Don't look up
Don’t Look Up, or better yet: Fuck it, we’re all gonna die.
The movie is like some kind of Wittgensteinian torture, set in the age of post-truth—where words don’t matter, reality is distorted, and everything gets twisted to fit an agenda.
It feels like the movie was probably written before COVID and then adapted on the fly. After all, Meryl Streep plays a female Donald Trump, Jonah Hill (in top form) is a parody of Ivanka Trump, and Mark Rylance channels a very obvious Elon Musk.
I think the director of The Big Short originally set out to roast Musk’s grand plans to colonize Mars while the planet we’re on remains a tough place to live.
In my view, it’s not really a critique of the capitalist system, but more about the vanity of focusing the sharpest minds on projects that don’t serve 99.9% of humanity. It also highlights how politicians are utterly incapable of coming up with solutions or actually doing politics.
Beyond that, DiCaprio gives a knockout performance in a role that lets us feel the rollercoaster scientists have been on during the pandemic. We see how scientists became the stars of the moment, pulled out of obscurity, only to realize that if they don’t align with the current narrative, they can easily be sidelined. We’ve seen it here too—scientific expertise isn’t enough; political alignment is required as well.
The fast-paced, documentary-like style with a bunch of celebrities (e.g., Ariana Grande), which some boomers dismissed as low-brow or anti-festival, reminded me of the hilarious Death to 2021 on Netflix (check it out). This generational gap is real, folks—people are gonna get lost in it.
Some people did not take it seriously because it’s on Netflix, but that’s too easy of a critique. They forget that real mass appeal happens where the people are, not in elitist collectives (though those have their place too).
Personally, I found the movie clever. It moved me, shook me up, made me text a bunch of friends telling them to watch it immediately. In just two hours, it helped me cut through the noise of media-driven narratives and connect with people about the real issues we’re living through.
For the finale, I saved my personal favorite moment: when Chalamet kisses Lawrence as she’s explaining how corrupt the system is and everything she’s been through trying to convey the scientific truth about the comet. She stops him, thinking the move is completely irrelevant given the seriousness of the situation.
But then, she jumps on him and starts kissing him back, dropping a line that, in my opinion, sums up the main message of the movie, and maybe even the whole era: Fuck it, we’re all gonna die.
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I was glad I didn't listen to the narrative and just watched the film. The panic DiCaprio felt as a scientist pretty much sums up our entire post-covid experience. Lovely take!
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Your take on Don't Look Up is spot on! The film is a sharp satire of modern society, blending humor with a terrifyingly realistic portrayal of how we deal (or don't deal) with existential threats. It feels like a mirror held up to the absurdities of our time—whether it's the political ineptitude, media sensationalism, or the lack of urgency in addressing global crises like climate change and pandemics. And you're right, the characters feel like clear stand-ins for real-world figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, making the film all the more biting.
The way Don't Look Up frames the struggle of scientists—being celebrated one moment and discarded the next if they don't fit a certain narrative—feels painfully relevant. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance really captures the frustration and helplessness that so many experts must feel as they try to shout over the noise of disinformation and denial.
I love how you highlighted the film's generational divide, too. It plays into that broader theme of disconnect—whether it’s between scientists and politicians, or between those who care about real issues and those too consumed by the spectacle. The fact that it’s on Netflix only makes it more accessible to a wider audience, and as you said, mass appeal is where real cultural influence happens.
The ending, where Jennifer Lawrence’s character basically says, “Fuck it, we’re all gonna die,” encapsulates the film’s mix of nihilism and dark humor. It speaks to that overwhelming sense of futility so many people feel in the face of global challenges, yet it still manages to be a wake-up call.
It's not just a critique of politics or capitalism—it’s a critique of human nature, media culture, and how we tend to bury our heads in the sand rather than confront uncomfortable truths. Don't Look Up is definitely one of those films that leaves you thinking long after the credits roll.