Don't Look Up!

[lpetrich]

A movie now out on Netflix, and it's become the second most watched one ever.

"Don't Look Up!" is an allegory about our inadequate response to climate change and the COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 virus.

I’m a climate scientist. Don’t Look Up captures the madness I see every day | Peter Kalmus | The Guardian

The film, from director Adam McKay and writer David Sirota, tells the story of astronomy grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and her PhD adviser, Dr Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), who discover a comet – a “planet killer” – that will impact the Earth in just over six months. The certainty of impact is 99.7%, as certain as just about anything in science.

The scientists are essentially alone with this knowledge, ignored and gaslighted by society. The panic and desperation they feel mirror the panic and desperation that many climate scientists feel. In one scene, Mindy hyperventilates in a bathroom; in another, Diabasky, on national TV, screams “Are we not being clear? We’re all 100% for sure gonna fucking die!” I can relate. This is what it feels like to be a climate scientist today.

The two astronomers are given a 20-minute audience with the president (Meryl Streep), who is glad to hear that impact isn’t technically 100% certain. Weighing election strategy above the fate of the planet, she decides to “sit tight and assess”. Desperate, the scientists then go on a national morning show, but the TV hosts make light of their warning (which is also overshadowed by a celebrity breakup story).

By now, the imminent collision with comet Diabasky is confirmed by scientists around the world. After political winds shift, the president initiates a mission to divert the comet, but changes her mind at the last moment when urged to do so by a billionaire donor (Mark Rylance) with his own plan to guide it to a safe landing, using unproven technology, in order to claim its precious metals. A sports magazine’s cover asks, “The end is near. Will there be a Super Bowl?”

It got a lot of negative reviews, like

• Don't Look Up review: Tons of critics are bashing the #1 movie on Netflix
• ‘Don’t Look Up’ Review: Tick, Tick, Kablooey - The New York Times
• Look away: why star-studded comet satire Don’t Look Up is a disaster | Don't Look Up | The Guardian
• Don’t Look Up review – an A-list apocalyptic mess | Don't Look Up | The Guardian

‘It parodies our inaction’: Don’t Look Up, an allegory of the climate crisis, lauded by activists | Climate crisis | The Guardian - getting positive reviews from them.

David Ritter, chief executive of Greenpeace Asia Pacific, says he was struck by the sense of desperation portrayed by the film’s scientists, finding the parallel with the climate crisis “very, very powerful”.

“There are tens or hundreds of thousands of people across the world who are scientists, activists, campaigners … giving their lives to this work,” Ritter said. “The sheer number of people who have asked me … what is wrong with our political leaders that they do not understand?”

Also Why Sneering Critics Dislike Netflix’s ‘Don’t Look Up,’ But Climate Scientists Love It

Perhaps that’s one reason why, since its release, climate and environmental researchers have been heaping praise on Don’t Look Up. One of the most prominent American climate scientists, Michael E. Mann, has exhorted people to see the film, writing in the Boston Globe that “McKay’s film succeeds not because it’s funny and entertaining; it’s serious sociopolitical commentary posing as comedy.”

 

[lpetrich]

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on Twitter: "I’ve never felt so seen as watching @LeoDiCaprio & Jennifer Lawrence play scientists warning of pending apocalypse in #DontLookUp. I was wincing, anxious, nervous sweating, and nearly shouted at the screen “Are you fucking kidding me?! Listen to the scientists!” #ClimateCrisis" / Twitter

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on Twitter: "Shoutout to filmmaker @GhostPanther & team for this masterpiece. And also shoutout to Adam McKay’s Twitter profile banner image. #ClimateFuturism — here for many more versions of “What if we get it right?” (pic link)" / Twitter

Daniel Bleakley on Twitter: "If you want to get a idea of what life has felt like for climate scientists and activists over the last 20 years watch @dontlookupfilm with @LeoDiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence on Netflix." / Twitter

Peter Gleick on Twitter: "This has been my pinned tweet for years, but reposted now because of #DontLookUp" / Twitter
noting
Peter Gleick on Twitter: "There's a reason every disaster movie starts with the government ignoring a scientist.
When you degrade, ignore, and dismiss the warnings of science you threaten all of us. (pic link)" / Twitter

David Ho on Twitter: "Everyone who works at a public university in the U.S. knows that the struggle is real. #DontLookUp (pix link)" / Twitter

Prof Julia ClimateAction FightFascism on Twitter: "Idly wondering how many media and political figures recognized themselves in #DontLookUp , and will go on being ever-so-slightly more self-aware cheerleaders of the apocalypse. #tuesdaymotivations lolsob" / Twitter

Looks like I may have to subscribe to Netflix again to watch that movie. I did so for "Knock Down The House", the documentary of four female progressives who ran for Congress in 2018.

 

[lpetrich]

Movie Review: Don't Look Up | SETI Institute

Meryl Streep plays the President, and she’s the worst cross between Donald Trump and Bill Clinton that you can imagine. All concerned with politics and her image, and her Chief of Staff is her son, annoyingly portrayed by Jonah Hill in his most Jonah Hill way. They don’t want to take the situation seriously as it won’t poll well. And they are incredibly condescending about the team being from Michigan State and want scientists from Ivy League schools to check the numbers. Gross.

...
There’s also a bonus terrible subplot about a tech company called BASH and its founder, who is a pale, socially awkward genius with hints of Steve Jobs but not nearly the charisma. That subplot turned me off from the film a lot, but I can see it was necessary to keep the satire going. Still, I really didn’t like that part.

Overall, if satire is your thing, if you like dark humor, and you don’t mind end-of-the-world scenarios, then Don’t Look Up is for you. The science is fine. In fact, Amy Mainzer of NEOWISE fame was the astronomy consultant on the movie. That’s all well and good, but I still found the movie a little too cringe for my tastes. I also feel like it could have ended five minutes earlier, and the stinger after the credits was wholly unnecessary. I know Ally disagrees a bit, and we’ll have her review in our bonus content on Patreon.

Honestly, though, please please please look up. It’s pretty amazing up there.

DON'T LOOK UP | The Real-Life Heroes of Planetary Defense | SETI Institute - a panel discussion of that movie