What will really save us?

Disclaimer: The piece contains “Don’t Look Up” movie spoilers.

Two scientists discovered that there is a meteoroid heading to Earth that may cause the extinction of the human race. Nobody believed them and everybody tried to take advantage of the unstoppable approach of the meteoroid, from the decision-makers to opinion leaders, from politics to the media and the global economic system; until the obvious catastrophic ended the movie. The director Adam McKay admitted that the metaphor of the movie does not take inspiration from the circumstances of the pandemic but is rather inspired by the climate crisis we are facing, for which especially scientists have been warning us for years.

The fact that a movie about climate change could reach the top of Netflix charts is undoubtedly a great result. A star-studded cast is starring in the film mocking especially how individuals, politicians, and media are responding when they have to face uncomfortable and dangerous scientific truths. Critics did not appreciate McKay’s work and it was quite a polarizing movie when released. Writing about the world’s end is a complicated task and the perspective present in "Don’t Look Up" isn’t subtle at all. The sarcasm is blunt, in-your-face, and goes straight to the point but, in addition to that, we can see clear references to real-world people and real-world controversies. We can directly understand the analogies with our world’s damage control policies and this is most likely one of the reasons why climate scientists liked the movie more than its critics.

“Don’t Look Up" teaches us that impressing people with facts isn’t the most effective communication strategy. We are by nature more attracted to a compelling and engaging speech rather than to a bothersome and brutal reality. The film seems to be very familiar with this defect in human nature and about the myths that fuel the refusal of science: we can’t act unless science is 100% certain, unsettling truths described by scientists are too harsh for the public to accept, technology will save us (first of all, the economy).

It is interesting to see that the Reuters Institute of Journalism, which every year together with the University of Oxford releases a report on which will be the new trends for media in the upcoming stints. Their reports have reached the same conclusions about the global coverage of climate change. Although the scientific evidence about the world being on the verge of collapse is increasing. Over 100 interviewed editor representatives are unanimously agreeing about the difficulty of engaging the public interest about it. The report highlights how the slow developments around the climate crisis make it less suitable for fast-paced news. In addition, the general public feels discouraged from bleak outlook news which places field research and hiring journalists able to explain science a priority.  
Knowing about science and being able to present it in an attractive, accessible, and constructive way, and being able to present it to politicians, the economy, and society; while staying far from a catastrophic style of narration and raising awareness on what is functioning and what is being done, seems to be the focal point of the report.