After watching the Netflix film ‘Don’t Look Up’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, it made me see several things differently in life. The film opened my eyes to what really matters and required me to self-reflect. I wanted to share the five things that I took from director Adam Mckay’s film.
- Only Rely on Facts
To say that I just realized this would be a lie. However, this film made me realize even more how we as humans should only rely on facts and not emotions. Emotions can get us in a whirlwind of trouble because it is ultimately irrational thinking. Many are not able to think properly when emotions are involved, and it results in destruction and wrong decision-making. The majority of the time, facts are sitting and staring us in our faces, we must accept it and move forward with logic. Dr. Randall Mindy and his partner Kate Dibiasky had document after document of data, proving that an apocalyptic event was going to occur, and people were still questioning their credibility. Even after other astronomers projected the same numbers and probability as them, the news portrayed it as something that was not a “big deal” and had a “low chance” of happening to not scare people. If you want to know something for yourself, do your research. Go to the library or use your google search engine to the best of your ability. Most data are open to the public, you must be eager to really know the truth and not accept everything at face value.
Millions and millions of dollars are put into organizations like NASA and other programs for a reason. They need the funds to perform accurate research that can not only educate the people of planet earth, but also potentially save our lives. Dr. Mindy and Kate both had their degrees and a long resume to prove that their work is valid, but the masses chose to believe ‘the head of NASA” who turned out to not even be an astronomer, but a former anesthesiologist.
- Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
Time is merely all that we have because one day, we will inevitably run out of it. Be the best person that you can be each day, and stick to your morals, self-respect, and respect for others. Not only tell your loved ones that you love and appreciate them, but show them to the best of your ability. I’m sure that Dr. Mindy felt pretty low about himself after he chose to have an affair with the television show’s host while only having about 5 months to live. In those moments, he disregarded the feelings of his wife and kids and went against his own morals. He, unfortunately, did this while knowing the amount of time he had left on earth, so without knowing how much time you have right now, love the hardest that you can. It would be a terrible thing to leave this earth having things left unsaid and loved ones feeling hurt and unappreciated. We all make mistakes, Dr. Mindy made a mistake, and he was terribly sorry about it. However, that does not change the fact that he had to make up for his mistakes on his last day on earth. While you have a chance, fix what is broken before it’s too late.
- People Are Incapable of Handling Bad News
This film made me realize how mentally weak a lot of individuals are. The fact that Dr. Mindy and Kate were basically forced to act like their newly found discovery was “not that serious” and only a “probability” was outrageous. They were not able to properly tell the audiences that the world as they know it was going to end in 6 months. Not all news will be good, and sometimes we must accept the truth in front of us. In everyday life, unconventional things happen, and it is up to us to decide how we will deal with it. You can either produce a solution or have a panic attack about the worst-case scenarios. Although Kate and Dr. Mindy told the President that something needed to be done right away if they planned to survive the meteor, their attempts went unnoticed. This forced them to have to break the news to the masses in a harsh way because at that point there was no solution, only the truth in their faces. Sometimes, all you have is the truth and you must deal with it head-on.
- Use Your Own Judgement
Use your own judgment to make decisions and come to conclusions. This falls in the line with point one “Only Rely on Facts.” After gathering all your facts, make your judgment about things, we were all given our own brains for a reason. It is very possible that multiple things can be true at once, so even if what you believe is not considered “popular” it does not mean that it is not true. We were not created to groupthink on every subject, because we all live different lives and have different perspectives on things. Like the old people say, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste,” so don’t waste yours. You will find that making your own judgment actually builds confidence, character, and self-awareness.
- We’re All Going to Die Someday, Do What You Want.
We all know the cliché saying, “live every day as if it’s your last,” but it’s true. We never know how much time we have left of this earth, but we do know that it is for sure limited. Every dream or aspiration that you want to go after, go after it full throttle and limit the amount of time and attention you give to others’ opinions about it. We’re all going to die anyway, why waste the one life that you have being scared to do what makes you happy? You would rather live a life with no regrets, than to die or get extremely ill and think “I should’ve” or “I could’ve.” When Kate came to the realization that she was going to die anyway, she found true love in someone and did what she wanted. Imagine if she would have done that even earlier, she would’ve had the opportunity to love her newly found partner for a longer amount of time. Honestly, no one really cares what you’re doing or the decisions that you make for yourself, because they’re too busy living their own lives. A lot of times we think that people are passing judgement on us, when they could really care less. Don’t be afraid to be who you truly are.
