitious President Camacho. When Joe (Luke Wilson), an average man who was a part of a top-secret hibernation program 500 years before, awakens and is deemed the smartest man in the country. Camacho seeks his help, while he gives a wildly unreasonable timeframe of fixing the country in a week. He did have enough humility to admit when someone was smarter than him and could help out. Something that the “very stable genius” currently in charge doesn’t have a good track record of doing.
Sure, Camacho almost kills Joe when switching from watering the plants with a sports drink to actual water doesn’t yield immediate results. He does listen when they can show him the water is working. He is also right that plants don’t tend to grow out of toilets. And he never allowed a UFC fight to occur on the White House lawn where an ex-first lady is called a man.
So please stop besmirching the good name of a fictitious president and start focusing on the real one that is turning a funny movie into a documentary.
For anyone curious, The Godfather was voted the second best film that best captures the American experience. But at least that one was meant to be bleak and sad.
