The comet in 'Don't Look Up' as a metaphor for climate change is PERFECT....but not in the way the filmmakers intended.
If you would be so kind as to follow me, I'll explain......
[1/11]
They were trying to make a film parodying the grotesque ways in which politicians, big tech & media respond to ecological catastrophe (which they successfully did) BUT inadvertently ended up also parodying themselves: the liberal elite that wrote, directed, starred in the film...
...as well as accidentally parodying the middle class protagonist characters in the film & all those watching the film on Netflix. Because this is how all of us who remain relatively safe and sheltered from the worst of the the eco-crisis view what is happening.
The world's "haves" mistakenly paint the eco-emergency as a comet coming for Earth: as a singular entity or single event, one that is coming LATER, one that is external, one that we as individuals had no hand in creating, and one that has a simple techno-fix.
A comet coming for earth is a terribly inaccurate and dangerous metaphor for what is actually happening. It's a narrative that pacifies us and allows us to easily shirk responsibility, it obscenely over-simplifies the reality and scope of the situation...
The truth is way more complex, nuanced and tragic. The one and done comet metaphor prevents us from realizing that there are COUNTLESS comets that are not only on their way but have ALREADY made impact, DEEP impact.
For centuries now it's been a straight up meteor shower for so so so much flora, fauna & indigenous peoples who did not survive the shrapnel and poisoning and deprivation of this relentless ongoing shitstorm called Industrial Colonial Capitalism.
And the only way I'm able to type this and you read this is that we have been artificially sheltered from the worst of the fallout from this shitstorm. And the staggering amount of resources involved in maintaining this sheltering is just creating ever more comets.
The more we try to reinforce this shelter, this illusion, this metaphor, the more Life on Earth will be compromised, degraded and destroyed.
Don't look up, look WITHIN.
The call is coming from inside the house...
Because it's not the comet or the flood/fire/tornado that will destroy your house....it's the house itself--and the entire wretched culture it's a part of--that has brought on this hell.
I'll end with this scene that pretty much sums it up.
We must destroy the source of all this pain and suffering. The comet is not the source, it's the result of not tackling the source...
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.