Don’t Look Up: A Mirrored View of Our Society
If you are an avid Netflix watcher, or have even gone on the platform recently, we guarantee you have seen promos for the new film starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence: Don’t Look Up.
Don’t Look Up is a satire comedy film that focuses on two astronomers that discover a world destroying comet heading for the planet. While one may think this film is going to be an apocalyptic film with powerful resolutions and great thinking; this movie is just the opposite. Beneath the standout cast and hilarious jokes, this film is a straight view into our society today, exploring the way we handle mass issues, social media and ultimately how we do things for the benefit of others. Two major scenes demonstrate just this.
Warning the President:
When the two astronomers discover the comet that was soon named after one of the scientists, they come into contact with an executive working for NASA. This executive assists them in scheduling a meeting with the president to discuss the dire situation. Days after the original time, when the president finally had the time, played by Meryl Streep, she passed on the upcoming catastrophe stating she was going to “sit tight and assess.”
With her son as chief of staff and making fun of the scientific talk, it showed how the government had better things to do than care about the wellbeing of the country. In our society today, many powerful leaders have ignored Covid-19 precautionary measures and warnings, believing their own opinions, rather than facts. If the pandemic plans had been followed, and scientists had been listened to, our country would most likely not be facing so many unfortunate deaths.
Becoming a Meme:
When Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence’s characters decide that it would be best to spread the word to the public knowing that the president has not put this event as a priority, they go on a talk show where they soon realize it is all fluffed news, and only focuses on things that are positive. After revealing the dire situation to the talk show hosts, the hosts begin to make jokes similar to the president, and are not taking it seriously.
Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Kate Dibiasky notices this and becomes enraged screaming at the hosts and to the world “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.” Instead of immediate fear from the public, Dibiasky becomes a meme all over social media platforms, being torn apart and made fun of, passing over the actual importance of what she was trying to say. This, similar to cancel culture, is a dangerous aspect of social media that we tend to ignore. There will always be haters and trolls trying to tear you down, but especially when you have something that needs to be said.
If you find yourself with two hours of time, we at The Edge recommend you sit down and watch this film. It is hilarious and has an amazing, well-known cast, but also turns the page on revealing the hard truth of the world we’re living in: a social media catered world, where truthfulness is looked down upon, and the rich and powerful are prioritized. If you can, try and see how many analogies you can notice; you will certainly be surprised.