Last night, knowing nothing about it, I watched Don't Look Up. This morning I learned that it was meant to be an allegory about climate change denialism.
That never occurred to me while I was watching it. I mean, it's obviously an allegory about Donald Trump and COVID-19 denialism, right? Meryl Streep is plainly Trump. Jonah Hill is Don Jr. The Oglethorpe character is Fauci. Mindy and Dibiaski represent the entire scientific community. Isherwell is—oh, anybody who's on the denier gravy train, I suppose. Tucker Carlson. Scott Atlas. Ted Nugent. Whatever. The film even has its own MAGA hats.
The parallels were so pronounced that I never gave them a second thought. After all, the movie was about a threat that was both obvious and imminent, which fits COVID but not climate change.
Am I the only one who went into the movie blind and misconstrued its origins? Or did the script slowly change over time and become increasingly inspired by all the COVID nonsense taking place during 2020? I can certainly see how that could happen. COVID denialism is a lot wackier than climate denialism and provides an almost irresistible source of material for a broad satire like Don't Look Up. If you're working on the script over the course of 2020, how could you stop yourself from using it?
My father-in-law was raving about the movie because he said it was making fun of "all the woke idiots." I haven't seen it, so I couldn't speak to it, but I'm pretty sure from what I've read that he's deluded.
It's making fun of woke idiots. Which Republicans have their version of. It's skeptics of the skeptics.
It's a special mind that could see this movie as pro-moronic asshole.
Written by David Sirota.
So, the father's conclusion checks out.
An asshole but one that's been right for over a decade
I think this is a flaw of the McKay approach to filmmaking. By making everyone ridiculous he makes it possible to interpret the movie from any perspective. Of course that's exactly why he's able to command a $100 million budget and thus pay for stars like DiCaprio and JLaw. To me it makes perfect sense that a right-wing MAGA type thinks this movie is making fun of ridiculous liberals and their inclination to take everything too seriously. That's the difference between the wimpiness of "Don't Look Up" and the courage of "Dr Strangelove". It's clear in the latter Kubrick is satirizing Jack D. Ripper (the name tells you that!) and presenting Group Captain Mandrake as the beleaguered hero. In "Don't Look Up" McKay is having it both ways; the loony-tunes President is ignoring the problem, but the scientists are marginal figures we can ignore also. You could argue the scientists are "woke" and also over doing it, as I imagine the above mentioned father in law believes.
Covid skepticism was never going to work. I would even say AGW believers are skeptics due to the lagging, slow mo nature of the crisis. It drives people into extreme action that the system needs burned.
Covid is just OC43's long coming child.
One day you're going to write something that makes sense, and we will all fall out of our chairs from the surprise.
I watched the trailer and it seemed to me that it was about all of the denialisms, not one in particular.
I'm with you Kevin though in retrospect its easy to buy the movie started out as a an agw satire.
I saw it as climate change. And I saw the rich people’s escape rocket as the Jeff Bezos thing.
But the part where the scientist tries to go home to be with her family but they reject her because they think the comet is a hoax was definitely a covid reference.
Elysium did it better.
I thought it clearly about Covid and Trump, but if it’s about climate then it shows how presentism infects all art. Think of Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood or just about any other “historical” movie made at a time when people wore clothes different from today. Btw my favorite line was when things get really dire and Jonah Hill says something enthusiastic about just having dropped molly. Climate change or Covid, our opponents are scum.
I don’t go into it blind, but I had forgotten most of what it was supposed to be addressed to by the time I saw it tonight. It read very clearly as a metaphor for COVID, as an allegory for climate change. Like, clearly a reaction at some point to COVID but an allegory for how we’re treating climate change. Hysterically depressing, in those senses.
My thoughts on “end of the word movies.”
Narcissistic, right? You die so everything else ceases to exist.
Or
The really bad thing about dying is all of those things you will never get to experience. But since the world has ended you don’t have to worry about it.
This Is the End is a better apocalypse film featuring Jonah Hill.
Bonus points for Michael Cera getting slapped by Rihanna & Channing Tatum being Danny Mc Bride's bitch.
Apocalypse films are for people who can’t accept death. There has to be something beyond death. Kind of wishful thinking.
...if you say so. That's an odd opinion to have, in my opinion. I don't see the link.
Apocalypse as in the biblical meaning. Christians get sucked up in to heaven and get to hang out with God (and the Backstreet Boys). The rest of us spend eternity getting tortured. So death isn’t the end of everything as in an End Of The World movie in which everything is just over with.
I see them as two separate types of movie.
Where death becomes an aesthetic to be cultivated, like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Was it any good? I've been meaning to watch it once it's out on Netflix, which it now apparently is.
I thought McCay's Dick Cheney biopic Vice (2018) was a fairly entertaining film, even though it was laughably off-base about the reality of US politics.
Pretty good. Not Dr Strangelove (black comedy) good but good for a Netflix movie. You have to watch the end credits for “Easter Eggs”.
Oh, and while you are going through the end credits also notice all the people working on the film who have Covid related assignments. Definitely a sign of the times.
There's post-credits scene some people might miss.
Agree, pretty good. Probably hits too close to home for many critics, who like being critical but no criticized.
I thought it was far too long, acting was generally OTT, and far too obvious. Preaching to the choir?
It was just the right length. You can't do Over the Top in Satire, and the analogies need to be obvious in Satire.
It's a great film.
What did you think of "The Big Short"?
You know that scene in Florida with the Mortgage Loan Brokers? Boy was that real! (I was an investigator with the California Department of Real Estate during that time. The scene with the stripper was really real too…and worse!)
The Big Short was so good that Berner Adam Mc Kay -- whose mother is unrepentant MAGA -- that he decided he didn't need to make another Talladega Nites.
Hotter Adam Mac taeks: Stepbrothers is terrible & Anchorman 2 is better than Anchorman.
Remove "that he" before decided.
Saying Anchorman 2 is better than anything is --what is the English? --the armpit fart word sound for.
There is a logical impossibility which is at the heart of the final scene. I won't give it away, but I would just point out that the escape rocket is said clearly to be "programmed to SEARCH for Earth-like planets". Then, presumably, it will choose one and deposit its passengers there.
Since the planet is therefore not known when the rocket launches, the method of death of one of the characters is way too specifically predicted.
But WTH, it's a very good send-up of the Mindless Minions.
I thought of that as a send-up of AI hype.
Guess you are unfamiliar with the plot device of "Deus ex machina". Given this was a satire I found its use quite acceptable.
I'm sorry, but isn't it obvious the movie is an allegory for global warming and AGW denialism? I mean, shots of polar bears struggling across broken ice? A global, physically cataclysmic event that's going kill everyone and end civilization as we know it? Jesus, I'm sorry, but are Americans so wrapped up in their own special, personal moment they can't see the obvious? Oooooh, how meta. A movie about America's collective blindness to an undeniable, unmistakable, existential threat to, well, everything, is misconstrued by even the most aware amongst us. We are deeply social and impressionable animals, aren't we? Hardly the Cartesian logic machines we'd like to think.
Pretty sure Isherwell is supposeed to be Gates/Zuckergberg/Bezos, with a little Carl Sagan thrown in for quirkiness.
Heh. He struck me as some mashup of Timothy Leary and Steve Jobs.
So, Steve Ballmer at the Windows 95 launch party.
Obviously Steve Jobs and Elon Musk.
We’re you entertained by it? Ok, movies need not be entertaining to have artistic merit. And lots of things are entertaining while having no artistic merit. No redeeming social value.
Still, it seems to be the case these days that very little content is either entertaining or has redeeming social value. It is empty. I’m not going to watch this movie so feel free to spoil the ending. I guess this is what happens when boredom overcomes. So that’s my judgement. It is an allegory on boredom.
I was under the impression that if something was entertaining, it by definition had no artistic merit. "Art" has to be endured, not enjoyed. Witness all those books and stories that were assigned reading back in K12 school. How many have I re-read? Well, Huckleberry Finn, but that one's been banned now, repeatedly.
Looking forward to checking out "Don't Look Up" -- I spent my weekend teevie viewing with the latest Expanse episode and continuing to work through Babylon 5. Almost through Season 3!
I could watch reruns of Star Trek next gen all day. I somehow missed Babylon 5. Maybe BBC America could pick it up. I don’t stream tv shows much. On the bright side, when I retire, there will be so many movies and TV shows I’ve never seen that I won’t have to get out of the recliner for 10 years!
I've retired with the same plans. I already watched The Newsroom, which at three seasons was about 77 seasons too short. I'm now on season seven of House. Not sure what should come next, but your suggestion of Star Trek Next Generation may tip the scales.
As for Don't Look Up, I haven't seen it yet and thus have nothing to add.
B5 has not aged as well as DS9 tbh.
I found this movie entertaining and full of redeeming social value. In the time of Trump and Covid I have turned away from dark Scandinavian mysteries and serious European tragedies. What I crave is something to cheer me up, not send me down into the dumps.
I would say that Don't Look Up functions pretty well as a satire of reality deniers in whatever form and particularly their impact on American politics. And when I say "satire" I mean, yup- that's probably exactly what would have happen if they found a giant comet was about to hit earth in six months and you know who was running the show...
Yes, it functions well as a broad satire on America. The Elon Musk/Steve Jobs character pokes at capitalism as opposed to science denialism.
Covid, Climate Change, whatever. Nothing compares with real Trump clips during his daily “briefing” phase. “Go away like magic”, “all under control”. “Typically go away by April”. UV light, bleach, etc. . That really happened and he, apparently along with many republicans, wants more. Can’t make a farce out of a farce. It can’t be done.
Per what is republished by Kevin’s old stomping ground:
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/12/if-you-think-dont-look-up-is-just-an-allegory-about-climate-change-youre-missing-something/
I just watched it !
It’s a perfect description of modern society but primarily the United States of America.
Scientists are seldom to be found in the public debate “over there”
You either believe in science… or you don’t!
Politicians, editorial boards, journalist , talk show hosts and a new knows-it-all breed called social media influencers are the ones who are deciding on how to handle the existential problems of our time whether it is virus or climate breakdown or mass extinction or crimes …
Especially Republicans (aka right wing extremists) aren’t much for science but it goes deeper than that in US culture
Reuse is one thing in the context of the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) but not in the realm of comments: https://www.motherjones.com/?p=940611&commentID=78fb1715-a83a-4e5c-8828-aa81e4f2b486#comment-container Exact same text, from 20 hours ago.
It’s still my opinion…
Well, not all of us reaad MoJo.
Apologies for the extra "a". Must have hit the key too hard. I blame learning on a manual typewriter.
No worries. You caught it. MoJo still hasn’t caught their repeating a section of their republished article two extra times trying to lift a quote into a sidebar or whatever the correct term would be.
Store is not Swedish.
He's from closer to St. Petersburg, & points north, east, west, & south.
The one in Florida or the one in Russia?
You didn’t even manage to spell my name correctly !
Are you having a little problem in using latin letters my friend, you are maybe more accustomed to the Cyrillic keyboard
The unofficial historian - checking comments rather than facts. Amazing.
There has always been a strong element of willful, proud ignorance in American culture, sadly. If you go by the "Nations" theory of the US, as detailed by Colin Woodard, it largely emanates from the "Greater Appalachia" nation, which extends all the way into Texas.
There was once a political party that proudly proclaimed themselves the "Know Nothing" party. But these days, they call themselves "Conservatives." At least they USED to be honest...
"believe in science"
Science isn't a belief system.
In terms of making political decisions scientists are not intrinsically better than anyone else.
Well, George Orwell probably had the UK in mind when he wrote 1984 (due to his previous work at the BBC), but 1984 was seen by most as an anti-Soviet novel.
But is it worth watching? Some of the reviews have been savage.
Those reviews are wrong.
I found it amusing, but fast forward is your friend. It's got a stellar cast, and it looks like they're having more fun making the movie than you probably are watching it. That said, if you like political satire, it's worth taking a look.
I don't see it. Right now, Covid isn't likely to kill anyone in the US who's willing to make an effort to protect themselves.
The effects of a 7 KM rock hitting the earth at 100K MPH, on the other hand, are hard to avoid even if you're living on the other side of the planet.
Climate change is somewhere between these two extremes, and so is closer to the film in that sense.
Perhaps what one sees in any piece of art is a reflection of both the creator's vision and the vision of those perceiving the art.
Kevin's comments:
"That never occurred to me while I was watching it. I mean, it's obviously an allegory about Donald Trump and COVID-19 denialism, right?"
and
"After all, the movie was about a threat that was both obvious and imminent, which fits COVID but not climate change."
is perhaps illuminating regarding Kevin's perceptions here.
That last quotation made me scratch my head too. Which is it; not obvious not imminent. I'd say climate change by now is both of these things.
Maybe this is why Kevin is so cavalier about the failed BBBbill.
The national crime party, conservatives, have no argument for anything. They only have stupid crap, in great detail, at every point in life.They need to be exterminated.
Just asking questions,
https://i.redd.it/9bf18t2b1w781.jpg
The film was originally conceived in November 2019. In February 2020, Netflix announced they were going to release it that calendar year. It may have turned into a story about COVID denialism; unless Adam McKay had enough foresight to make the Oracle a at Delphi Janis, it was not originally designed to be about COVID denialism.
The beauty of metaphor is that it can apply to future situations not originally envisioned. When the disciple Matthew wrote: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves", he probably wasn't thinking about warning the Evangelicals about accepting Trump, but Evangelicals would still be smart to read his words and ponder.
Covid denialism and Climate denialism are pretty much the same thing. Making a satire about our ability to ignore science and focus on the Kardashians is going to poke at both.
DiCaprio's character, Randall Mindy, is taken from the Pentagon's 2004 global warming report called the “Schwartz-Randall Report”, after the surnames of the author-researchers contracted to produce it. (credit to Maunel Garcia, Jr. at CounterPunch)
Manuel García, Jr.
The script did change a lot over time, from what I've read, because Trump kept outracing the Stupid. You write something you think is over the top crazy and here comes Trump making that policy by suggesting something like scrubbing our lungs with Clorox. "Almost a cleaning. And I think you said you'd look into that."