Idiocracy
That’s just movie to prepare you for the future.
Idiocracy is a funny movie that I enjoy. However I’m disturbed by the number of people who say it’s a documentary, or a warning. That’s because the central premise of the movie (that humans breed wrong and if nothing is done, we’ll devolve and society will collapse) also happens to be the central premise of Eugenics.
Agreed. As iconic as that eugenicist prologue might be, it harms humanity and doesn’t really serve the plot.
Not at all how I see it. It’s not eugenics its education, well the lack there of, that made the world in idiocracy.
The movie maybe. But that intro was basically divorced from the rest of the movie.
The intro suggested that stupid people having kids was the reason humanity started evolving backward. It invoked natural selection and “survival of the fittest.”
The intro even labeled the low birth rate couple and high birthrate couple with IQ scores to illustrate this point.
You argue that that the movie attributes the stupidity of its world to societal shifts. It does. It does a great job laying out a progression from late stage capitalism to idiocracy.
But that just further highlights how unnecessary that intro was. The intro attributed the stupidity to something entirely different.
Just watched the intro. I’m not really on board with the eugenics angle even after watching it. It’s more social darwinism than eugenics.
Eugenicists as ive always thought of it is an intended or active pursuit of creating “better” humans(or whatever species).
One factor I see being a difference between natural selection and unnatural selection. Unnatural selection being eugenics, and natural selection being what a result of an environment having an effect on the evolution of a species.
The intro Primarily sets a path of one group having more children than the other group and i will concede
itthe intelligent couple having problems having kids misrepresents the rest of the movie while still giving the audience a vehicle to how the future they wanted to craft could happen. And it also is meant to be entertainment not just exposition.Would be very interested in an in depth response from Mike Judge and the rest of the filmakers. Would be an interesting use of AI/Deepfake to redo the intro if it actually wasnt intended to invoke a eugenic view of the future
Baraka
I find it inconceivable that no one has mentioned ‘The Princess Bride’ yet.
Office Space
The Burbs.
The Fifth Element.
Grave of the Fireflies
I always say everyone should see requiem for a dream, but no one should watch it. That film does more for stopping drug abuse than any government program ever did.
These are not feel good movies at all but I think really send important messages. Not for kids, but at 16+ would be good. There’s very important takeaway messages in both.
Grave of the Fireflies
Requiem for a Dream
Contagion.
So many great movies listed here, but only one kiwi movie; Once Were Warriors. Unless you count Lord of the Rings, which was indeed made here, but not really exactly a kiwi movie. Here’s a few I reckon are worth checking out, a mix of comedy, fantasy, sci-fi and biopic, with at least one film from each of the last 5 decades;
- Goodbye Pork Pie (the 1981 original, I haven’t seen the 2017 remake Pork Pie directed by his son)
- Came A Hot Friday (1985, so underrated compared to the one above)
- The Quiet Earth (1985, based on the 1981 novel of the same name)
- The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988, epically weird, in a Fisher King kind of way)
- Heavenly Creatures (1994, Peter Jackson’s first “serious” film, after his splatter comedies Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and Braindead. Trivia: I’m in this for about 3 seconds …)
- Whale Rider (2002)
- The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)
- Eagle vs. Shark (2007)
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
- The Dead Lands (2014, notable for being entirely in Te Reo Māori, and featuring some mean Māori martials arts)
- The Dark Horse (2014)
- Muru (2022, loosely based on the events of the 2008 Operation 8 raids)
- Ka Whawhai Tonu (2024, also has a lot of Te Reo spoken)
Gah. Quiet Earth! I still love this movie and it has some unforgettable scenes. Also the most memorable ending shot of a sci-fi movie. It was my background on PC for years.
It’s a classic, for sure. From what I’ve read, it was Sam Neill’s performance in The Quiet Earth that brought him to the attention of Hollywood casting folks, leading to his starring role in the original Jurassic Park.
The Shawshank Redemption
Can’t believe nobody has mentioned Wag the Dog (1997), The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009), or Sorry to Bother You (2018).
No one’s said Network (1976) yet. It’s so prescient it’s kind of scary.
