This week, climate culture looks a little different. The most on point cultural news did not come from a tv show, a movie, an album, or even late night TV — all of which we’ve covered before. This week, the biggest climate culture news came from an under 2 minute video clip, a movie trailer.
Don’t Look Up is being billed as a comedy/disaster movie. It’s about a catastrophic comet hurtling toward Earth… The catch? Nobody takes the scientists seriously.
The director, Adam McKay has said the movie is really a commentary on climate change, and even more, how we communicate with one another. Watch the teaser above, and I’m sure you’ll agree that it feels relevant.
This clip is over the top, it’s funny, it’s fabulously acted; the trouble is that it happens every day in the real world, without the laughs. Scientists have warned a President about climate change and its dangers. They did not just warn Trump, Obama, Bush, or even Clinton. They warned President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1965.
We’ve spent 50 years living inside of this movie trailer. We’ve spent 50 years trying to talk ourselves out of a physical reality. We’ve spent 50 years saying “Don’t Look Up.”
And we’re still doing it today. We know that we have to act now, and yet, our so called leaders are failing us. They’re saying let’s, “sit tight and assess,” just like President Meryl Streep. They’re saying we can pretend to do something, package it with pretty words, and wait for disaster to strike. They are doing exactly what Greta Thunberg’s called “blah blah blah” at the Pre-COP26 gathering in Milan this week).
Congress is doing this RIGHT NOW. They’re debating just how much we can afford, and in effect, who deserves to live, and which people, which plants and animals, and which future generations will be left to die. The worst part, is that we can do better by working together. So, if you’re someone who loves a good movie like Don’t Look Up, head to our climate action explorer. Today’s your day to be a hero and get involved. There aren’t many chances to be like Leonardo DiCaprio in this world, so I’d highly suggest taking the opportunity.
Of course, there is no way to know how the movie will turn out, whether Leonardo DiCaprio will in fact save the world, or what lessons we can take away. I’m sure we’ll be reviewing it when it is released in December. However, one thing is already certain — there will be a lot of buzz. With a star-studded cast that includes Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Jonah Hill, and celebrity climate activist Leonardo Dicaprio himself, this could be a huge breakthrough for climate culture. We’ll wait and see. In the mean time — look up — you might just find that scientists, and the climate itself, are trying to tell us something.