I’d like something more extended and literally episodic the way the word looks?
Idiocracy
The wave of fascism going throughput Europe in the 19th and 20th century of course.
But the state of the American people is also portrayed well in The Hunger Games (books and movies).
The Great Dictator
I’ve found the expanse to be somewhat loosely analogous, but making the associations is a bit of a stretch I guess.
UN is America, Mars is Israel, Belters are Palestinians or other brown folk.
Or they’re any number of similar analogues.
Spoilers from the last books (post the current end of the show)
! The entire premise of the current leadership is endless unchecked growth
! This mirrors the Laconian goal of superiority through holding onto what’s basically a free infinite energy machine, only it’s not really free, it’s just being stolen from neighboring universes who’s very advanced inhabitants really don’t like that.
! We see the same hubris from the people in charge thinking that just a little more control or a little more power will be enough to save us, when really the answer is to let go and stop trying to control everything
Idiocracy
They found the smartest person in the world and listened to them to fix their problems… Not at all accurate.
We’re only 20 years after Joe got frozen and he hasn’t been thawed yet. We still have 480 years before things get that bad.
Pretty sure we’re speed running that part.
Who knows. We need a movie set in between the time frames we see to tell us.
They also tried to publicly execute him.
Once zoomers can vote and Mr Beast gets elected, things will change.
I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
Over half of Zoomers can already vote. Gen Z is roughly 1997-2012.
Unfortunately the younger they are the more likely they are to be conservative it seems. More poisoned by the algorithms.
we’re in the “what if they didn’t” timeline…
You make a convincing argument.
We’re in the time he was frozen. We have 40 years or so before that part happens.
Andor
Whys that?
fascist top-down government that rules without checks and balances stripping away civil rights through exploitation of the vulnerable using fear-of-the-other propaganda and outright lies to further centralize its abusive, selfish control over society while a small dedicated decentralized band of civil rights activists fight the expanding power and influence of the dark side.
It’s extremely poignant right now
The problem I see is that in Star Wars, the goodies win because they appeal to the inherent good in people, their willingness to actually act
I fear that apathy and learned helplessness have taken root too deeply in the US. People just shrug their shoulders
I sincerely hope that I’m wrong
I mean, isn’t the joke that there are only like 20 people who really do anything that matters in Star Wars? The rest of the trillions of beings in the SW universe are apathetic too.
That’s also one of the underlying threads in Andor, Luthen is trying to agitate the empire so that they lash out and start really interfering with people’s lives. The more the Empire tries to crush dissent, the more apathetic people they disrupt, and the dissent only grows. That’s where we’re at now, most people’s lives haven’t meaningfully changed yet, but it’s coming.
When you say poignant, do you actually mean “prescient”? Poignant usually means emotional and like tender or tear-jerker kinda
Like of course its also extremley sad, but I feel like prescient is more appropos for what you’re trying to express
I meant “pertinent”
So basically yes
It’s all 3
Its insane that project 25 isnt taught in schools as the actual destructive blueprint for society, its too dangerous for people to be as ignornat of all this shit as they clearly are. Its suicidal
US schools have long been a disaster
Starting the day by saluting the flag and reciting some shit about it being the greatest country in the world is the behaviour of people being indoctrinated into a cult
Gotta get 'em young
Add the twisted version of the history of America taught, and the ignorance of the rest of the world and it’s not surprising that things are in a shit state
Yup, dude even gets disappeared just for being in the wrong street at the wrong time.
Nah that dude was very mexican. Should have tried to not do that.
Just started watching that show recently and it’s so amazing I’m surprised Disney allowed it to be made. The parallels to the current state of society are so apparent. In one of the episodes of Season 2 a character says “Why can’t they just leave us alone” and that resonated with me so much
The Man in the High Castle.
The historical precedent is the rise of Nazi Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. You should now be somewhere in the early 1930s.
And Canada and Greenland are Poland.
or Poland and Austria
To get spoilers, watch Downfall.
1984 by George Orwell
Not TV (at least not that I am aware of), but it was the first thing to come to my mind. They made a movie if you prefer but, as always, you’ll get more from the book.
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. Great book and a TV miniseries. An alternative history that has Lindbergh winning the presidency in the 30s and the US government enacting fascism domestically. The book does a great job of portraying the chaos that ensues. The series is also very good.
Leaving off with an ellipsis makes it look like I should click your comment to continue reading.
As intended!
There’s a satirical (well, don’t know how long it will be considered that) movie about it… it’s called Idiocracy
I used to think this movie was funny but now it’s just kind of painful because it’s largely true.
Except Camacho was a caring president, in his own way.
He is the most unrealistic part of the film, he had a problem, found the most qualified person to fix it, listened to them (eventually), and then didnt take credit for it.
I would much rather have Camacho as president than Cheeto Benito.
Terry Crews 2028!
It’s a great movie, but the eugenics theme is bullshit. The causes of modern decline have nothing to do with the half-baked idea that idiots will overrun the world through breeding.
Idiots aren’t born in increasing waves, they’re made by chronically underfunding education and flooding the world with propaganda and manipulative social media algorithms.
That applies as far as the dumbing down of the population, but even they didn’t go for fascists as leaders. That’s right, the population of Idiocracy was smarter than what we have now.
The Prequel to Schindler’s List
VEEP
Seriously. “Today the secretary of defense with a drinking problem reveals military secrets to a reporter due to a texting error.”
Game of Thrones.
The bobiverse series (about a guy who is hit by a car right after signing up for a cryogenics thing and then wakes in the future to find out he’s basically been legislated to have no rights and is stuck into a self-replicating drone for space exploration, it’s pretty good) kind of starts off setting the backstory like it. The christofascism just started a bit later.
Obviously it’s not one to one but given Trump’s performative Christianity it was all I could think about around the failed coup on Jan 6.
on the non-political side, i recommend Mickey 17. the synopsys of bobiverse sounds like it has similar theming except this story focuses more on the character and less on the world (though the world is still there).
While there are a few similarities, I feel like the stories are pretty different beyond both involving copies of a character.
I’m not trying to be combative or insult your opinion; just provide my perspective. Both books are fantastic recommendations. Anyone reading this should definitely read both. I recently read Mickey 7 (apparently the movie director added 10 to make death seem more casual) and am looking forward to reading the sequel. Sadly, I seem to have lost it somewhere between the front door and my TBR pile. I listened to Bobiverse audio books years back and found them so enjoyable that I immediately ordered the whole series in print and suggested them to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, the friend I have who I feel would most enjoy the subject matter does not recreationally read.
As an interesting (to me) aside, the author also wrote an unrelated book entitled Three Days in April. I bought and read it on the strength of his other works, not knowing anything else about it. Reading it was very weird because I grew up around Baltimore, as apparently did the author, who set the story in and around the city. It was very jarring to read as the characters traveled past places I’ve lived and places I’ve worked. I’ve since found out that the author now lives in the town where my wife went to college, hundreds of miles from Baltimore. Also, I read the book in April and at a leisurely pace, so it took me three days to finish. There were other serendipitous things, but sharing them might doxx me, so I shall refrain. (Not that I’ve really protected my identity otherwise.)
Anyway, if you live or lived in or near Baltimore, you might especially enjoy this book (or many by Tom Clancy). It does not fit the OP’s request, though, I just find the anecdote interesting.
edit: Changed around a few words that did not substantially change the message.
The Ultra podcast has two seasons and goes in-depth into previous attempts by fascists at taking over the US government.
Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power.
When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to… to cover their tracks.
Ultra is SO GOOD
It left me disgusted with the US’s long flirtation with fascism yet hopeful that we can overcome it.
I’d like her to do another season about the business plot.
Thanks for the recommendation. Giving it a listen currently.
