‘The handsome astronomer and the yelling lady’: representing scientists and expertise in Don’t Look Up

Chambers, Amy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3801-3582 (2022) ‘The handsome astronomer and the yelling lady’: representing scientists and expertise in Don’t Look Up. JCOM, 21 (5). C04-C04. ISSN 1079-6533

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Abstract

The film Don’t Look Up engages a woman science advisor, historically a very male-dominated role. Because the character of woman scientist Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) cannot be easily transformed into a commodity, she is side-lined as a scientific voice as she attempts to warn Earth of the coming apocalypse. For marginalised scientists, their value depends on how their identity markers are used. Don’t Look Up is a satire of audience apathy, corporate greed, and media manipulation but still offers a very nihilistic vision of the impact of scientists and their expertise.