Idiocracy

I'm watching the movie Idiocracy. When I say I'm watching it, I mean I watch 10-12 minutes at a time while doing exercises twice a day. So it takes a few days. I haven't reached the end yet.

This of course catches me in various moods. So it's hard to say I like it, because sometimes I hate it, tolerate it, or like it a lot. I think the real value of the movie is in the thoughts you have about it afterwards, through the course of the day.

When I'm feeling very dull -- as I have been -- I think about the stupid citizens throughout the movie. Except they're full of energy while being dull. I'm hoping as it goes along that it answers the question of who are the brains behind the society and all the technology? Because somebody back there must be smart!

The guy in the center of the picture is the president of the United States. He's a professional wrestler/porn star, who has a real swagger when giving the state of the union address. Including a machine gun.

The thing that wears on my senses in this movie is how unbelievably stupid everyone is. You hope the main character, Luke(?), will finally find someone in addition to his 21st century companion to talk to. Some of this stupidity is nicely summed up in a scene in the White House where they're discussing their permanent crop failure. Because they're spraying the crops with Brawndo, a sports drink that everyone drinks. It has electrolytes and it's what plants crave. They're so mindless they can only repeat these things that everyone knows about plants and Brawndo. Plus, everyone's a stockholder in the Brawndo corporation, so it's unfortunate that it's stock price went down to zero.

This isn't a review. I have no idea how the movie ends. And that's probably the way it should be. Since acting in complete ignorance is so key to the movie's theme. Getting to the end is what I crave, but I haven't made it yet, and my electrolyte count is getting lower all the time.

I love the sets, and the graphics of the world in a garbage-strewn shambles. In the big Costco store, there are enormous shelves, like skyscrapers in there, tipped over. In a few scenes I've seen so far, the main character is like Kafka against the bureaucracy. Again, someone's smart enough behind the scenes to make this world work, even while it fails.