The Politicization of Climate Change and Hollywood’s Depiction in Don’t Look Up. Why paint the environmental movement as ever-so-helpless?

The self-preservation instinct is the notion of living things, protecting themselves to maximize chances of survival (as per the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary). Humans utilize this instinct in all walks of life, because the need for “survival” has appropriately become a synonym for “good treatment.” In the world we live in today, smartphone in-hand and Twitter at-the-ready, “good treatment” can mean anything, because we have such an available comparison to others.

Through all the muddiness of this “good treatment,” whether we believe we are destined for fame, or those who are famous are more important than those who protect us famelessly, or whether we believe the people who are the best-spoken are the best-deserving, we have to remember that “good treatment” passes on to our young, and the next, and the next after that.

Fame, these days, is a skill, and being well-spoken is a goal for those in the art of speaking. The ones doing it best speaking are not always the ones in the interest of doing best, it’s a sad fact.

This problem, of saying the right things, ringing true with the right ears, and becoming famous with the right people, is conditioned. It is a part of the world we live in, among cable news, social media, and down-the-line, personal blogs. There was once – for a long time – a world we don’t live in, filled with animals, brush, and people, who fit in-between the two. Believing that everything we say will be recorded – or published – is a relatively new concern. We’ve only had to face it in the last 200 (really 10 or so) years, out of an existence which has expanded over 2.5 million. To do what’s right has always been right, but to do what’s right in the face of others, has only become a conflict-of-interest through expansive media and technology.

Netflix’s new Don’t Look Up tackles this conflict-of-interest, through a new film (which some may call a documentary). Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of the film, is an environmental spearhead, using his first (and long-awaited) Oscar acceptance speech to promote awareness of environmental issues. DiCaprio, while well-intentioned, has a 110€ yacht, home to a gym, pool, and “beach club,” as provided by dailymail.uk in Don’t look up… you might see Leonardo DiCaprio being an eco hypocrite on his £110million yacht.

We can all admit to the times we have been environmentally selfish in need to pursue happiness. Maybe we used a plastic straw with a paper one available and maybe we drank from a water bottle because the Hydroflask was in the cupholder. We cannot, however, admit to the times we spent over $125million on a superyacht, which costs about $400,000 to refuel.

I am not one to criticize environmentalists, nor am I one to condemn a good piece of work. Don’t Look Up is great, as it tackles the necessity to be easy with time-sensitive information as well as the greed the hungry eats up. I, however, am only slightly moved by the film, as per its writer and director Adam McKay, who is ironically the same for the famous film The Campaign.

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