Scandals of debatably talented celebrities and foolish politicians seem to entice our society more than real-life issues like the death of our planet due to climate change. This concept was the driving idea behind the recent Netflix original "Don't Look Up" (2021) which was released on Dec. 5. The film sarcastically conveys the priorities of our media-driven generation and, embarrassingly… I think it’s a pretty accurate portrayal.

 

“Don’t Look Up” was a highly anticipated film due to its expensive cast which includes stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Chris Evans, Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi. At first when I saw the loaded cast I thought it was just another ploy to lure viewers in by using cameos of “hip” celebrities. After watching the film I realized director Adam McKay was trying to use the well-known cast to poke fun at the world’s shallow priorities.

 

The movie follows Kate Dibiasky — played by Lawrence —, an astronomy grad student at Michigan State University who discovers a shockingly huge comet within the solar system. Soon after celebrating, Diabiasky and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy — played by DiCaprio — are filled with dread when they discover that the Mount Everest-sized comet is on a direct collision course with Earth, meaning in six months and 14 days all of humanity will be extinct.

 

They quickly get in touch with NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office head Dr. Oglethorpe — played by Rob Morgan -– who gives them the opportunity to share the news with the fame-consumed President of the United States — played by Streep –– who is a clear parody of former President Donald Trump. After President Orlean and her frat bro-like son and chief of staff — played by Jonah Hill — finally take a meeting with them, the astronomers realize the White House is more concerned about Orlean’s polling numbers than the end of the world. 

 

Dibiasky and Mindy then embark on a media tour to inform the world of their discovery since the president isn’t taking their warning seriously. After sharing the news on a superficial morning TV show that attempts to turn the situation into a light-hearted scientific discovery, Diabiasky snaps and yells, “We’re all 100% for sure going to f***ing die!”

 

Dibiasky quickly gets turned into a national meme and is marked as a “crazy person.” At the same time Professor Mindy heads down a dark path, getting consumed by fame and popularity. McKay makes it very clear that he thinks the nation’s values are warped. Although I agree, I think he could’ve conveyed this in a more obscure way than unambiguous parodies. 

 

The film depicts the nation's mindless infatuation with “win-win” technology by portraying an Elon Musk mimic –– Peter Isherwell, played by ​​Mark Rylance –– who made me extremely uncomfortable. Space agencies across the globe and Isherwell’s experimental technology are the world’s last hope for diminishing the impact of the “planet-killer” comet.

 

There are a couple of characters who seem like they were written into the storyline solely because the casting director Francine Maisler was striving for an impressive cast. Cudi and Grande play a famous singer-celebrity couple that America cares more about breaking up than the end of the world, but ultimately I think they have too much screen time. Their scenes seem like a cheesy Saturday Night Live skit because their acting doesn’t match the reputation of their co-stars DiCaprio and Lawrence.

 

On the other hand, Chalamet’s character Yule comes across as a cameo due to his short amount of screen time. Yule isn’t a necessary character, but he adds some funny moments in parts where comedic relief is very much needed. I wish Yule was introduced earlier in the film because his character isn’t provided with much background information, but maybe that’s why he is so amusing.

 

In “Don’t Look Up” McKay is expressing the true challenges of spreading information about a need for urgent global action like reversing climate change. Sometimes a message too overwhelming to comprehend can trigger inaction and the unfortunate truth is people tend to disregard the information they don’t want to hear.

 

The official Netflix trailer

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