Why you should watch ‘Don’t Look Up’ on Netflix (it’s not just for Meryl Streep)

Meditations of a Millennial
2 min readDec 29, 2021
Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo Di Caprio play astrophysicists who try to warn Meryl Streep, the media-obsessed US President about an incoming comet that will destroy Earth in six months.

It’s so annoying deciding what to watch on Netflix. I hate scrolling endlessly only to settle for something mediocre or tried and tested. But ‘Don’t Look Up’ caught my eye immediately because it covers the most important topic of our times, Climate Change, with the top names in Hollywood. Boo-yah!

While having an A-list star cast can be hard to ignore, what I loved most about the film was its satirical take on big institutions, tech-obsessed billionaires, and social media. [Hint: Climate Change topics don’t get as many hits as celebrity break-ups. Seriously, that’s how shallow we are]. It didn’t feel like I was watching a movie about climate change, and that’s what I loved. But I also understood the deep relevance of the message, which makes it all the more interesting.

A still from the film ‘Don’t Look Up’.

Historically, educating people, especially corporations and governments about the environment has been an uphill task. Why else would we be heading towards 2+ degrees Celsius of temperature rise by 2030 despite clear evidence and confirmation from climate scientists for the last thirty years? Because we’re fucking stupid. Nobody knows this better than the author and historian, Yuval Noah Harari whose book, Sapiens, touches on exactly this. (Read the graphically illustrated book- you’ll die laughing).

In short, the movie is about a comet hitting Earth in six months, with the American government taking it lightly and ignoring warnings from scientists (played by Leo Di Caprio and Jennifer Lawrence) until it actually happens. I’m not reviewing the movie here because everyone will perceive it differently. But I do applaud the director’s attempt at taking an important subject like Climate Change, giving it a funny twist, and making it super mainstream.

Don’t look up, but don’t look away either.

Watch the whole film on Netflix here.

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Meditations of a Millennial

Observations about nature, ESG, wealth creation, success, and life philosophies from the best minds.