[The Editors' Verdict] Lessons from the 'Comet Collision' Movie

Ignoring Warning Signs Leads to a Grim End
Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Complacency

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] “A 10 km-diameter comet heading toward Earth. Scientists detect a danger signal. Six months remain until the Earth impact. Yet the government ignores the scientists’ warnings. Time flows helplessly. In the crisis, the government’s response is to change the frame. When the government announces that talk of a comet collision is excessive fearmongering, public opinion shifts. Only the scientists warning of danger find themselves cornered. In an era where truth is ignored, the public falls back into a time of pleasure. Does ignoring it make the crisis disappear? The comet continues its rapid dash toward Earth. Along with the countdown to destruction...”

The movie Don’t Look Up, released on Netflix, tells this story. There is a reason the world paid attention to this American comedy about Earth’s destruction. Politicians obsessed with their own interests even in the face of an extinction-level warning. The public lightly dismissing the foretold disaster. A society ignoring expert warnings. Audiences worldwide who watched Don’t Look Up commented that the film reflects their own countries’ realities. It is not a movie to be watched lightly with popcorn and forgotten.

Can we simply say that the foolish responses to the threat of extinction are just a movie plot? We are facing clouds of disaster in reality with probabilities far higher than a comet collision.

The Russia-Ukraine war continues as another winter approaches. Considering the global economic chain structure, the world’s belief that there will be no large-scale wars anymore has already collapsed. Russia even mentions the possibility of using nuclear weapons.

Due to the sharp decline in the U.S. stock market, the domestic stock market also started lower on the 30th. Dealers are busy working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The “energy of destruction” is not held only by nuclear weapons. The Korean economy is staggering amid the perfect storm shaking the global economy. High exchange rates, high interest rates, and worsening stock and real estate markets make the situation dire. The reason self-deprecating talk about assets melting away spreads like a refrain is this. Some say it is because of global instability, so what can be done? While not wrong, considering the dark clouds hanging over our economy, such complacency is frivolous.

Signs of crisis pour in like a flood across major sectors, but how is the real response? The poisonous mushroom of complacency, “It will work out somehow,” is spreading too much around us. The perception that someone else will solve the problem or that time will resolve it.

What is the cause of this crisis insensitivity? Isn’t the fundamental reason that the government does not show a sense of urgency? We are in a situation where national power should be concentrated on responding to the global economic crisis, but what are we doing now? Is it a situation so relaxed that we can afford to waste precious time?

The reality of Yeouido’s political scene is so serious it reminds one of the politicians in Don’t Look Up. Instead of bipartisan cooperation, are they not just sharpening their political swords against each other? If there is time for that, how about watching a movie? Sometimes a film can be a guide to solving real problems.

The literal meaning of Don’t Look Up is “Don’t look up.” The forced indifference toward the crisis, that dangerously collective hypnosis, ultimately led to destruction. Isn’t the message of the movie that everything has its time? The golden time to solve a crisis will not wait for us.