Why I am upset with “Don’t Look Up”
An environmentalist reviews the newest climate movie
Big Hollywood movies that tackle the topic of the climate emergency are rare and barely ever popular. So it comes as no surprise that the newest movie in this category “Don’t Look Up” does not talk about the topic directly but rather as a metaphor. Instead of the complex and layered issue of the climate crisis, humanity is faced with the threat of a massive comet hitting our planet.
As someone who considers herself an environmentalist, works in the field and has a passion for all things space, I was very intrigued and very hopeful. But, to be honest, I ended up being incredibly disappointed.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Great actors but no characters
The cast of “Don’t Look Up” is fantastic: Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and even Ariana Grande play big roles in the movie. While their acting was great, the characters still fell flat.
First I wondered why, but then I remembered my lessons for screenwriting. They broke one of the most important rules of storytelling on screen. They forgot to make us care. Which is ironic, as this entire movie is a huge plug for the message: PLEASE CARE ABOUT OUR PLANET. But while pushing that message, they forgot to make us care about the characters.
I don’t want to go into too much detail, as the movie has far bigger issues, but to summarize: We did not get to see a single backstory. No one seemed to have family they truly cared about or friends or any other kind of motive as to why they did what they did. Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan) for example did not have any proper function at all, which made him look like a token black character (more on diversity in just a moment). Just like Yule (Timothée Chalamet) and multiple other characters, he seemed to be completely pointless. This could have easily been changed if we would have been allowed to get to know the characters and see their motivations.
The character development was also not well done. Most characters did not change throughout the entire movie, which was wasted potential. The main character, however, changed from this very anxious shy professor who had daily panic attacks to a confident relaxed celebrity within what seems like a day without any indicator as to what happened. One cut of his beard and all of his mental health issues disappeared. Man, I wish I had that stylist.
Diversity who?
The movie ends with a scene of a bunch of old white rich people landing on a new planet that looks like paradise. While this is a depressing yet likely outcome that was strategically placed to drive home the point, it is also kind of ironic. The movie should have taken that last scene and reflected on their own work. Because this movie was insanely white, Christian and privileged.
It was so clear that the target audience was “white middle-class Republicans from the US” that it became painful to watch. Not only with the clear nod to Trump and the countless references to Christianity, but also with its lack of diversity. Yes, we do have Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan) and the TV moderator Jack Bremmer (Tyler Perry) and Kate’s ex Phillip (Himesh Patel), but all of these characters could have been cut from the movie without any loss. They were tokens. Everyone else was white and well-off.
In regards to gender, we also see zero diversity or feminism. Yes, Meryl Streep plays a female president, but she is a horrible leader with no empathy or courage. The other female main character, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is not even a full scientist but rather a Ph.D. candidate and ends up as a hysterical useless side character. Her male white science counterpart takes all the credit and spotlight. While that last part is very realistic, it is not criticized or challenged in any way.
Main characters aside, if a comet was truly coming towards Earth, it would not only be an issue for the US. Just like the climate crisis does not only threaten one country alone. There is a very brief mention of China and Russia (of course), but the movie does not even try to explore how a global civilization would react to such an event. It does not acknowledge that there would be a wide variety of reactions, both from politicians and scientists as well as the general public and different cultures. This is upsetting, considering the movie is 2,5 hours long and has countless scenes that could have been cut or replaced by more relevant perspectives.
It is a shame, really. Because the message of the movie is to take action and save our planet, but the only possible way we can do that is by coming together and realizing that the world is more than your own experience and your own immediate surroundings. That we are all in this together. No matter if we are talking about a threat from space or the destruction of our planet by our own doing.
What are we fighting for?
I think that the movie lost itself in trying to reach a very specific audience, the mentioned “white middle-class Republicans from the US”. Not only with the representation and overall construction of the movie, but also with its goals to drive home one clear message: The situation is urgent. Wake up.
While that is a good thing and while I appreciate movies that make you rethink everything and that do not shy away from criticizing politics and capitalism and their own business, this movie misses one very crucial element: The answer to the question why.
WHY should we care? WHY should we fight? WHY should we unite?
There are a few stock videos of animals here and there, but that is it. “Don’t Look Up” fails to show the beauty of life and our home, Planet Earth. People who are not aware of this will just think: Oh, why should I care if we are doomed anyway? And environmentalists like me will leave the movie deeply depressed and discouraged.
Don’t get me wrong: I did not want a happy ending. I would have been very, very angry if there had been a miracle solution (unless maybe another country launching a successful mission). But despite my understanding of the metaphors and the messages of the movie, it did not make me sad. Because the movie did not make me root for the good guys or showed me how amazing life on Earth is. They just showed the dark sides of humanity and in the end, my only thought was: Well, we kind of deserved this.
It left me asking: Where was the hope?
If you do science, do it right
My final critique is the absolute fantastical use of science and engineering. While the beginning seemed to be promising, it became wilder and wilder throughout the movie.
The movie has a timeline of roughly six months. In the beginning, a lot of time is wasted on convincing the president and the media that the threat is real, but when action is finally taken, the launch of the rockets happens practically the next day. But space ships take YEARS to be developed, tested and constructed. And I am not even talking about the brand new technology we see from BASH at the end of the movie which is even more absurd. For comparison, the Space Shuttle from NASA had a development time of eleven years and has been continually improved ever since.
The argument of BASH that the planet “could handle” many smaller pieces of the comet is also incorrect. If you look into the history of our planet and other planets you can clearly see that this is not accurate. NASA states that “anything larger than one to two kilometers […] could have worldwide effects” but already everything over 25 meters “would likely cause local damage to the impact area.” (source)
If you make a movie based on science, maybe look up the science first or have scientists develop the movie with you. Movies, art and fiction do have some freedom, but the whole movie is built on the premise of reality. So it should be executed that way.
Why you should still watch the movie
Despite the many issues I have with this movie, I still think it is worth a watch. Simply because it drives home a very crucial point:
Greed for power, money and resources is ruining our chance for a future.
We will pay the price for the ignorance and avarice of the richest and most powerful people. We cannot afford to look away and pretend that everything is fine and we will continue to live our lives as we have done in the last few decades.
We need change. And that change starts with us, because no one is coming to save us. In fact, the people we trust in saving and protecting us, our political leaders, the companies which sustain us and the technologies we use daily, are actively working against us. We need to open our eyes and not only demand change but create change.
