The science communication of ‘Don't Look Up ’

Abstract

In December 2021, Netflix released a comedy feature film, ‘Don't Look Up’. The film follows two scientists who discover an extinction-level comet heading for Earth, which they then attempt to warn humanity about. The makers of the film have publicly stated that the film is meant as a satirical metaphor for the response to the climate emergency. The film presents representations of science, scientists, and science communication. In this set of commentaries, experts have been selected to explore these representations and the lessons the film presents for using satire in science communication.

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“…There are many diverse views on this event, be it concerns for the survival of living things, distrust of scientific predictions, and some even see it as a business opportunity. So the film's title, "Don't Look Up," is an expression for those who don't believe or don't care about the fact that comets exist (Little, 2022).…”