Science communication in the face of skepticism, populism, and ignorance: what ‘Don’t Look Up’ tells us about science denial — and what it doesn’t

Abstract

‘Don’t Look Up’ tells the story of a team of astrophysicists whose efforts to warn politicians, media makers, and the public about an apocalyptic comet impact on planet Earth are undermined by fundamental skepticism toward their expertise. On the one hand, the film offers a rich portrayal of contemporary anti-science sentiments, their societal conditions, and the media and communication ecology surrounding them. But on the other hand, ‘Don’t Look Up’ ignores and exaggerates several facets of those sentiments and the communicative settings in which they spread. This commentary analyzes this contrast through a science communication lens: it scrutinizes the (mis)representation of science denial and science communication in ‘Don’t Look Up’ — and aims to inspire further debate about portrayals of anti-science phenomena and potential remedies within popular media.

Pragmática de la comunicación científica en No mires arriba (Mckay, 2021)

“…Cine y ciencia se supeditan así al proceder mental e imaginativo para construir lecturas que intenten contar el funcionamiento del mundo, pues "el cine es la principal vía de transmisión y configuración de conocimientos científicos al público" (Gómez et al, 2011, p. 5) de maneras diversas, bien mediante historias centradas en figuras eminentes de la ciencia (Mejón y Jiménez, 2019;Sedeño-Valdellos, 2022;Estrada-Lorenzo, 2023), bien abordando el arquetipo del científico en diversas facetas (Toumey, 1992;López, 2015;Chambers, 2022;Mede, 2022), 2 o simplemente 1 Incluso se habla ya de cómo el metaverso influencia el modo de hacer y experimentar el cine: los Metaverse films (Linuo, 2022). 2 Chambers y Mede desarrollan el tratamiento que No mires arriba hace de la figura de los científicos y de sus problemas con otros ámbitos sociopolíticos.…”

“…Mede (2022) comenta incluso el escenario de negación de la ciencia que ofrece la película, mientras que Fahy (2022) critica la visión que aporta de los medios. 5 Angelone (2022) utiliza el cine para enseñar en comunicación científica y lo ejemplifica con esta película.…”

The science communication of ‘Don't Look Up ’

“…They also reflect on how the film serves as a metaphor for communicating climate science. The commentaries include critique on the use of satire [Little, 2022] and reflections about the film's representations of science and risk [Guenther & Granert, 2022], climate science and activism [Doyle, 2022], science denial [Mede, 2022], scientists [Chambers, 2022], and the news media [Fahy, 2022]. Together, the commentaries provide insight into how the film converges with science communication issues and theory.…”

“…The discussion of how risk is reframed according to the interests of different parties certainly mirrors how similar processes happen with the discourse around climate science. Mede [2022] picks up the theme of how different parties interpret the science, describing how the film offers a rich representation of current science denial movements, including analysis of how these movements interact with politics and the media. Mede [2022] highlights how the film's use of satire creates stereotypes and exaggerations that paint an overly pessimistic representation of current science denial movements.…”

“…Mede [2022] picks up the theme of how different parties interpret the science, describing how the film offers a rich representation of current science denial movements, including analysis of how these movements interact with politics and the media. Mede [2022] highlights how the film's use of satire creates stereotypes and exaggerations that paint an overly pessimistic representation of current science denial movements. Fahy's [2022] commentary aligns with this critique, arguing that many of the representations in the film show an unrealistic science communication landscape.…”