mediacracy

Have you seen Idiocracy? If you have, you know you can't say yes without smiling. Critics classify it as a "low comedy" satire, and I'll admit that they may be right, but it's one that I love. The first time I saw it was in high school. Back then it was just another one of those laugh-til-your-stomach-hurts-and-your-brain-melts kinds of movies. Recently I had a chance to watch it again, but with a different mindset. Maybe the difference is finally absorbing some articles about media and cultural analysis, but we'd all quickly realize that Idiocracy the second time around is more than just "low comedy." In between the one-liners and slapstick humor, there's a message that serves as an important warning: If we're not careful, we could turn into this. A society of mindless, almost anti-intellectual, consumption-obsessed drones.

Sure, the satire pushes this warning to a ridiculous level, but the truth of its message remains the same. A materialistic mindset is very easily adopted in our culture. It lies under the surface of our decision-making processes every day. Advertising tells us that bigger is better, new means superior, and designer elevates our status. Marx explains that we work so hard to "keep up with the Joneses" (now the Kardashians) because we're told by the ruling class that glamor is everything, that "the haves are better than the have-nots." The fact that these phrases are even around indicates the power of advertising and tells us about what we value as a culture. The ideology of capitalistic society has immersed us in the idea that if we're not at the top, we need to be working to get there. Comfort isn't good enough; we need luxury. More stuff brings more happiness. If we never take that step back to analyze what we need versus what advertising and big businesses tell us to want, we could end up feeding Brawndo to our plants.

Don't get me wrong, I'm just as guilty as the next person when it comes to buying into some advertising campaigns. But I think the first step toward combatting this oftentimes mindless consumption is to at least recognize it. Maybe the next time we catch ourselves falling prey to yet another advertisement, we'll stop to analyze our choice. Personally, I'm starting small. The next time my sister reminds me, "Kaysee, you know you really don't need soooo many pumpkin spice lattes in one day..." my response will be "Yeah, you're right..." rather than "But they have electrolytes..."