Stupidity

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Movie Info

Take a closer look at the "dumbing down" of contemporary culture in an alternately enlightening and hilarious documentary from filmmaker Albert Nerenberg produced to explore the prospect that willful ignorance has increasingly become a strategy for success in the realms of politics and entertainment. From the Internet to television to popular film and virtually everything in between, stupidity's stronghold over society has reached an all-time high. Despite the vast potential that mass media holds as a tool of education and self-betterment in modern society, why is it that the masses are so determined to simply turn on the television and turn off their brains at the end of the day? In an era where even the mere mention that mass media may be detrimental to our mental development may prove offensive to the vast majority of consumers, director Nerenberg gathers some of the best-known cultural critics, authors, and academics of our generation for a thought-provoking exploration into the potentially damaging effects of film, television, and other forms of media on the modern mind. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By:

Albert Nerenberg
On Disc/Streaming:

Nov 10, 2009
Runtime:

75 minutes

Cast

Fred Napoli
as Narrator

Adam Sandler

Bill Maher

Coolio

Drew Curtis

George W. Bush

Joel Schumacher

John Cleese

Noam Chomsky

Salma Hayek

Stephen 'Steve-O' Glover

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Critic Reviews for Stupidity

All Critics (6) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (2)

A more deadpan, mock-solemn approach might have lent this concept a veneer of genuine wit. But Neremberg's jokey pastiche plays out in exactly the short-attention-span mode he decries in modern media.

April 3, 2009 | Full Review…

Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic
A movie that's clever, hilarious and -- in its own stylish way -- ironic.

March 25, 2004 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic
breezy and fun

August 31, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/5

Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
Amusing and horrifying.

May 23, 2004 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
This documentary examines the "dumbing-down" of American culture, but it rarely reaches below the surface to explore why this is happening or what can be done to reverse the trend.

May 21, 2004 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Marc Mohan
Oregonian
The idea that our culture is dumbing down is nothing new, but fortunately Stupidity skips the predictable finger-wagging at our collective idiocy in favour of a more interesting, academic study of stupidity.

April 9, 2004 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Catharine Tunnacliffe
eye WEEKLY

View All Critic Reviews (6)

Audience Reviews for Stupidity

Mar 04, 2011

Somewhat thought provoking, but really just more "stupid" entertainment. I'm OK with that.

Bill C Super Reviewer
Aug 27, 2009

I learned the origins of the words "idiot", "moron", and "imbecile" but I could have unearthed that in an article. I learned who some of the leading authors are in this understudied field of "stupid" but I could have unearthed that in an Amazon book search. I didn't leanr anything about the nature of "stupidity" other than it is hard to find a consensus on the definition of the word, but that lack of consensus hold true for any loaded and complicated subject that tries to pick one all-encompassing word to define it. I was, at least, impressed by the lineup of intelligent individuals the film-makers were able to interview. My biggest sense of being cheated by this film is that it doesn't do something so utterly obvious - interview and explore the lives of the "stupid". The film also never addresses the idea that stupidity, idiocy, etc can all be defined by their antithesis to a system to which most of modern societies subscribe, the fields of "logic" and "ration". This film just does not provoke enough thought on non-thought, and often ignores the elephant in the room of stating that the film-makers, like the researchers they are interviewing and referencing, define stupidity by a lack of awareness. But I guess that is all okay because the opening disclaimer is that the film was made by idiots. Just not a revealing documentary and not worth your time. If you wish to further investigate the realm of stupidity and its brethren, watch a few episodes of Jackass and make your own observations on why and what could be considered "stupid".

_kelly . Super Reviewer
Feb 08, 2008

The worst documentary I've ever seen. It has all the sins I hate in docs: the filmmakers pummeling you with their opinions, looking down on it's subjects and becoming unnecessarily political (of course they start referencing George Bush, who couldn't have guessed they were going to do that?) Also, with the flashy editing and multiple inserts they certainly treat their audiences as if they were stupid. Pure, uncut shit.

Christopher B Super Reviewer
Oct 20, 2007

Eye-opening and interesting - of course I'm sure not many people have seen it or care to face humanitiy's spiraling decline into, well, stupidity.

Sarah P Super Reviewer