I’d like something more extended and literally episodic the way the word looks?
Idiocracy
They found the smartest person in the world and listened to them to fix their problems… Not at all accurate.
They also tried to publicly execute him.
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?
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.
There’s a satirical (well, don’t know how long it will be considered that) movie about it… it’s called Idiocracy
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.
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 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.
Just wanted to re-thank you. On to season two and have already recommended this to two friends. Absolute cracker.
I’m glad you’re finding it interesting. Season 2 is even better in my opinion.
Just in the last minutes of season 2. Holy cow. It’s such a clear mirroring of today.
Poor Lester (and Buddy) Hunt :(
Thanks for the recommendation. Giving it a listen currently.
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.
I don’t know, things going how they’re going, how we’ll manage to defeat fascism and recover without violence, but I hope I’m wrong.
I talk big on the internet, but I am not ready for violence, and it’s not a road I want us to go down. But options appear to be dwindling, tragically. Without Rule of Law, where do we go from here? Judges can issue rulings, but without enforcement, we have fascism. What then‽
I find the last days of the Qing dynasty China to be somewhat analogous. Institutional rot, rampant corruption, a complete failure to adapt to crises and open hostility to anyone proposing workable solutions or trying to learn from foreign examples. Basically the two voices in government were, “Learn how guns work while completely refusing to understand the scientific principles that allowed them to be developed” and “Learn absolutely nothing.” The “lesser evil” was woefully inadequate, and once the government finally collapsed, both factions that emerged (communists and nationalist) were far more influenced by Western ideas than even the most radical in the Qing government were.
The Twilight Zone (2019), “The Wunderkind”
Synopsis: A down-on-his-luck campaign manager (John Cho) is determined to get a kid (Jacob Tremblay) elected as the next President of the United States.
Take a serious look at the collapse of the Soviet Union, the gutting of the Commonwealth, and the rise of Russia under Yeltsin, then Putin. I’m not sure of any fictionalized works that examine this in any detail, but the aftermath and the new reality is well-described in Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev. Link is a 10 year old review in the Guardian.
The falls of other empires would also be instructive. There is an excellent podcast/YouTube channel, the Fall of Civilizations(YouTube Link)(Spotify Link). In listening, I found several parallels to the first Trump presidency. I haven’t listened in years.
A paper-thin skinned hegemon leads a dying empire against his staunch allies. I fed this prompt to ChatGPT and it handed me back Dune by Frank Herbert and Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
The Great Dictator
Babylon 5.
Rewatched this again a year ago and it has never been more relevent
Star wars episode 3.
Veep is probably more generally accurate.
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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
