Don’t look up: a comedy, a parody or simply a tragedy reflecting on real-life events?
A film review written for YES-Europe Greece, by Elena Zafeiratou
Editor: Zacharoula (Chara) Megagianni
Scene 1: Τhe cast and its reflex on our screens
Don’t look up — Adam McKay’s newest movie — has certainly attracted much attention, as film critics and journalists have been discussing one of the most exceptional casting groups in American cinema history. Some of the most characteristic examples include the massive transformation of Cate Blanchett, who portraits the stereotypical American female TV hostess in the 00s.
In the same spirit, Leonardo Di Caprio presents a totally different image, related to what the audience has been used to seeing him in, as holding the leading role. His character, Dr Mindy, is one of the two scientists discovering a huge comet orbiting within the solar system and heading on Earth. Di Caprio’s character is also advocating for the action that must be taken in order to stop the giant comet from crushing on Earth. Despite no direct relevance to any particular personality imitated by him, his role may reflect overarchingly the scientific community in total, as urging us to act against environmental destruction. At the same time, he manages to accurately expose the weaknesses and doubts we all face through time, in our daily lives, regardless of knowing what’s right and wrong.
The second scientist of the film, the one who actually made the discovery and seems to be in panic following it, and who is also getting heavily trolled by the public, is the PhD candidate Kate Dibiasky, played by Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence’s character could undoubtedly be a metaphor for Greta Thunberg, the young activist who is well known for advocating for the necessity of immediate actions against Climate Change, towards all global leaders.
In addition, Mark Rylance, as the Owner and CEO of the tech giant BASH, could resemble Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX, as well as other exceptional personalities of high tech giants, such as Steve Jobs,Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg etc.
He seems to be a visionary, powerful billionaire who controls much of the world’s cutting-edge technologies and within the upcoming crisis he manages to see an opportunity.
Last but not least, Meryl Streep plays the US president, who doesn’t seem to be moved by the terrible news of the planet’s total extinction approaching. In this case, the resemblance with the ex-president of the USA, Donald Trump, in a female version could not have been more evident.
Scene 2: The unusual trajectory of the film
‘Don’t look up’ enjoys the loneliness of the long-distance runner. Mixed views and strong criticism were also thrown at the director of the movie, Adam McKay, who is well known for his blockbuster ‘The big short’. Nevertheless, even if some of his fans’ high expectations were not fully met, McKay, as well as the rest of the contributors, achieved their main targets.
The film, while breaking viewing records in Netflix, as the 3rd most-viewed film ever, managed to raise awareness for the severe implications of the climate crisis we are going through. The message regarding the disastrous consequences is conveyed through parallelisms between the comet heading to destroy the Earth with existential-scale impacts and the critical issues of global warming, biodiversity collapse and other environmental problems of similar scale.
The plot’s narrative unfolded while watching the approach followed by the US president. Her maneuvers uncover crucial shortcomings and vulnerabilities regarding our governments. At the same time. President Janie Orlean appears as the leader of all nations towards this “unified” effort. At first, there is strong disbelief towards the colossal consequences of the threat. Following on, a lack of interest is expressed to tackle the problem, unless there is a relevant underlying political agenda to it. Furthermore, the opportunistic tactics of the tech-giant “BASH” leader, driven by economic interests and vanity to be involved in the task force, expose our dependence on such companies. Finally, tech races among various nations lead to a generally iled mission.
As everything unfolds, citizens in the movie remain mainly passive observing the comet heading towards the Earth, when plenty of them even deny its very existence, hence the motto “don’t look up”. Such passivity usually originates from our conformity, the resistance to change a settled life and the constant brainwashing regarding what is important and what is not, driven by social media.
In general, as people leave their lives in politicians’ hands, unfortunately, they tend to experience abandonment due to the governments’ incapability to handle major crises. The outcome is no other than the extinction of humankind, including all living species.
Scene 3: The climate crisis parable
Overall, the direct reference to real-life facts in the movie is undeniable. The plot and particular snapshots recall the scientific community, which pleas to take action as CO2 emissions continue to increase and millions of acres of forests and animal species face extinction year after year.
At the same time, humanity does little to prevent the disaster and eliminate the danger. Although most of us agree on the impacts Climate Change brings in our lives, we often refuse to take action before the next generations confront the non-reversible implications of our lifestyle over the last century.
What are our leaders doing to combat the climate crisis?
Currently, they mainly set long-term targets, while our “house is on fire”, in other words they “sit tight and assess” or else “Blah, blah blah”. One of the most significant differences between the movie and reality, apart from the relative concept of time (as there are only six months to stop the comet in the movie) is the exogenous dimension of the threat.
In our case, we, ourselves, have been in fact destroying our home over the last century with catastrophic consequences only in a tiny period compared to the existence of the Earth.
Scene 4: Before the wrap-up
“You should stay up all night every night crying when we’re all, 100 percent, for sure, going to [expletive] die!”
One of the most characteristic lines of the movie reminds us of the common fate that lies ahead for all of us, death. Even if, in the film, this fate approaches rapidly and massively for everyone, in the form of a comet, here, in our daily lives we still have Covid-19 to deal with, in a lot of aspects of our routine.
In that sense, our attitude towards science; whether we trust the scientific community or not, the way that this community broadcasts its crucial findings and the way fake news and conspiracy theories have been thriving lately among confused or manipulated masses of people are some of the many factors that create an additional symbolism of the film.
The impact of the internet, not only in our lives but mostly in our minds, can be described with the image of two circles, connected, each into one another. The recent pandemic changed once and for all the normality that we used to have. And now, we are talking about the new type of normality in the post covid-19 era. Thus, the circles seem to have been united, coinciding our life with our experience.
Though heavy with metaphors, the message of “Don’t Look Up” is clear and not open to interpretation: Wake up!
The takeaway: Despite its pessimism and particular humor, “‘Don’t look up” is a worth-watching, synchronous, unexpected satire with eye-opening potential.
P.S. — A special reference
When the film shows us, right before the total destruction, the Indian dancing in front of his flaming forest — we can even guess that he is somehow praying or mourning for what is happening — we can’t help but to think of all those indegenous people and their connection to their land and environment. Those people who cause the least and suffer the most of the global climate crisis we are in.
