In 2006 a movie opened in 130 theaters with no trailer, no ads, and no press screenings. The studio buried it. It made $495,000 at the box office. And then it came out on DVD and everyone realized this isn’t a comedy. This is a warning.

Idiocracy. Mike Judge. The film that Fox tried to kill and America resurrected because it was too accurate to ignore.

Today on Checkpoint Thursday we make the full case. Brawndo has electrolytes. President Camacho is giving a State of the Union. The most popular show on television is someone getting hit in the groin. And Mike Judge, when asked if he was a prophet said “I’m no prophet. I was off by 490 years.”

He said that in 2016. Just before a WWE-adjacent celebrity won the presidency.

We go through every prediction. We examine why Fox buried their own movie. And we ask the question nobody wants to answer: are we the people the movie was warning about?

New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode!

Got a rabbit hole you want us to go down? Email us at [email protected]

Join The Lobby our private Facebook community. Search Average Joe Nerdcast-The Lobby on Facebook. Or follow this link to the group

You can be a nerd about anything, even a comedy that turned out to be a documentary. Stay gold. Nerd bold.

SHOW NOTES:

• Idiocracy (2006) - directed by Mike Judge, written by Mike Judge and Etan Cohen

• Fox buried the film - 130 theaters, no marketing, no press kit - documented

• Box office: $495,000 - Box Office Mojo

• Mike Judge “I’m no prophet, I was off by 490 years” - 2016 interview, widely documented

• Mike Judge on the film’s legacy - multiple interviews 2016-2024

• Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator - fictional product, real cultural artifact

• Office Space (1999) and Beavis and Butt-Head - Mike Judge filmography

• Anti-intellectualism in American Life - Richard Hofstadter (1963)

#Idiocracy #MikeJudge #CheckpointThursday #AverageJoeNerdcast #Podcast #Brawndo #PopCulture #Documentary #Satire #FilmAnalysis