The urgency of climate change portrayed through the movie “Don’t Look Up”
The role of science journalism has grown immensely since the start of the pandemic as it plays an increasingly crucial role in providing factual information to the general public. This includes important topics such as climate change.
In 2021, a Hollywood movie Don’t Look Up was released. Although the plot is about an impending comet to strike the earth, it is also a dramedy satire film about climate change.
According to a report by the UN, climate change is not being taken seriously despite being an acute and pressing issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. Indeed, changes in weather and climate patterns can put lives at risk. Heat waves are one of the most deadly weather phenomena. As ocean temperatures rise, hurricanes are getting stronger and wetter, which can cause direct and indirect deaths and serious implications.
As per a study conducted by NASA, the planet’s surface temperature has increased by 0.9 degrees Celsius since the late 19th century. The excessive production of carbon dioxide emissions such as car emissions and coal burning drove this change into our atmosphere. As the earth’s temperature is rising, polar ice caps are melting at an increasing rate. Scientists from the organization Climate Central estimate that 275 million people worldwide live in areas that will eventually be flooded if global temperature increases by 3 degrees Celsius. This would have dangerous and catastrophic implications.
Don’t Look Up starring Academy Award winning actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence was released to raise awareness about the bewilderment and insensitivity of civilians and bureaucrats across the globe. This film follows two scientists who discover a deadly comet heading towards Earth and try to warn the media of an imminent apocalypse. As expected, the reaction from news outlets, world leaders, and civilians is familiarly frustrating because they don’t take this issue seriously. In an interview by Screen Rant, Leonardo DiCaprio describes the film as “a metaphor for climate change that addresses the often-maddening apathy of politicians, new pundits, and even the general public in the face of alarming danger.”
The Atlantic states that critics, audiences, and activists have both savaged and praised the movie, and the backflash has highlighted the difficulty of conveying an urgent message with comedy. In a Variety interview, McKay –the director– said he was “surprised” by the “negative and utterly ridiculous” reviews of the film. McKay also called the reactions “brutal,” saying that he was immediately attacked on social media for “jokingly saying” that people who couldn’t connect with the film didn’t understand what was going on in the world. Despite the negative reviews and backlash, Don’t Look Up currently reigns as Netflix 3rd most watched original movie in its first 11 days. Indeed, The New York Times urges its readers to watch the movie with an open mind as “human narcissism and all that it has wrought, including the destruction of nature, will finally be our downfall. In the end, McKay – the director – isn’t doing much more in this movie than yelling at us, but then, we do deserve it.” Therefore, two questions remain: has political satire lost its power? Or has reality become so absurdly unfathomable that it’s now beyond parody?
In my opinion, I would encourage everyone to watch this movie to see for themselves to arrive at their own answers to the questions above. I think Don’t Look Up is a realistic portrait of our society’s lackadaisical responses to climate change and watching it will hopefully encourage more people to come up with their own creative solutions to climate change and hold themselves and their government leaders accountable to make our planet a better and healthier environment for the forthcoming generations and wild habitat. For more on Don’t Look Up and its messages, please listen to our podcast episode titled “Don’t Look Up Roundtable Discussion.”
