Don’t Look Up is a new Netflix original movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. The basic premise is the two discover, well Kate (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers a never-before-seen comet that will hit the Earth and cause a mass extinction event, similar to the one that killed the dinosaurs, though this comet is even bigger. When the two try to tell the world about this incoming devastation, they are met with mockery and a massive lack of understanding. 

Honestly, this movie is such a great representation of how the media shapes what people believe and how politicians often make decisions for election, not for the good of the people. So, Kate first discovers the comet, and her panic and fear about the upcoming event is so evident throughout the film. So is her resignation and eventual acceptance. On a talk show with her professor Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), she gets fed up with how the hosts try to portray the event as a fun science project and try to downplay the actual problem, causing her to go off on the hosts and scream on live TV. Of course, she instantly becomes famous as a meme and a joke online. Her boyfriend dumps her in a post online and people mock mental illness. It’s never specifically stated that she has any mental illness, and the focus on this in the movie is so representative of how people assume things about others without any foundation. I felt so much like Kate as she was pushed to the sidelines and watched people mock her, calling her crazy. It also was so accurate to see Randall become the face of the disaster, despite Kate being the one to identify the comet and it named after her. Randall appears on all the talk shows, in commercials, magazines, everything. He is even featured on Sesame Street. All this fame brought to mind Dr. Anthony Fauci, and how his face is the main one associated with covid. America picks a white man to represent things, and it’s always how it goes. The movie even makes a joke about America needing a hero to blow up the comet and send a white man up in a spaceship, even though he had no experience as an astronaut. 

This brings me to the president portrayed in the movie, Janie Orlean, played by Meryl Streep. Oh god, this president brought to mind, on purpose, the former president (he who must not be named). Meryl portrays Janie as a narcistic, power hungry person (never stating what party she is but it’s very obvious), and she hires her son to be her chief of staff. Janie downplays the comet and tries to determine the best course of action that would make her look better for the midterms. Kate goes off on her too at times throughout the movie and calls out her hypocrisy, which doesn’t even faze Janie. Janie depends more on her donors, especially Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance), who gives off strong vibes of Elon Musk. His scientists determine the comet has mineable materials that can be used in phones, and since he owns a giant phone company, decides they need to blow the comet into smaller pieces and collect the pieces when they hit the planet. The fact that the president relies more on those who gave her money than on what would be best for the entire planet really hits close to home. This plan, of course fails, and brings about an ending I cheered for, the destruction of the Earth. At this point in the movie, I knew it was coming. There was no way a non-peer viewed scientific plan conducted by a billionaire would work. 

Some of the funniest parts of the movie come at the end, which shows a montage of how people react to the impending destruction. Janie and Peter run off to a spaceship reserved for the uber-wealthy (mostly older people which makes maintaining a population rather difficult), Kate and Randall, along with Randall’s family and several friends have a final dinner, and just enjoy being together. Janie literally abandons her son, and her realization only occurs after she calls Randall and offers him a spot on the ship. Truly a glorious moment was seeing someone literally shoot a gun at the comet and scream that it will never take him alive. Honestly, it was the most accurate representation of my state that I have ever seen. 

The world is destroyed, and an end credit scene shows the spaceship of the rich, preserved in cryogenic sleep, find a new survivable planet and embark on exploring. Janie, the smart woman she is, immediately approaches a strange looking species to pet it, and it eats her. The movie ends with more of the creatures approaching the remaining humans. Truly, that’s what I would expect from those who managed to get on the ship. 

This movie was full of satirical humor and made me physically laugh multiple times. I was so angry at the people in the movie, which was so comparable to the world we live in today, which made the ending all the better. Highly recommend this movie and pay attention to the way the world is portrayed, because it’s pretty accurate to today’s world. 

Until next time, 

Em