Episode 289 - Idiocracy (w/ BFF of the BFE: Synthia)

“Welcome to Costco. I love you.” Join your favourite TransAtlantic podcasting crew – Ian & Liam – with BFF of the BFE: Synthia beaming in from the not-so-distant future as we crack open the absurd, prophetic, and depressingly accurate Idiocracy (2006). We’re trading shark-infested waters for Gatorade-irrigated crops and President Camacho in our 289th episode as we ask:

• Was Idiocracy always this smart, or has the world just gotten that dumb?
• We explore how a film that bombed at release has somehow become the most referenced dystopia not named Orwell.
• What does it say about society that Mike Judge’s lowbrow future doesn’t seem that far off?
• Synthia breaks down the subtle and not-so-subtle satire—and why this film still hits different in a post-algorithm world.
• Ian wonders whether the comedy lands… or whether it’s just too bleak to laugh anymore.
• Liam confesses which part of the film made him physically cringe (hint: it's not just the opening montage).
• We talk about the difference between satire and smugness, and where Idiocracy walks that tightrope.
• Is the film's central conceit plausible… or offensively oversimplified?
• With the film's conceit being that everyone is stupid, are we allowed to get frustrated with the tone for being too stupid?
• Why Terry Crews as President Camacho might be the most pitch-perfect casting choice in a dystopian comedy ever.
• What modern products or trends Idiocracy weirdly predicted (we’re looking at you, reality TV and clickbait).
• And finally, whether Idiocracy is the Best Film Ever—or just the most important film people still haven’t seen.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE.

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
• Hermes Auslander
• James DeGuzman
• Synthia
• Shai Bergerfroind
• Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most
• Andy Dickson
• Chris Pedersen
• Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)
• Randal Silva
• Nate The Great
• Rev Bruce
• Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)
• Richard
• Ryan Kuketz
• Dirk Diggler
• Stew from the Stew World Order podcast
• NorfolkDomus
• John Humphrey's Right Foot
• Timmy Tim Tim
• Aashrey

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor.

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/.