By Robert Scucci
| Updated
Thanks to all of the doomspeak we hear all day, every day on the news, it’s hard to gauge exactly how an actual extinction-level event will be communicated to the masses through the 24/7 news cycle that has literally everybody on edge all the time. If I had to venture a guess, 2021’s Don’t Look Up, a Netflix Original, is about as accurate as it gets because the general public is so overwhelmed by the onslaught of information they receive at any given moment that I don’t think anybody would actually care about an alleged comet hurtling toward Earth because it’s just another bleak story in the news cycle that may or may not be true.
Exploring this idea to levels of absurdity with its pitch-black sense of humor, Don’t Look Up offers a startling yet hilarious glimpse at just how society would react to an imminent, world-ending disaster when the powers that be have no other choice than to admit they’ve been sitting on evidence of a world-ending catastrophe because they didn’t think it was a big deal at the time, and figured other fluff stories would be better for ratings.
It Starts With A Comet
Don’t Look Up centers on both Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Doctor Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), who both work in the astronomy department at Michigan State University. When Kate, a doctoral candidate at the university, discovers a comet, she consults Randall, her professor, to confirm its trajectory.
Almost immediately, Randall discovers that the comet is heading toward Earth at an alarming rate, and will see its impact in about six months. Knowing they have to act fast to get the news out, Randall, Mindy, and Dr. Teddy Ogelthorpe (Rob Morgan) of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office arrange a meeting with President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her son, Jason (Jonah Hill), her chief of staff.
In a shocking turn of events, President Orlean treats the issue as yet another example of a nobody scientist looking for his 15 minutes of fame in the form of whipping the nation hysterics with Kate’s discovery.
Leaning into all of the classic disaster movie tropes, Don’t Look Up becomes an absolute circus of media manipulation, political doublespeak, and the downplaying of an actual upcoming extinction-level event that nobody seems to care about.
It’s All About Ratings
Given a chance to communicate their discovery to the masses in Don’t Look Up, Kate and Randall make an appearance on The Daily Rip, a light-hearted and incredibly popular morning talk show, only to find out that the hosts, Jack Bremmer (Tyler Perry) and Brie Evantee (Cate Blanchett) want them to downplay the catastrophe because doomspeak would be bad for ratings. Frustrated by the fact that nobody’s taking their discovery seriously, Kate has a meltdown on air, making her the subject of cruel internet memes, while Randall is celebrated for his good looks and academic charm, making him a celebrity.
Only when news about President Orlean’s affair with Supreme Court nominee Sheriff Conlon (Erik Parillo) makes its rounds in the news cycle is the comet’s imminent impact with Earth taken seriously because she desperately needs a big story to cover up her scandal in Don’t Look Up.
Recruiting tech billionaire Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) to help orchestrate an Armageddon-style nuclear attack on the comet, President Orlean resolves to rectify the situation, but only until Peter realizes that the comet could be mined for precious resources.
Meanwhile, the public is divided on whether the comet is an actual threat thanks to the dubiousness of the news reports involving the spectacle, illustrating the fact that no matter how much you doom scroll through your news apps, you’re not necessarily getting the full story.
Streaming Don’t Look Up On Netflix
Don’t Look Up is one of those disaster flicks that’s so on-the-nose that you can’t help but laugh at its ridiculousness. But just beneath its dark sense of humor is a more important narrative to consider. We’re all being fed an onslaught of conflicting information through our devices, and at such an alarming rate it’s impossible to fact-check everything or even consider the fact that these stories aren’t being published with our best interests in mind.
As hilarious as Don’t Look Up may be, it’s also a frightening satire because nothing about this movie seems unrealistic. Okay, you may have to suspend a healthy amount of disbelief by the time you reach its third act, but as far as media manipulation and public perception goes when it comes to catastrophic, world-ending events, I don’t think the events that take place in this film are too far off from reality, given the current state of things.
Don’t Look Up is a Netflix Original, and can be streamed with an active subscription.
