this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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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.
The smart couple never has kids. You all are missing a key point of that setup
That line of thinking lead to the Holocaust