Representation of Pre-Traumatic Disorder in Don’t Look Up: A Textual Analysis

Western Appropriations of Eastern Spirituality in Hesse’s Siddhartha

Abstract

Humans and the environment are closely interconnected; however, colonization, urbanization, industrialization, and technological advancement have significantly damaged the environment. Global environmental and climate change affect people mentally due to their looming consequences. Don’t Look Up is a movie about a comet about to hit Earth within six months. The comet is used as a metaphor for climate change in the film. The researcher applies Ann Kaplan’s theory of pre-traumatic stress to analyze the movie, which she discusses in her book Climate Trauma: Foreseeing the Future in Dystopian Films. To examine the film, the research article employs Catherine Belsey’s textual analysis method. The analysis focuses on the dialogues to uncover their hidden meanings and decipher the metaphors. The film analysis offers insights into the manifestation and effects of pre-traumatic stress within a literary context. The paper emphasizes how the capitalist class exploits nature for their benefit, a theme that plays a vital role in the movie.