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Don’t Look Up, Conspiracy, and the Stupidity of Catastrophe

This is why Moonfall is far inferior to Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, in which we also have to look up to see the threat to our survival. But in the latter film, this threat is accepted as meaningless stupidity; there is no conspiracy behind it—a big comet is approaching earth and will soon destroy all life on it. This ultimate apocalypse (life on earth will end in six months and everybody knows it even if this knowledge is disavowed) is presented as political satire—more precisely, as a satire beneath which utter darkness lurks all the time. This choice of satire is correct. When we are dealing with true catastrophe, we are beyond tragedy, and only comedy, which because of its inadequacy in the face of the situation, can help—remember that the best films on concentration camps are comedies.

No wonder some critics were displeased by the light tone of the movie, claiming that it trivialized the ultimate apocalypse. What really bothered these critics is the exact opposite: The trivialization permeated not only the establishment but also the protesters. The president (played by Meryl Streep) is obviously modeled off of Hillary Clinton, so her resistance to take the threat to life on earth seriously does not come from a Rightist populist position. And even the protesters, who later in the film chant “Look up!” imploring us to take the approaching comet seriously, are not proposing any effective measures; they are just performing a big spectacle with pop star singers chanting obvious slogans. So the film doesn’t rely on cheap attacks on Rightist populists; it targets the liberal establishment and ecological protesters, the two predominant groups reacting to today’s threats like climate change.

More precisely, the lesson of Don’t Look Up is that conspiracy theories (about the pandemic or climate change) give body to the “unconscious” of the “rational” liberal establishment itself. The truth is exactly the opposite of the conspiracy, that the forces of the establishment don’t really believe in the danger of a forthcoming catastrophe and manipulate this danger as a conspiracy to control people. The establishment forces know reality but they intimately don’t believe in it—they are the true deniers. The lesson of Boris Johnson’s garden parties at the time of strict lockdown tells a lot here: Although he knew well the reality of Covid (he almost died of it), his activities (like partying) demonstrate that he didn’t really believe in it, that he perceived himself (and the circle around him) as somehow exempt. When Streep worriedly asks, “But will the comet hitting the earth prevent the Super Bowl?” she perfectly encapsulates this stance—as if the end of life on Earth doesn’t render this question meaningless. That’s why the true target of our critique should not be the outright deniers, but the false “rationalism” of the establishment itself. And surprisingly, this brings us back to Moonfall. In Don’t Look Up, humanity is doomed, while in Moonfall, the group of anti-establishment eccentrics save the earth. Is the only alternative for us either to act on behalf of conspiracy theories or sit at home and calmly enjoy our last meal while waiting for the catastrophe to explode (the last scene of Don’t Look Up)? There is a third option: We should accept the meaningless stupidity of nature. Humanity owes its existence not to the sacrifice of some supernatural intelligence but to the immense destruction and suffering that has befallen life on this planet. Without the extinction of dinosaurs, there would not be human life on Earth. Our main sources of energy (coal and oil) are the leftovers of unimaginable destruction that occurred in the past. Our daily habits rely on global suffering—just think about what happens in industrial farms with chicken and pigs. We are not only a catastrophe for our environment; we emerged out of this catastrophe and even live off it. The comet that hit the animals on earth is us, the human spirit. And all these sacrifices will never be redeemed in some kind of new Nuremberg court condemning us for our crimes against natural life. The most difficult thing is not to find some deeper meaning for suffering, but to really accept its meaninglessness.

练习题

According to the passage, what makes the catastrophe in Don’t Look Up different from a conspiracy-driven disaster narrative?

A. The comet is secretly controlled by a hidden elite.

B. The threat is accepted as meaningless stupidity with no conspiracy behind it.

C. The apocalypse is prevented by anti-establishment eccentrics.

D. The danger is revealed to be only a media spectacle.

What does the author claim critics really disliked about the film’s light or comic tone?

A. That the film attacked only Rightist populists.

B. That the film made the comet scientifically implausible.

C. That trivialization appeared not only in the establishment but also among protesters.

D. That the film refused to include ecological protesters at all.

In the author’s interpretation, why are establishment figures called the “true deniers”?

A. They lack scientific information about catastrophe.

B. They openly reject all expert knowledge.

C. They know reality but do not inwardly believe in it or act as if it applies to them.

D. They believe only conspiracy theorists understand reality.

Which statements correctly describe the author’s reading of Don’t Look Up? Select all that apply.

A. It presents the apocalypse as political satire with darkness underneath.

B. It claims only Rightist populists are responsible for denying catastrophe.

C. It shows protesters as sometimes reduced to spectacle and slogans rather than effective measures.

D. It treats comedy as appropriate because tragedy is inadequate before true catastrophe.

E. It argues that the comet is a deliberate conspiracy.

Which groups or positions does the passage identify as major targets of critique in relation to current threats like climate change? Select all that apply.

A. The liberal establishment

B. Ecological protesters who perform spectacle without effective measures

C. Outright deniers as the only true target

D. The false “rationalism” of the establishment

E. A hidden supernatural intelligence controlling nature

Conspiracy theories, in the author’s account, are simply external irrational attacks on an otherwise fully rational liberal establishment.

The passage argues that humans are only victims of catastrophe and are not themselves products or beneficiaries of past destruction.

In the contrast drawn by the author, Don’t Look Up ends with humanity doomed, while in Moonfall anti-establishment eccentrics ___ the earth.

The author’s “third option” is that we should accept the ___ of nature.

Explain how Boris Johnson’s lockdown parties illustrate the author’s idea of “knowing without believing.”

Which comparison best captures the author’s integrated critique of Moonfall and Don’t Look Up?

A. Moonfall is superior because it accepts catastrophe as meaningless natural stupidity, while Don’t Look Up mistakenly invents a hidden conspiracy.

B. Don’t Look Up is stronger because it presents catastrophe without conspiracy, while Moonfall turns catastrophe into an intentional struggle involving hidden mechanisms and a vindicated conspiracy theorist.

C. Both films are criticized mainly because they attack only Rightist populists and ignore liberal institutions.

D. Both films show that humanity survives only by scientifically manipulating nature through biogenetics.

Which claims correctly connect the discussion of conspiracy theories in the current section with the earlier account of nature in Moonfall? Select all that apply.

A. Conspiracy theories obscure the idea that nature can be stupidly indifferent to human suffering.

B. Don’t Look Up treats the comet as a hidden machine controlled by intentional forces.

C. The current section argues that the establishment may know reality while not truly believing in it.

D. The prior discussion of Moonfall presents nature as a deceptive appearance concealing a mechanism.

E. The author claims that ecological protesters in Don’t Look Up provide an effective practical solution to catastrophe.

The author’s “third option” is to reject both heroic conspiracy salvation and passive doom by accepting that nature’s catastrophes may be meaningless, indifferent, and not organized around human purposes.

Explain why the author rejects Moonfall’s sacrificial account of humanity’s origin in favor of the account offered in the current section.

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