September 20, 2006
9/20 - "Idiocracy": An American Tragedy, and the future of Shifting Baselines?
Okay, this is going to sound like a stretch, but ... believe it or not, Mike Judge's new movie, "Idiocracy," is a "cautionary tale" (and a crude one at that) which is sort of a case study of hyper-shifting baselines. The premise is great -- in the future only stupid people reproduce because smart people are too hung up to make it happen. And supposedly nobody notices the changes much (shifting baselines) until by 2505 everyone is living in a world of over indulged filth.
I saw the movie a month ago. The first half is brilliant (second half drags a bit). But apparently it's such a realistic portrait of the future of America that terrified Fox executives decided to give it minimal support upon it's release. They're afraid their audience doesn't want to see what their future holds.
Idiocracy: a shifting baselines nightmare