CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!

Picture this apocalyptic scenario: a comet is on a direct collision path with Earth and the government’s greediness Fs everyone. Adam McKay’s rendition of Armageddon left us frustrated, laughing, and crying all in the span of two hours and twenty-five minutes.

The movie first attracted a large audience with its extensive list of well-known cast members: Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Rob Morgan, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet, Kid Cudi and more.

Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence) is a take on climate change aficionado Greta Thunberg. She reports her discovery of the world-ending comet to the fictional Trump-like president, Orlean (Streep). Orlean scoffs and asks Dibiasky to pretend it is not true, mocking our government’s reluctance to accept researchers’ studies on climate change.

As the movie progresses, parallels are drawn to our society and the allegory unfolds. The comet represents climate change and the world is going to end unless immediate action is taken. But of course, the covetous president and her Chief of Staff (who happens to be her son… nepotism?) along with Mark Rylance’s knock-off Mark Zuckerberg, have come up with a plan: let the comet hit Earth and mine it for valuable diamonds. In other words, “the rich will become even more disgustingly rich!” -Dibiasky.

The disorganized ambition of the upper crust caused the plan to fail, and the comet will inevitably collide with Earth. In the moment of realization that the world would end, the people who attempted to take the comet’s diamonds enact their escape plan. The rich and the powerful hop on a space shuttle to the nearest Earth-like planet while the rest of mankind perishes in an atypical Hollywood ending. 

The message of the film was shameful. If we do not take the necessary steps to reverse climate change, we may also have an atypical Hollywood ending. The factors in the movie that burdened them from saving the planet were all too similar to those of our society. With political dysfunction and stubbornness, we could possibly meet the end of our existence soon.

The moral of the story: look up. Look up and see the comet for yourself. Use your own eyes and ears to establish what is true versus what you are being told. Our future depends on it, so be vigilant, and just look up.