“Don’t Look Up” is a new movie from Netflix that explores those questions—albeit as a comedy rather than a scientific documentary.
What would we do if we learned that an asteroid capable of ending life as we know it on planet Earth was on a collision course with the planet? Would we even listen to the scientists trying to warn us? How would we respond? Are we even remotely prepared to deal with such an event? “ Don’t Look Up ” is a new movie from Netflix that explores those questions—albeit as a comedy rather than a scientific documentary. “Don’t Look Up” brings an impressive roster of A-list actors together. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are astronomers trying to warn world leaders and the population in general about the impending catastrophe. Meryl Streep plays the US president, and Jonah Hill plays her son…and Chief of Staff. The cast also includes Tyler Perry, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet, and more well-known celebrities. The real answer is that we would probably be screwed. When I first saw the trailer for “Don’t Look Up,” I was immediately reminded of the book “Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes” by Richard Clarke. That book looks at a number of major catastrophes that were avoidable and that some expert had tried to alert the world to, but they were ignored and dismissed—resulting in tragedy. Even though we know that such an event has happened in the past and is responsible—in whole or significant part—for the demise of dinosaurs on the planet, it is easy to dismiss the possibility. Space is unfathomably huge, and the odds of a planet-ending asteroid impacting Earth are infinitesimally small, so it does not seem like a realistic concern for most people. It is still possible, though. Judging by the fact that half of the population continues to reject the science of Climate Change despite overwhelming evidence and escalating frequency and destructive power of weather events, or that people around the world are ignoring experts when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinations, it’s fair to assume that a significant portion of the world would also reject facts and science about an impending asteroid collision. Unfortunately, many people like to wear their ignorance with pride. Fortunately, though, we do have brilliant scientists focused on this issue.
