Don’t Look Up? A Sad Reality
We are doomed, aren’t we?
--
Don’t Look Up was released on Netflix on December 24th, 2021. Since then, I’ve stumbled upon a fair amount of memes on social media. Curious, I decided to watch it.
Oh, my.
The film is presented as a satire — “a way of using humor to show that someone or something is foolish, weak, bad” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. In this case, it is a satire about climate change and the action (or inaction) of governments.
But there’s more to it.
The pitch is simple.
A Ph.D. candidate discovers a comet. After calculations, it is proven the comet is heading toward us. The scientists go to the President of the United States, who doesn’t take them seriously. They then leak the news on TV and throughout the internet. The rest is history, or it should be.
I remember 2012. The year, and the movie. I was a senior in high school, taking an English test when the world was supposed to end. I didn’t believe it, yet I was anxious. When the time came, I looked up, around. Nothing. I gave it a minute. Still nothing. I went back to English, and on with my life.
Spoilers ahead
So it was not a surprise when no one reacted to the news. I expected some conspiracy theorists to start a movement, and for most people to ignore them. Of course, the world would be busy creating memes and harassing the one person trying to save our lives.
I fairly enjoyed the movie. I laughed often at the absurdity and yet the seriousness of it all. The world is ending, the rest sounds like a Tuesday on Earth.
The cast is as good as they must be expensive. I was pleasantly surprised by Ariana Grande. Jonah Hill had some great lines. Lawrence is playing another eccentric woman (reminds me of The Silver Lining Playbook), but she does it well. DiCaprio sounds surprised half the movie, and back on Wall Street the rest of the time.
