Atkinson: What stood apart to me about the motion picture was that the researchers who attempt to alert of a disaster werent listened to. Given whatever going on in our world– environment change and a raving pandemic– that indifference felt a little too real! How did that feel to you?
Mainzer: This motion picture has a lot to do with how we as a society take news from science and respond to it. As you understand, Nancy, as a science communicator, you are deeply steeped into trying to translate complex technical concepts into words that everyone will understand. Whichs a real difficulty, due to the fact that scientists sometimes utilize words in totally different methods than they are utilized in daily life.
How we communicate uncertainty– that word in science means that there is a range of possible worths within the measurements we make, and not that we dont know what weve measured! Thats simply one example, however it exhibits theres in some cases a language barrier, because words are utilized in a different way.
To me, the movie is about how researchers attempt to take what we are learning more about the world and bring that understanding to everybody else so that choices can be made based on the science. Thats an actually challenging thing to do. But in the end, this movie is a comedy and hopefully people who see it will laugh a little at how everybody– while we try to do our finest– do not constantly succeed.
Atkinson: Could you share some of the science bits in the movie, and any opportunity that the real NEOWISE mission gets a mention?
A film still from DONT LOOK UP, showing the incoming comets trajectory. Credit: Netflix © 2021, used by consent.
Mainzer: I actually did model the comet in the film loosely after Comet NEOWISE! This is a long duration comet, which can come in at unbelievable speeds from the external solar system relative to the Earth. We found NEOWISE in March 2020 and close approach to Earth was in July, therefore like the comet in the motion picture, there was a very short window of time in between its discovery and close method.
The bright side is that in reality, we have actually found the majority of the truly large near-Earth asteroids out there– things that are capable of causing global catastrophes. When we get to asteroids that are 1 km or bigger, we understand of more than 90% of those and none position any danger that we understand of.
Long duration comets are a different story. The affordable thing to do is to look for comets and asteroids, and track them with comprehensive studies.
Among the important things I invested a lot of time talking with the director about is how our system is developed for transparency. When we find an asteroid or comet, theres a system set up to take the observations and associate it with previously understood things If the item is not something we currently understand about, the system is to make it public so that other astronomers can take a look at it.
DONT LOOK UP (L to R) Mark Rylance as Peter Isherwell, Meryl Streep as President Janie Orlean, and Jonah Hill as Jason Orlean. Utilized by consent.
From the researchers point of view, we are doing all we can to get the info out there, however the question is, how do people react? We are attempting to do what we can to get the understanding out there, and that procedure is depicted in the film.
Likewise, in the motion picture, the scientists who make the discovery are people who dont do organized studies of comets for a living. They serendipitously find the comet and the movie walks through the procedure of how they acknowledged this comet, how they determined its orbit and then how they communicated the outcomes to the remainder of the science community. Ideally audiences will acknowledge the grains of real science, even though the motion picture absolutely takes some creative license..
Atkinson: There are numerous prominent actors in this movie. When you heard who was in the cast, what was your reaction?.
They all care passionately about science and its role in society, along with the concept that we really ought to make decisions based on science in order to deal with problems as finest we can. And also, to express how scientists feel when we arent being listened to.
One of the important things Ive constantly believed interesting is the interaction between science and the arts. Science informs us what is occurring with nature, but the arts handle is how we respond: how do we feel and process what we gain from science? So, this motion picture deals with how both scientists and the public react to what we are discovering. The tension of attempting to alter society to make science-based choices and how to get people to listen to science is very much at the heart of the film.
Mainzer: I assisted to bring in some science realism for the film. The team behind the film is very interested in science and its representation in movies is essential for them, and so thats why it has so much science in it.
Mainzer: This movie has a lot to do with how we as a society take news from science and respond to it. To me, the movie is about how researchers try to take what we are learning about the world and bring that understanding to everybody else so that choices can be made based on the science. They serendipitously find the comet and the motion picture strolls through the procedure of how they recognized this comet, how they determined its orbit and then how they interacted the results to the rest of the science community.
Atkinson: A typical thread in science denial is that NASA or the government is concealing things from the public. All the scientists I talk to always state that if they discovered a harmful things in area, they d be yelling it from the rooftops!
Mainzer: In my experience that is definitely the case! When we find out something brand-new and cool in science, its like going on a great journey and when you get home you might bore everybody since you cant stop speaking about it. The majority of researchers will not stop discussing the things we learn due to the fact that we like it. Due to the fact that if they know about it they may love it too, and we desire other individuals to understand about it! That is part of the process that gets explored in the film..
Atkinson: Whats the most significant thing you hope people take away from the motion picture?
Mainzer: Hopefully the film conveys that researchers are humans– and that this process of science is a human procedure. As scientists, we might sometimes have communication obstacles, however we are attempting, and we are going to keep trying!
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The new film “Dont Look Up”– now readily available on Netflix– is not your usual sci-fi disaster film. Instead, it is a biting parody on the basic publics termination and indifference to science. While the movie has to do with a comet on a clash with Earth, filmmakers initially suggested “Dont Look Up” to be a commentary on environment modification rejection. It likewise is reflective of the present COVID rejection and mask/vaccine resistance, as well as our existing political polarization. It also lays bare our fixation with social networks. While the movie is sometimes funny, it can likewise be depressing and aggravating.
” Dont Look Up” consists of a star-studded cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, and Cate Blanchett. Meryl Streep, who plays the president of the US, has actually said this is the most important film shes ever made.
Amy Mainzer participates in the “Dont Look Up” World Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 05, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Netflix) Used by consent.
Filmmaker Adam McKay desired this movie to portray the science– and the challenges faced by scientists– as reasonably as possible. He brought in well-known astronomer Dr. Amy Mainzer to serve as the movies science specialist.
Mainzer is a teacher at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona and one of the worlds leading scientists in asteroid detection and planetary defense. As principal investigator of NASAs NEOWISE objective (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) Mainzer has overseen the biggest space-based asteroid-hunting job in history. A comet named after the mission, Comet NEOWISE, was found by astronomers who work with the spacecraft in March of 2020.
Mainzer talked with Universe Todays Nancy Atkinson about the science in “Dont Look Up.”.
Nancy Atkinson: When you received a call about dealing with a movie about a comet, what was your very first response?
Amy Mainzer: I am in favor of anything that includes comets and asteroids in a script, as these are subjects near and dear to my heart! Im pleased to see that they become part of the cultural discussion through films, and it was actually enjoyable to work on the task.
Atkinson: As a science advisor, what were some of your jobs?
Mainzer: I assisted to bring in some science realism for the motion picture. The team behind the film is extremely interested in science and its portrayal in films is crucial for them, and so thats why it has so much science in it.
We assisted design the comet– one that would fit the costs for the motion picture, however also be scientifically accurate. We explained the circumstances of the discovery– how such an item may be recognized, how the trajectory would be identified, and how the researchers would react as they began to find out more about the object. The other part was to help represent scientists as humans: what are we like, and how do we interact science? Often we be successful when we interact, other times we do have difficulties.
