Evidence in the eye of the beholder: portrayals of risk and scientific (un)certainty in Don’t look up

Abstract

In this invited comment, we discuss portrayals of risk and scientific (un)certainty in Don’t look up. Specific scenes of the movie were selected, to reflect how within and between the spheres of science, politics, journalism, and economics an upcoming risk and its scientific (un)certainty is (re-)interpreted and (re-)framed, in line with the respective sphere’s logic. We extend our assessment by common criteria of film analysis and comparisons to climate change, where applicable. This comment emphasizes how in the movie the logic of economy is taken over by politics and journalism, and how it prevails over the logic of science.