Idiocracy, directed by Mike Judge, is a satirical treatment of the premise that earthlings in five hundred years will be more stupid in a self-regulating, dumbed-down society that has abandoned fundamental human rights. When the film begins, Joe Bowers (played by Luke Wilson) is recalled from his job in a military archive to participate in a hibernation experiment; he is placed in an air-tight coffin and frozen. He is chosen because he is normal, mentally and physically. The experiment is supposed to last one year, but the base is closed, taken over by a commercial establishment named Fuddruckers (which later morphs into Buttfuckers), and Joe is forgotten. Meanwhile, evolution’s process of natural selections goes awry: High IQ couples refuse to procreate, and low IQ couples multiply so much that mean IQ levels around the world steadily drop, and morons are numerically the only humans left. In 2505, Joe wakes up to discover a world of idiots who perceive his speech, ordinary for 2005, as that of a faggot. Joe cannot adjust to the world of 2505, so he runs afoul of the law, but his relatively high IQ (100) is discovered while he is processed in the penal system, so he is soon pardoned, appointed to office, and ultimately becomes president. Corporate dominance is also part of everyday life; politicians, for example, mention that they owe their existence to Carls, Jr., (a popular chain restaurant in Los Angeles). Although the plot will resonate with many of those in American society over the age of fifty, who have observed a decline in the quality of education, the premise that IQs are inheritable is false. In biology, the well-known phenomenon of “regression of the mean” ensures that high IQ parents will have some children with lesser IQ, and low IQ parents will give birth to some with higher IQs. Idiocracy will attract audiences who might seem to have low IQs already, and indeed the antics of denizens of 2505 seems to be alive and well in 2006. MH