On “Don’t Look Up”, this IPCC executive has a depressing opinion – The HuffPost

NIKO TAVERNISE / NETFLIX

CINEMA – “Reality is sometimes worse than fiction.” These words are those of Valérie Masson-Delmotte. Co-chair of group n ° 1 of the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), she shared her opinion on the last blockbuster from Netflix, the Adam McKay movie Don’t Look Up, this Tuesday, January 4 on Twitter.

“The character of Kate Dibiasky touched me with her doubts, her questioning of how to express oneself rigorously, clearly and sincerely, writes the French paleoclimatologist about the heroine played by Jennifer Lawrence. With his despair at not having succeeded in doing better, this impression of living a Greek tragedy announced without the start or the leadership necessary to change the course of things. ”

The feature film features the star of Hunger games and Leonardo DiCaprio as two astronomers who have made a discovery that is both exciting and terrifying: a comet is heading straight for Earth and about to wipe out humanity. They will then try to alert the media and leaders to this danger.

I watched as a family #DontLookUp while on vacation … and quickly heard “hey, mom, it’s the same as climate change!”

I would like to share some thoughts, in view of certain experiences at the science / society interface …

– Dr Valérie Masson-Delmotte (@valmasdel) January 4, 2022

How to communicate?

“The film shows the discrepancy between the way scientists operate, and that of the world of media and political power. I have clearly felt it on multiple occasions ”, explains Valérie Masson-Delmotte on the social network.

How should scientists communicate? “The issue is particularly delicate for women (scientists), who, when they let their emotions show through, can quickly be attacked (hysterical, etc.), explains the expert. In 2011, I had a hard time being called a ‘climate passionaria’, for example. A term that has no equivalent for a man – I think one would speak of ‘committed scientist’, in this case. ”

It is also difficult to find a sufficiently long time for discussions with decision-makers or journalists, as shown Don’t Look Up. “For example, I have had 3 minutes (3 questions) to present the key points of an IPCC report to a head of state or government, a minister, an elected official. It’s short, ”notes the French scientist.

According to her, the film is also about how certain media work and how disinformation spreads faster than firmly established knowledge.

The question of the media

“I also suffered from this dissonance during interventions in the media, with the question of how to tackle serious issues related to climate change in a media world that seeks distraction, simplistic aspects, argument, everything between two advertisements promoting overconsumption and which most leads to emitting more greenhouse gases, and sometimes with navel-blue personalities ”, recalls Valérie Masson-Delmotte.

She adds: “For example, the recent IPCC report this summer, taking stock of climate change, was made public on August 9, the day of the announcement of the expected arrival of Lionel Messi in the team of the PSG … ”

So, yes, the reality is much more complex than that shown in Don’t Look Up, she admits. However, the film “emphasizes individuals and power (represented via the top of the state, the media, tech billionaires), to the detriment of everything that makes society, collective organizations, mechanisms of solidarity ”. What is more, it also raises “the question of knowing where a leap can come from to get out of denial”.

While she recalls that the film “only partially shows the cynicism of those who have everything to gain from the status quo”, namely “the merchants of doubt who have knowingly built disinformation, greenwashing and who sow confusion”, Valérie Masson-Delmotte concludes with a question: “Look Up or Don’t Look Up now?”

See also on The HuffPost: 5 “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix) Details You May Have Missed