I’m not a big movie person, but I did end up watching some over the winter break. One that can be considered “wild” is ‘Don’t Look up’ that came out in 2021. It was directed by Adam McKay and features the most expensive cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, Kid Cudi, and more. This film is about two meteorologists/astronomers who discover a deadly comet approaching and destined to destroy Earth. They make many efforts to warn everyone on Earth. The two colleagues go to the President, go on local tv shows, and do everything in their power to get the word around. However, no one takes their efforts seriously. Everyone around them is more concerned about the money that could be made from the valuable minerals that would be dispersed from the comet, as well as the overall indifference and lack of care the rest of humanity expresses. Though this film is satire and a comedy, this film, in my opinion, is commentary on how “wild” our society has gotten. The government is seen as money hungry and incompetent in doing its main job of protecting its citizens. People are becoming more desensitized to irregularities in climate and are only consuming media that gains traction. The two astronomers who discover this comet work throughout this movie to find a solution to destroy the comet before it hits Earth on their own. This emphasizes how there are essentially only a few people in this entire society who care about the right things, which seems wild.
Along with the more abstract meaning of wildness interpreted from this film, there is also a specific scene that embodies a more literal sense of wild. In the last few scenes, the President and some other people with assumed status in this society are seen escaping to another planet. This planet had Earth-like conditions, but of course, had “wild” elements that took over. In this scene, a Bronteroc, which is a crazy looking blend of 5 different animals, ends up eating the President whole. This animal is wild in the sense that it looks absurd and completely disturbing, but also wild in that is untamed and attacks the humans.
I watched this movie during the break, and while I initially did not consider it to be a “wild” film, I really liked how you established the “wild” elements that went over my head. I totally agree that there only being a few people in society who seem to care that a world-destroying comet is hurtling towards Earth is wild. Furthermore, that last scene on the otherworldly planet to wild indeed. Especially when the president is eaten by the Bronteroc, which Isherwell had predicted from his app. That part was so wild, and I honestly also thought that the fact that those people were the ones to survive despite denying the impending doom of the comet was extremely wild as well.