In Adam McKay’s acclaimed film, Don’t Look Up, the narrative serves as a biting satire of both the climate crisis and Hollywood storytelling conventions. This article delves into the various ways the film critiques common screenwriting tropes, offering a fresh perspective on its narrative structure and character development.
Did You Know? ‘Don’t Look Up’ is A Playful Roast of Storytelling Habits
Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up is a textbook satire that sparked intense public debate about existential threats, particularly climate change. Starring an ensemble cast of A-list actors like Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, and Cate Blanchett, Don’t Look Up took Netflix by storm upon its release in 2021, becoming the second most-watched film ever on the platform. Reportedly, the film was streamed by about half a billion people globally.
The narrative follows two brilliant scientists, Dr. Randall Mindy and Dr. Kate Dibiasky, on a giant media tour as they make desperate attempts to warn the world about an approaching comet that will 100% destroy the Earth and lead to the extinction of mankind, but every single person outrightly refuses to believe them.
Interestingly, Don’t Look Up garnered a polarizing response, with some praising its satirical boldness while others critiqued the narrative as heavy-handed or “not really funny.”
However, something that is often overlooked yet deserves a special mention is how the film simultaneously satirizes Hollywood storytelling conventions. In this article, we’re exploring how Don’t Look Up is a satire of screenwriting tropes.
Here’s How “Don’t Look Up” Functions as a Satire of Screenwriting Tropes
1. The Failed Genius Protagonists
Dr. Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky, the two leads, come under the “brilliant yet underappreciated scientist” trope—the ones that are often placed in a narrative to simplify exposition. The movie pokes fun at how such archetypes are often reduced to mere plot devices, rather than developed characters, depriving them of their chance to make a more significant contribution to the story.
2. (Not) A Happy Ending
While most disaster films end on a positive resolution, Don’t Look Up subverts the happy ending trope and ends on a bleak, non-euphoric note. By emphasizing the tragic consequences of inaction, the film mocks the toxic positivity often injected into this genre. At the same time, this subversion is symbolic of the irreversibility of climate change.
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3. The Bronteroc’s Attack
One of the best moments of satire is when President Orlean is killed by a Bronteroc, an alien creature, right after she steps out of her cryogenic pod on a lush alien planet, 22740 years after the comet crashed into Earth. The fact that the people who went out of their way to live were killed brutally by an alien monster, as inadvertently predicted by one of their own (Peter, the tech-billionaire), as soon as they step out of their spaceship is not only drenched in dramatic irony but also satirizes the oversimplification of Karma, one of the most overused screenwriting tropes in cinema.
4. The Predictable Romantic Subplot
The romantic arc between Mindy and TV Host, Evantee, is a subtle parody of the obligatory romantic subplots that are often forcefully or customarily interwoven into narratives across genres, to serve as a filler or a bleak attempt at enhancing emotional resonance. The fact that the plotline feels forced is a direct dig at the general tendency of compensating for the lack of emotional resonance with forced romance on screen.
5. A Unidimensional Antagonist
Peter, the tech billionaire, is presented as a unidimensional antagonist, whose central focus is money and business, literally at the cost of his own life. The fact that he wishes to mine the fatal comet for rare-earth elements, even if it means switching planets, is a direct dig at how Hollywood often oversimplifies antagonists, taking away their charm and complexity.
McKay’s work often involves a mix of comedic and dramatic tones, as we have seen in The Big Short and Vice, highlighting both the humor and the awkwardness that is the reality of life. Don’t Look Up is no different. In fact, it is one of those films that quite literally opens your eyes. Have you watched the movie yet?
