CyberEgg 72 points 9 months ago

Really? When was tge last time our leaders were like "We have a problem, let's listen to what the actually smart people have to say and act on that"?

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popekingjoe 13 points 9 months ago

I dunno the 1800s?

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Zoot 3 points 9 months ago

Hah, the smart people would be laughed outta the room as nerds! Unless of course they had an idea, in which case it was actually always the rich peoples ideas, and the poor inventors were simply assistants.

Recently watched a video on the beginnings of the internet and boy is Samuel Morse and all those old timey fucks just as bad as today.

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Rusty 6 points 9 months ago

In the 80s scientists discovered that ozone layer has a growing hole caused by CFCs. All UN members signed the Montreal protocol designed to protect the ozone layer. It has been healing all this time and right now the problem is pretty much solved.

Another good example is year 2000 problem. Computer scientists outlined the problem, got the financing for that and solved it with almost zero issues.

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Johanno 6 points 9 months ago

This was after the smart people all died.

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CyberEgg 9 points 9 months ago

And yet they pick the smartest guy around to solve the problem.

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Johanno 4 points 9 months ago

Yes because nobody was smart enough to horde all power and money and deny anybody else from changing things.

Yes probably in a thousands years we still have rich assholes who control everything. But they hadn't in idiocracy

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CyberEgg 5 points 9 months ago

Yes because nobody was smart enough to horde all power and money and deny anybody else from changing things.

We don't know enough of the world of Idiocracy to draw such conclusions. We don't know who owns that giant store, the TV stations or the appartment buildings.

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Zexks 2 points 9 months ago

And gave him 3 days to figure it out after sending him to prison. And if it wasnt for a fight after a hand job he would have died and nothing would have changed.

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RedFrank24 45 points 9 months ago

I want to enjoy Idiocracy, but there's this undercurrent of eugenics in there that I'm not ever so fond of...

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barooboodoo 20 points 9 months ago

It's the comedic premise of the movie, it's not like it perpetuates the racist notions that were the real problem with pseudoscience like eugenics.

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FartMaster69 31 points 9 months ago

Even without the racial elements, eugenics is still an abhorrent ideology.

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db2 -4 points 9 months ago

So what you're saying is indiscriminate killing is the only fair way? 🧌

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Honytawk 11 points 9 months ago

How about no killing? That is a way more fair option.

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Nalivai 21 points 9 months ago

The whole movie relies exclusively on the idea that eugenics is real, even though they're not focused on a racist subset of it.

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ShinkanTrain 7 points 9 months ago

Eugenics is pretty bad even when it's not trying to be racist.

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possiblylinux127 3 points 9 months ago

It does though

It would've been a lot better if it just left the eugenics part out. They could've just had the main character wake up in the future instead of having the long narrative.

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marcos 8 points 9 months ago

It's a completely absurdist theme. The people insisting it reflects reality in any way are the ones that bother me.

Still, it's a simple movie with simple jokes. The kind of thing maybe worth watching once, and not worth thinking about.

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Windex007 2 points 9 months ago

It only bothers me when people are hung up on the genetics aspect.

People (broadly statistically) tend to grow up to be similar to thier parents in terms of values. Not so much because of DNA, but because of how they were raised.

The premise holds even if you toss away anything to do with biology. (Which you should)

Idiots tend to have idiot kids because they raised them in idiot households, and idiots tend to have more kids.

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marcos 2 points 9 months ago

Idiots tend to have idiot kids because they raised them in idiot households

Random people are usually way smarter than people give them credit. Idiots are an exception, though I have no idea how hey are distributed.

and idiots tend to have more kids

That's completely unfundamented idea that was created to support some racist movements. One would think that movie made a clear enough point to convince anybody this is bullshit...

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Windex007 2 points 9 months ago

I'm maybe being unfair to say idiots are having more kids.

It is a growing case where people who score relatively higher in awareness of world events to choose not to have kids at all. Between the environment and, well, gestures broadly that group of people is choosing to not have kids.

Calling people idiots or not, that's overly broad. I understand that. There are material negative pressures felt by people who value understanding the state of the world, that are not felt by those who don't.

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possiblylinux127 2 points 9 months ago

Overall people are getting smarter

"Idiots" tend to have smart kids

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Sidyctism2 1 point 9 months ago

If you toss the eugenics, all thats left is an obvious spite against poor people. Because the "idiots" in the movie are just common caricatures of poor people

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Windex007 1 point 9 months ago

That's an interesting perspective.

In the "nature vs nurture" debate, I don't think I've heard anyone so emphatically proclaim: "Niether!"

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Zexks -2 points 9 months ago

Why are you against prenatal screening (eugenics)

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PotatoesFall 29 points 9 months ago

In Idiocracy, everybody is dumb. This is unrealistic, as in the past, now, and in the future, there have been, are and will be plenty of intensely intelligent people screaming the answers in our face, all while we keep fucking it up.

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No_Money_Just_Change 15 points 9 months ago

Contrary to the proverb, you should assume malice instead of stupidity

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Strider 3 points 9 months ago

*them up

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NotASharkInAManSuit 2 points 9 months ago

I feel like it can be broken down to roughly 30% of people are stupid shitty dumbasses (regardless of demographic, that percentage applies to everything, all the time, in every context. At least 30% of everything sucks, as a rule.), 40% of people are intelligent enough but are generally apathetic to other people and politics in general, and 30% of people are the change needed and sometimes that is enough people.

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Zexks 2 points 9 months ago

You act like intelligence is some kind of evolutionary goal that cant be lost once obtained. Not a safe bet

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Son_of_Macha 26 points 9 months ago

It really isn't, The President in Idiocracy cared about his people and listened to the smartest man in the world.

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RememberTheApollo_ 10 points 9 months ago

That’s why it’s a work of fiction.

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GeneralEmergency 15 points 9 months ago

Iciocracy is the 1984 for people scared of books.

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halvar 1 point 9 months ago

the layers to this

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possiblylinux127 12 points 9 months ago

Please stop spreading this

I don't want anything to do with Eugenics

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Zexks 1 point 9 months ago

We already practice it with prenatal screening.

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Honytawk 9 points 9 months ago

In Idiocracy, people are anti-science. If you were to read a book, they would call you a nerd and kill you.

In real life, people believe in pseudo-science. Everyone read books, and believes that to be the ultimate truth and everybody else is wrong.

In Idiocracy, you don't have flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers. You have dumb people proud of not knowing stuff.

So there is still a difference.

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surewhynotlem 9 points 9 months ago

You have dumb people proud of not knowing stuff. So there is still a difference.

I have some bad news....

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shalafi 5 points 9 months ago

Everyone reads books? Over half of Americans read at a 6th-grade level, at best.

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Zexks 0 points 9 months ago

You are vastly over estimating literacy rates. And you cant really make that statement on any grounds as nothing of the like was discussed.

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Nurse_Robot -1 points 9 months ago

Hilarious comment coming from someone who consistently has spelling and grammar mistakes

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Zexks 0 points 9 months ago

I dont have the time to correct androids shitty keyboard.

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halvar 5 points 9 months ago

Alright so first of all let's get this out of the way parody ≠ documentary.

Second of all it doesn't parody how stupid people will have more sex and stupid genetics will spread too much, that's just a throwaway joke at the begining of the movie. What really leads there is smart people working on stupid things to please the masses of stupid people and not doing anything to stop stupid people from, well acting stupid. Which is what causes societies to delcine in general. Stupid people don't produce stupid offspring in general, but a society where smart people are too short-sighted to care about the decline of their society will inevitably lead to stupid people taking over for good.

People are right to be concerned about that joke, but only because stupid people, not realizing it's about them will take it as an arguement for eugenics. But that shouldn't be a problem as long as smart people keep them in check.

Look up Carlo M. Cipolla and the The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity for some amazing insight.

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Garbagio 5 points 9 months ago

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halvar 0 points 9 months ago

I have to admit it's been some time since I saw the movie, but I have three relevant scenes in mind.

First is the beggining where they lay down that joke.

The next is in the ending, where the main cast has children and the children of the smart guy are smart and the children of the dumb guy are dumb.

Judging from these too it seems like in the word of Idiocracy eugenics works, as in smart people really produce smart offspring, which pretty much makes it a problematic 2000s comedy, so you're welcome.

Now the next scene is also from the start of the movie. It could be summed up as: "Stupid people kept doing stupid things, while smart people were occupied with inventing medicines for stopping baldness and enlarging penises."

And that last one sells it for me. A society doesn't decay because of genetic drift, it decays because smart people get dragged along tying to respond to the needs of the stupid people. Unlike the first two scenes, the third is no joke. That is something that WILL happen if smart people don't keep stupid people in check and that WILL lead to the decay of society.

In conclusion: Idiocracy has tones of eugenics as a joke. Not to be taken seriously. If you take it seriously seek help. It does warn of a present where most people are stupid, dressed up as the future. It does warn of smart people responding to the needs of stupid people, while important things are left unattained for.

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Zexks 3 points 9 months ago

The smart couple never has kids. You all are missing a key point of that setup

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possiblylinux127 1 point 9 months ago

That line of thinking lead to the Holocaust

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possiblylinux127 1 point 9 months ago

Jesus Christ my man

You are talking about eugenics. This stuff killed millions of people. There is no actual evidence supporting what you are saying and there is no such thing as "stupid people." You probably should watch your language.

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