Don't Look Up (Film)

[Alex_Krycek]

I watched this over the weekend.  Overall I thought it was a humorous, provocative, and scarily accurate depiction of what happens when human beings are confronted with a dire threat (in this case an extinction level event arising from a direct hit by a 5-10 km wide comet).  

Meryl Streep's character, President Orlean, was very well written.  She's basically the female Trump, governing an administration infested with nepotism, corruption, and private donors.  

Interestingly this film was panned by critics - perhaps because it's message about the superficiality of the media hit a little too close to home.

Synopsis from IMDB:  "Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem - it's on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up?"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, Alex_Krycek said:

I watched this over the weekend.  Overall I thought it was a humorous, provocative, and scarily accurate depiction of what happens when human beings are confronted with a dire threat (in this case an extinction level event arising from a direct hit by a 5-10 km wide comet).  

Meryl Streep's character, President Orlean, was very well written.  She's basically the female Trump, governing an administration infested with nepotism, corruption, and private donors.  

Interestingly this film was panned by critics - perhaps because it's message about the superficiality of the media hit a little too close to home.

Synopsis from IMDB:  "Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem - it's on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up?"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/

No, it just seems to be a terrible film, that's all: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/27/look-away-why-star-studded-comet-satire-dont-look-up-is-a-disaster. According to the review it is worthy, cynical, smug and condescending. And who is it for? According to this review, it seems to be made for people who inhabit the same bubble as the film maker, encouraging them to point fingers at everyone else.      

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by exchemist

[Alex_Krycek]

1 hour ago, exchemist said:

No, it just seems to be a terrible film, that's all: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/27/look-away-why-star-studded-comet-satire-dont-look-up-is-a-disaster. According to the review it is worthy, cynical, smug and condescending. And who is it for? According to this review, it seems to be made for people who inhabit the same bubble as the film maker, encouraging them to point fingers at everyone else.      

 

 

Perhaps watch the film for yourself, instead of letting others make conclusions for you.

[Sensei]

I saw the movie and enjoyed it.

Personally, I think real politicians would have fared worse in a similar crisis.

Humanity is facing a climate change crisis. All the politicians have done is raise taxes on CO2 emissions, which has only hit ordinary people in the pockets.. Any reason to raise taxes is good for politicians, all kinds of politicians.. People who have less money in their pockets are less likely to buy expensive electric cars, install renewable power generators, upgrade their homes to zero emission, etc. etc. Which causes people to turn away, to become discouraged, to start fighting change because it affects them personally..

If a crisis similar to the one depicted in the movie were to happen for real, we can expect to see taxes raised..

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, Alex_Krycek said:

Perhaps watch the film for yourself, instead of letting others make conclusions for you.

Not on the basis of this and other similar poor reviews I've read. 

[TheVat]

6 hours ago, Alex_Krycek said:

 

Interestingly this film was panned by critics - perhaps because it's message about the superficiality of the media hit a little too close to home.

 

Or perhaps because the satire was about as subtle as a sledgehammer, and none of the scientists seemed at all believable as real people.  Broad caricatures are less relatable, for many viewers.  And the Trump caricature was low-hanging fruit.  Yes, science denial is dumb.  Message received!  They milked the public apathy joke for all it was worth, and padded a half hour sketch into a feature-length movie.  Meh.

[iNow]

40 minutes ago, Sensei said:

If a crisis similar to the one depicted in the movie were to happen for real, we can expect to see taxes raised..

It’s happening for real right now with the response to the pandemic, at least in the US

[MigL]

Seems to be the response of most Governments, not just American.
They make up for their incompetent response by throwing the people's money at the problem.

[dimreepr]

7 minutes ago, MigL said:

Seems to be the response of most Governments, not just American.
They make up for their incompetent response by throwing the people's money at the problem.

 

[MigL]

Are those the voters, or the Government officials, Dim ?

[dimreepr]

17 minutes ago, MigL said:

Are those the voters, or the Government officials, Dim ?

If I could explain it too you, I'd have a career... 😉

[joigus]

3 hours ago, Sensei said:

I saw the movie and enjoyed it.

Personally, I think real politicians would have fared worse in a similar crisis.

Humanity is facing a climate change crisis. All the politicians have done is raise taxes on CO2 emissions, which has only hit ordinary people in the pockets.. Any reason to raise taxes is good for politicians, all kinds of politicians.. People who have less money in their pockets are less likely to buy expensive electric cars, install renewable power generators, upgrade their homes to zero emission, etc. etc. Which causes people to turn away, to become discouraged, to start fighting change because it affects them personally..

If a crisis similar to the one depicted in the movie were to happen for real, we can expect to see taxes raised..

I think you're spot on with this. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't opine.

2 hours ago, dimreepr said:

 

Here's an updated version of it, very relevant today, which you may consider taking into account:

[CharonY]

4 hours ago, iNow said:

It’s happening for real right now with the response to the pandemic, at least in the US

Well, and to be fair a significant proportion of the population is just unwilling to make even minor (much less major) sacrifices for the community and not only in the US. Especially among the younger folks I keep hearing the mantra: "I did my bit, stayed home for a while, wore a mask and got vaccines so now I am entitled to live my life". Older folks are still terrified.

I have not seen the movie it yet, but I fear at least the concept of the movie seems a bit like Idiocracy and the issue is that it does not seem like a clever treatise of the issues we have, but rather just take things as they are and dial it up like in a sketch show. Unfortunately, reality is catching up in real time, and if reality overshadows satire, what is the point?

I think folks that look at the whole thing and can at least feel a bit smug about it, can enjoy it. Those that that see to many depressing parallels and are already annoyed that the current reality of things might not.

 

[iNow]

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Unfortunately, reality is catching up in real time, and if reality overshadows satire, what is the point?

Not everyone is paying attention to reality. While it offers some comic relief for those who are, perhaps in parallel it loops into the fold those who were previously oblivious, intentionally or otherwise. 

It’s an overly optimistic and hopeful stretch, I know, but maybe a few people will watch and be like, “hmm… hadn’t really thought of it that way before, but this is sort of what’s been happening all around me IRL.”

In the end, it’s just a movie, a dark comedy. It’s a way to pass 2 hours and take your mind off your troubles for a little bit. 

[Alex_Krycek]

Neat app from NASA/JPL.  It allows you to simulate the parameters of a NEO (Near Earth Object) and a hypothetical intercept (vehicle, number of launches, time before impact, etc).

https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/nda/nda.html

 

20 hours ago, TheVat said:

Or perhaps because the satire was about as subtle as a sledgehammer, and none of the scientists seemed at all believable as real people.  Broad caricatures are less relatable, for many viewers.  And the Trump caricature was low-hanging fruit.  Yes, science denial is dumb.  Message received!  They milked the public apathy joke for all it was worth, and padded a half hour sketch into a feature-length movie.  Meh.

What, real scientists don't have salacious affairs with talk show hosts?  

I think McKay (and probably Lawrence and DiCaprio) were trying to "get through" to as many people as possible with this film.  Hence the lack of subtlety and simple plot.  

 

[Alex_Krycek]

Excellent review by George Monbiot from the Guardian.  Hits the nail on the head.

Watching Don’t Look Up made me see my whole life of campaigning flash before me

George Monbiot

Excerpt:  No wonder journalists have slated it. They’ve produced a hundred excuses not to watch the climate breakdown satire Don’t Look Up: it’s “blunt”, it’s “shrill”, it’s “smug”. But they will not name the real problem: it’s about them. The movie is, in my view, a powerful demolition of the grotesque failures of public life. And the sector whose failures are most brutally exposed is the media.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/04/dont-look-up-life-of-campaigning?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

[koti]

On 1/2/2022 at 9:19 AM, Alex_Krycek said:

I watched this over the weekend.  Overall I thought it was a humorous, provocative, and scarily accurate depiction of what happens when human beings are confronted with a dire threat (in this case an extinction level event arising from a direct hit by a 5-10 km wide comet).  

Meryl Streep's character, President Orlean, was very well written.  She's basically the female Trump, governing an administration infested with nepotism, corruption, and private donors.  

Interestingly this film was panned by critics - perhaps because it's message about the superficiality of the media hit a little too close to home.

Synopsis from IMDB:  "Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem - it's on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up?"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/

Political satire at it's best. Subtle, funny, eye brow raising.

[anarukisaki]

I thought it was very similar to Idiocracy, another great documentary movie.