DeepSummary
In this episode of the Hopecast, Jane Goodall interviews American filmmaker Adam McKay, director of the satirical comedy film 'Don't Look Up.' They discuss the film's powerful allegory for society's lack of response to the climate crisis and the challenges faced by scientists whose facts are ignored. McKay shares his belief that storytelling through comedy can help people connect and face difficult topics like climate change.
McKay explains that the movie aims to instill a sense of urgency and emotion about what could be lost due to the climate crisis. He highlights the need to address issues like misinformation, income inequality, and the collapsing livable climate. Goodall emphasizes the importance of taking action and making changes before it's too late, while McKay stresses the role of individual actions and holding leaders accountable.
The conversation touches on the power of storytelling, the impact of social media and information warfare, and the need for a sense of community and connection. Goodall and McKay share their hopes for young people driving change and the potential for an alternative, hopeful ending to the climate crisis through collective effort and concentrated resources behind science.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The film 'Don't Look Up' serves as a powerful allegory for society's lack of response to the climate crisis and the challenges faced by scientists whose facts are ignored.
- Storytelling through comedy and satire can help people connect, understand complex issues, and face difficult topics like climate change.
- There is an urgent need for action to address the climate crisis before it's too late, and individuals must take responsibility for their actions and hold leaders accountable.
- Misinformation, income inequality, and the collapsing livable climate are significant challenges that need to be addressed through collective effort and concentrated resources behind science.
- Social media and information warfare have created new challenges in terms of manipulation and division, which need to be navigated through perspective and a sense of community.
- Young people have the potential to drive change and inspire a hopeful alternative ending to the climate crisis through their awareness, actions, and different ways of interacting with the world.
- There is a need for a sense of gratitude, grief, love, and connection to what could be lost due to the climate crisis, which can motivate action and change.
- Individual actions, such as reducing red meat consumption, installing solar panels, and using electric vehicles, can contribute to the collective effort to address the climate crisis.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We're living in a very, very fascinating time. And we've got all of this social media, which we've never had before. How is this going to play out? And that's, I think, the kind of story, Adam, that your films can really pick up on that will help people to understand what's going on.“ by Jane Goodall
- “We have a new weapon, which is information warfare, which we are not equipped to deal with. We are being coerced, distracted, manipulated, turned against each other in a way that we never could have imagined.“ by Adam McKay
- “If we take heed of what science is telling us, if we think about what is changing around the world because of people's actions, then that gives you the energy and the hope to move ahead to counteract this doom and gloom.“ by Jane Goodall
- “The poet said, the world will end not with a bang, but a whimper, but actually, the world could end with a bang. You know, my great hope is that the young people have become so aware, they have become so informed, the alternative ending to the movie, which isn't the one you should have done, but there could be an alternative ending, which would be that all the young people persuade us to interact with the world in a different way, to take actions that we're not taking, but we know we could.“ by Jane Goodall
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Episode Information
The Jane Goodall Hopecast
Dr. Jane Goodall
2/16/22
In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Goodall is joined by the Academy Award winning writer, director, and producer, Adam McKay. Adam McKay’s most recent feature is the Netflix comedy Don’t Look Up, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is a biting satire ultimately aimed at the capricious and tumultuous state of the world for the last several years. In this lively conversation, Jane and Adam discuss the reasons behind the creation of the film and what Adam sees as the barriers to human action on existential threats. Jane and Adam believe passionately and emphatically that storytelling can have a massive impact on society, by letting people see themselves, while also reflecting a mirror on the best and worst of us. As Jane has said in the past, we must be aware of the facts, but the facts will not induce change. We must connect our hearts with our brains through storytelling. Adam shares that a huge reason for the creation of the film is the belief that comedy is a critical component of this connection as he believes that “when we’re all laughing together, there’s community,” and that we ultimately need to “feel emotion about what we could lose.”
At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear an archival clip of Dr. Goodall discussing the initial resistance she faced from the scientific community in the 1960s and how science, as a peer reviewed process, can evolve new thinking, and did - thanks to Jane.