Don’t Look Up is a film released by Netflix on Dec. 15, 2021 featuring a star-studded cast that includes Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Arianna Grande and many other familiar faces. Although it initially seems to be one of many disaster movies to saturate Hollywood, director Adam McKay instantly catches viewers off guard with heavy satire throughout the film, resulting in the movie’s categorization as a comedy-disaster.
McKay tells the story of two astronomers discovering a massive asteroid heading straight towards Earth; direct collision means the extinction of all life. As they attempt to warn the U.S. government and media, they face a surprising amount of indifference to the crisis at hand. Plans to change the comet’s course are abandoned in favor of resource mining and political interests. The phrase “don’t look up” is created to delegitimize the astronomers’ claims, further dividing the world’s opinion on the supposed ‘issue.’
Immediately, critics and viewers noticed how Don’t Look Up parallels our government and media’s response to climate change. In both the film and real life, denying apparent scientific facts, prioritizing money and resources, and maintaining political credibility impede meaningful progress on global issues. According to the World Health Organization, 250,000 additional deaths will occur due to climate change in 10-30 years. Though the timeline is condensed in the film, the disastrous outcome of Don’t Look Up is the same future that scientists predict for Earth, should governments continue to ignore the problem of climate change.
McKay’s film is particularly significant because of its timing. According to a study conducted by the University of Colorado Boulder, climate change media coverage has declined by 22% since January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Films that have been released in the past two years had a dramatized focus on the survivalist aspect of climate change disasters. In contrast, Don’t Look Up is one of the few climate change films that focus on the buildup to disaster, emphasizing preventative steps the world should take.
Reception of Don’t Look Up has been surprisingly mixed, as the film received a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though there is some criticism on McKay’s directing choices, there is plenty on the film’s message. Critics such as Kyle Smith from National Review argue that the film takes many “low-velocity hits” at “social media,” “tech moguls” and “Trumpism,” which has been a primary point of criticism from more conservative political figures. On the other hand, reviews from climate scientists are overwhelmingly positive.
This division has sparked much debate on social media regarding the film and climate change as a whole. Such discourse places the problem into the political spotlight after two years in the shadows of COVID-19. Witty, alarming, and surprisingly optimistic, Don’t Look Up is the epitome of climate change media and its powerful impact.
Written by Vismaya Mohindra of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo Courtesy of Netflix