Don't Look Up (2021)
Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on January 16, 2022 @ tonymacklin.net.
At its best Don't Look Up nails contemporary forms of information and the public's addled or indifferent reaction to what they say.
We live in a world of vanity. Our hosts and their guests on television political programs are steeped in vanity.
I seldom watch Fox, because I prefer the phoniness on MSNBC and CNN to the lies on Fox. And I hate phoniness.
If there was a relentless campaign to support the flat earth theory, eventually 40% of the public would accept it, because it was what they wanted to believe.
The political hosts are a legion of the vain.
Rachel Maddow asks almost all her experts the same opening question. She says, "I'm not an expert." Wait for it. "But did I get it right?" Uniformly her guests say she was perfect. Every single time.
She also incessantly guffaws as she goes over dire issues.
Image is all.
Joy Reid went through 20 hair styles in 40 days. And every time Chuck Rosenberg came on, his hair was dyed a different tint. Don't worry, Chuck, they all looked becoming.
Don Lemon gets "breaking news" 2 or 3 days after everybody else. Like Charlie Rose once did, he looks down at his notes as his guest speaks. His next question is everything.
The same guests come on with no answers. What is Mary Trump's qualification, other than she was someone's niece? Amanda Carpenter formerly was a senior communications advisor for Ted Cruz. Communications specialist for Ted Cruz? Olivia Troye was a Pence former staffer.
Recently a politician who had suffered a horrible, personal tragedy and feared for our democracy came on multiple programs to flack for his book. He appeared on every station in the cosmos.
Many guests are promoting their books. And those who aren't promoting their books are promoting themselves. They are the go-to experts there to say the same things they have said 50 times before with no results.
Don't Look Up captures the culture of banality. It focuses on the shallowness and tackiness of the human race.
As the wealthy Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) says to science professor Randall Minty (Leonardo Dicaprio), "You're a lifestyle idealist. You just run toward pleasure away from pain." And grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) says about obstructionists, "They're not even smart enough to give them credit for being evil."
As a lethal comet as large as Mount Everest hurtles toward destroying earth, people take various positions about it. One side holds concerts to support, "Just Look Up." The other side holds rallies for "Don't Look Up."
Even Kate's mother says to her, "Your dad and I are for the jobs the comet will provide."
All is well in some places.
Another strength of Don't Look Back is that it has a terrific ensemble cast. Besides DiCaprio, Lawrence, and Rylance, Meryl Streep portrays the President, Jonah Hill is her son and chief of staff, Cate Balnchett is a talk show host, Tyler Perry is her hosting partner, Timothee Chalamet delivers a humble speech at the last supper, Melanie Lynskey plays Randall's wife, and Ron Perlman is a Colonel borrowed from Dr. Strangelove (1964).
But director/writer Adam McKay is more Jerry Lewis than Stanley Kubrick.
After the penultimate post-credits, there is a sequence that is set 22,000+ years in the future. The time span is way too far in the future. The sequence is ironic, but silly. McKay can't resist a cheap joke.
A later final post-credit sequence makes more sense. It ends with the words, "Don't forget to look up."
Just turn off the tv and media devices.
And look up.
