Feel-good Christmas movies are over and if you’re looking for a darker film, Netflix has one that is a grim reflection on our current reality
“Don’t look up.” When that’s the slogan for a U.S. presidential campaign, you can assume things aren’t going well.
It’s also the name of a current movie trending on Netflix. It’s billed as a comedy/disaster. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep.
You would think Meryl as the U.S. president would be positive, but in this portrayal she’s clearly based on Donald Trump in all his excesses and narcissism, right down to giving your own kid a job in the White House.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t be giving away any plot twists. I don’t think I could explain it if I wanted to anyway, as it’s a rather odd film.
It’s also one of those movies that gets you thinking about the state of the world we are currently living in.
For sure, it is satire.
If things weren’t as insane as they currently are, it would be viewed as comical, but truly there’s nothing funny about it.
The basic story is that scientists discover a comet that is set to make a direct hit. They know where and they know when. It will destroy Earth. Their job is to get the masses to believe them and take action.
As I was watching, I realized you could take out “comet” and replace “COVID,” “climate change,” “gun violence,” or “civil war.” Whatever issue scares you the most.
I assume the message was science is giving us the truth with fact-based evidence of what is ahead of us and how it all ends depends on how we receive the message.
The film hits at so many behaviours we have. For instance, when the scientists are booked on the morning news shows, they are placed in the last five minutes and told to “keep it entertaining” and “don’t include any math.”
Ah, yes, the dumbing down of information for the masses.
The experts have to take their literally earth-shattering warning to social media and try to go viral because the White House refuses to listen.
Well, until they can figure out a way for it to work for them at the ballot box.
Enter some billionaire who can figure a way to monetize the hurtling comet.
When the public starts to come to terms with the threat, you see the different ways people react.
There are the doomsday people, the non-believers, the conspiracy theorists and the protesters who figure if everyone is going to die, they may as well destroy property and loot businesses.
There are also those who just sit and wait for the end.
Everyone heard the same information, but received it quite differently.
Isn’t that exactly what has happened with the politicization of COVID-19 and the vaccines? Same basic information, but very different opinions.
Let’s just say this movie is the polar opposite of the Hallmark Christmas movies.
If you are stuck in the January doldrums, it may not be the show for you. Uplifting it is not.
However, if you want to be jolted into a frightening reality then, by all means ‘don’t look up.’
