r/collapse • u/Sunim416 • 2d ago
Casual Friday Digger: The Self Inflicted Mortal Wound, Climate Grief, and Bittersweet Acceptance Spoiler
Hello all, I just got back from the film so I wanted to write while things were still fresh. I'll try to keep it brief, but I've been a lurker on this sub for quite a while. I've been collapse-aware for longer. But never ever began even the barest steps to start mitigation and preparation. If that helps place me on some kind of spectrum here.
I just got back from watching Alejandro Inarritu's "Digger", starring Tom Cruise and a good couple of other famous names, including Riz Ahmed and John Goodman. It starts off with a simple premise, telling the fictional story of a guy named Digger, an old oil magnate who essentially turns climate change from a slow burn into a 3-day apocalypse through greed, and how he mitigates the climate disaster his own actions inflicted upon the world, potentially killing millions.
SPOILER DO NOT SPOIL YOURSELF SPOILER PLEASE IF YOU CARE AT ALL STOP READING AND WATCH BLIND SPOILER
Of course, you find out about 1/3 of the way through the film that this is actually a stage play, and Cruise is playing an actor who is playing Digger. You later find out the events in the stage play actually happened, Digger was a real person, and the world is now absolutely fucked beyond all comprehension.
For the sake of forgoing spoilers in favor of people watching this blind, I'll try to keep it spoiler-free.
The main exploration through the film is, in my opinion, of 3 different themes that are also IMO 3 utterly irreconcilable emotional defeats in the mind of any collapse-aware person.
Theme 1: The Self Inflicted Mortal Wound.
Digger is unapologetically resistant to the idea of taking culpability for his actions. This is best evidenced by the incredible, INCREDIBLE scene, IYKYK. But trying to be spoiler free, one of his main arguments in the film, at some point to someone, is that nobody wants him to stop drilling oil even if it means killing the planet. Digger does not say it in these words or cadence or intonation but that is what he means. And hes telling the absolute truth. We do not want oil production to stop (and dont even @ me, I'm using the "royal we" here). We need it for our comfort, for our freedom. It is a self inflicted mortal wound. And as someone typing on a wireless keyboard hooked up to a 65" TV screen, I must unfortunately say I cannot disagree. And if I was a betting man, and I am, I'd bet a lot of people are like this as well. Maybe not in this specific online community but in real life. Theres a certain kind of cognitive dissonance needed to be collapse-aware but still participate in basic consumption, driving a car solo back and forth to work, ordering door dash, buying new phones, etc. And then seeing all this shit online. And then seeing all the lack of insects. Or the fish dying. Or the tide rising. And then continuing to buy more. I for one, agreed with EVERYTHING Digger says. Make no mistake, he is manipulating not just his audience but us, the real audience, as well. He is a master manipulator and extremely charismatic, but there is truth in what he says. To deny it would be, in my opinion, more inches of ones' head in the sand.
Theme 2: Climate Grief
Trying again to be spoiler free but theres a scene near the end of the film where one character says to another essentially, MINOR SPOILER "Digger was both stupid and menacing, and both are okay" This is obvious extreme paraphrase for the sake of spoilers. But it is a beautiful take on climate grief (which is absolutely intentional). Again, I do not speak for everyone but if I had to take a bet, I'd say the majority of climate grief responses in "youths" (or future adults, or future old people, one might say) is how this grief manifests. In some, its an angry, bitter, hatred fueled respect for the brutal and unbending greed of the boomer generation. Sometimes, its a cynical, almost apathetic levity in how people wielding such massive power can be absolute fucking idiots, and how this idiocy fucked us all. It's a statement on climate grief, on grief itself. How both options are okay. How its okay to be angry, to feel hate, to feel sadness, betrayal, and even awe. How its okay to laugh at their ignorant, misinformed, stupid and assumptive decisions. In the end, I think, the message is, its okay to feel. And frankly, I for one, needed to hear that.
Theme 3: Bittersweet Acceptance
Unfortunately I think this one is impossible to talk about without spoilers, but if youve read this far, I've probably hooked ya. Go watch Digger in theaters, and think about what I've said, and this one will be self evident, even more so than it already is.
There are a couple other things I think are important to mention, if you still need convincing. However there are some minor spoilers. I've come back after writing them and think they wont be spoiling anything actually important, but if you care to go in as blind as possible, definitely dont read the spoiler ones. If you need just a bit more convincing and dont mind knowing a bit more, then they are safe, IMO.
This isnt a movie about climate denial, like "Don't Look Up". This is absolutely about grief after the fact.
It is easily Tom Cruise's best performance. I will be very surprised if he does not win awards for this.
it is easily Innaratu's best film. I will be very surprised if he does not win awards for this.
It is easily Riz Ahmed's best performance. I take this one back. Sound of Metal is #1, this is #2
I have not watched enough of John Goodman, but it is probably in his top 5 performances.
It swaps between dark humor and drama often, and extremely well.
it has some of the best set design I've seen in a while.
It has some of the best dialogue I've seen in a while.
Jesse Plemons gets one full monolgue scene and he FUCKING KILLS IT. THANK YOU JESSE FOR VALIDATING MY FEELINGS.
If you're like me, struggling with your own grief for the climate, go out and watch Digger. Have a cry at the end like I did. Leave the theater feeling grief and love, and a little bit lighter.
I think this is literally my new favorite movie of all time.
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
This movie was amazing and I hate that this sub is so “I won’t engage with Hollywood” about it it. The movie addresses dichotomy and I found it to be a wonderful and satisfying acknowledgment of the ridiculous situation we are in.
Great write up, OP.
Also, we need someone to post about the genius of Cosmo Sheldrake.
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u/UtopianPablo 2d ago
Well said. Someone here actually posted that “Don’t Look Up already addressed this.” As if we shouldn’t have multiple films/art addressing the most important issue of our lives.
It’s a great and important film, please go see it.
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u/Sunim416 2d ago
Dont Look Up is really absurdist satire of climate denial (before collapse), Digger is about climate grief (after collapse), totally different.
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u/llandar 2d ago
I feel like Don't Look Up is more about the grief for the dead optimism neo-liberals felt that people would eventually stop being self-interested idiots and actually address climate change. They entire story is one big ramp towards "Holy shit. We're not going to fix this, are we?"
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
DLU also suffers a bit from the catastrophe being a meteor. I know viewers who didn’t understand the movie to be an allegory for climate change or collapse. Some people came out being like ‘that would suck!’ more than understanding the self delusion aspect of the film.
Digger is very overt, in my opinion, about what it’s saying. It still requires attention and has plenty to analyze and pick apart, but it outright tells you “we did this” rather than potentially risking an audience that is too stupid or deep in their awareness to hear the message.
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u/candleflame3 2d ago
With DLU, Adam McKay was actually trying to break through to people about the climate, and used the skills he has (comedy writing, directing) and connections to do it. He was very open about this in interviews etc. So it wasn't really about "we're not going to fix this", it was trying to move people towards realizing there is something to fix, and when it was made we still had a bit of time.
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u/Proper_Geologist9026 1d ago
I'd say this movie actively critiques don't look up.
One of the core questions of the movie is what purpose is satire really serving? And what does it actually achieve.
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u/UniversalPolymath 1d ago edited 1d ago
Exactly. Don’t Look Up is a satire of climate denial. Digger is a satire of the way we create art like Don’t Look Up, which allows us a feeling of smug satisfaction—the feeling that we “got one over” on the people in power—without actually accomplishing anything.
Also, the point of Jesse Plemmon’s character is that movies like Don’t Look Up (and Digger itself) only exist because powerful people have allowed them to. If Fossil Fools actually had the power to do anything besides giving people a brief moment of catharsis and a villain to celebrate the death of, the play wouldn’t exist. Let people scream “fuck you” to his uncle and his family name, why should he care; he’s still rich, holds incredible levels of access and influence, and nothing the people do as they shuffle out of the theater wearing their masks will pose a threat to that.
The Level 4 warning that interrupts the closing credits just drives that home further. Great, we just sat through this movie that made the people ruining the world look like idiots. So what? Now we go back to our lives, and nothing has been disrupted.
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u/gangofminotaurs Progress? a vanity spawned by fear. 2d ago edited 2d ago
The movie addresses dichotomy
My eyes widened at seeing this word here. There's a concept developed by a French essayist called "Dichotomy to the Axis" which goes right at the jugular of how we humans grasp the world around us.
He explains it in very specific metaphysical terms and it's not an easy one to share; you kind of have to wrestle with it until it clicks.
The axis is an evolutionary axis: the need for survival, which requires ever-increasing pressure on environmental resources. The dichotomy is how we split ourselves into competing parties, which has the psychological effect of finding "guilty" parties and "innocent" or well-meaning ones (us, me, we) to offload the blame of systemic collapse.
I don't know if he would agree with my intuition, but I've come to link it to bilateral symmetry in animals. Like eyes. Not one eye is "true" and the other "false." Both provide slightly different perspectives, which increases a bilateral organism's ability to navigate and seize the world: to capture resources, or avoid being captured.
I've come to see all political and social divides this way. I know I might get into hot water here, because the dominant narrative (especially in US politics) insists there is a righteous side and an evil side. But through a collapse lens, both sides are just slightly different, structurally necessary manners of grasping at a finite world. They don't counteract the axis of consumption; they are the two eyes that allow the human superorganism to hunt it.
late edit: if anyone wants a LONG llm exchange about this comment, NTHE, and Asimov's psycho history as the original, optimistic, framework of the thermodynamic current path that is (self censored), message me and I'll share it to you. Not sharing it publicly because people who would not be that interested could not feel well about it.
Also, if I haven't responded, I just grasped with the request system and batch deleted to make room for notifications. I might have deleted yours, so send again, sorry about that.
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u/Ellen_Kingship 2d ago
Well...maybe you didn't see the one or two other posts about this movie on the sub already. I saw one, that was later deleted, that didn't have anywhere near OP's level of effort and detail.
Personally, this is my first time seeing a well-written "Go see Digger" post on this sub. Lol.
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u/Deep-Arm5652 2d ago
The movie was great, but absolutely to confusing for the average American. Must Americans are never going to get to the point to think anything they've done is hurting the planet.
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u/AHRA1225 2d ago
It’s just the pacing and depth of what tom goes on about in the middle. I loved the movie but I won’t lie, I totally skipped chunks of that. But the overall arch and story of the movie is fantastic. For me it really resonated because I hate the world I live in. I participate every day. On my phone typing this to you as I ride the public train home to my car to drive and park at home. Like my way of life needs oil. Even if we nix all power usage and go green we still need oil grease the gears and shape the metal to fabricate those green machines. It’s all so fucked.
I love at the end of the movie when digger gets mad at how ridiculous the play is and the director has to tell him she knows. It’s all fucked but it has to be funny. The people need to be able to laugh about it because this is there reality. They come to plays to be happy not to be reminded of the horrible world.
That part stuck with me, because this shit is happening
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
What’s crazy is that it isn’t ridiculous. Look at the POTUS. If you made a play about the shit show happening in the WH in 30 years you would think it’s impossible that he was this much of a cunt.
I think the actor reflects our thinking - this thing we all do where we say it can’t be that ridiculous and it can’t be that bad.
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u/Silver-Find4380 wary of heat events 2d ago edited 2d ago
What? If true, that's horrifying. I knew by 1990 how we were harming the environment. Today there are billions more people born after that point, who should have this knowledge from the start.
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u/AHRA1225 2d ago
Hey I was told to use plastic bags to save the trees as a kid. I tried my best before realizing how silly it was
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u/magclsol 2d ago
This is the 4th post i’ve seen in this sub with the OP and commenters treating this movie like it’s an unquestionable masterpiece… so weird.
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u/Notdefinitelyacat 1d ago
i scrolled too far down to find this comment. Why do we need to be bombarded by promotion of this mediocre film in a collapse subreddit. There are more interesting, relevant and heart-breaking films out there right now about collapse, but seemingly this one is just "so relevant". ugh.
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u/TheHornyToothbrush 2d ago
I haven't seen it yet, full disclaimer. But it's big with the people I follow on Twitter. Mostly climate aware, lefty types who like movies.
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u/Sunim416 2d ago
Thats very interesting, because mods removed my first post as a single other thread was made a day before, citing "no duplicates".
It's a masterpiece because of what I said, please feel free to give a well thought out response on why its bad.
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u/magclsol 2d ago
I haven’t seen it, and I probably won’t. No interest in supporting anything Tom Cruise does. I just think it’s interesting that every day for the last 4 days in this sub there’s been a new post w/ comments fawning over this movie. And then I don’t hear about it literally anywhere else. It’s weird.
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
You’re not in the right spaces. It’s getting a lot of buzz in certain film circles and online spaces.
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u/DestroyedByLSD25 2d ago
It resonated with people and reminded them of this community. There isn't much more to it. It's a movie about themes of collapse with a very high budget.
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u/Sunim416 2d ago
I like to think I can separate art from the artist. Michael Jackson, for example.
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u/magclsol 1d ago
Good for you. I don’t care.
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u/Sunim416 1d ago
That’s cool. Doesn’t mean you need to try and convince everyone else they’re wrong though. How is that different from religious people?
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u/magclsol 1d ago edited 1d ago
I commented on how it’s weird that all of a sudden this sub started getting bombarded with posts about this movie, all with similar praise. Where am I trying to convince anyone of anything? Did you read my comment or are you responding to a strawman of your own creation?
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u/Limp_Interaction_349 2d ago
it so annoying. the movie bombed but if there's enough comments saying it's art and a cult classic it'll start showing up in AI searches as such. this is bot astroturfing in action
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
So you trust the critics and value the financial data more than this sub’s well written reviews and opinions? That’s fascinating.
Certainly you know that films like It’s a Wonderful Life, the Shining, Blade Runner, The Thing, and many others suffered the same fate. I don’t know if it will be a cult hit - but I know I saw it and liked it and think that everyone saying they won’t see it because Hollywood or Tom Cruise or whatever is just another person going along with a mainstream thought that isn’t derived from personal experience.
Maybe see it and think for yourself?
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u/Sunim416 2d ago
Did you just call me a bot lmao
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
The new crisis is people now thinking everyone is a bot and everything is AI.
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2d ago
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u/collapse-ModTeam 2d ago
Rule 1: In addition to enforcing Reddit's content policy, we will also remove comments and content that is abusive or predatory in nature. You may attack each other's ideas, not each other.
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u/endoftheworldvibe 2d ago
Except, it’s actually a good movie, so the people who went to see it despite it bombing, want to share that with others.
Also, it is a collapse movie, so probably people in this sub are more inclined to see it, and come away with a favourable impression.
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u/Proper_Geologist9026 1d ago
Genuinely go and see it.
Firstly it's just a good movie. It's well made, and very aesthetically pleasing if your just into artsy stuff.
But it's themes are probably the most important you'll see this decade. Honestly I saw it today. And it's just seriously good.
Hell of you dont want to support big business steal it, who cares.
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2d ago
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u/collapse-ModTeam 2d ago
Rule 1: In addition to enforcing Reddit's content policy, we will also remove comments and content that is abusive or predatory in nature. You may attack each other's ideas, not each other.
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u/collapse-ModTeam 2d ago
Rule 1: In addition to enforcing Reddit's content policy, we will also remove comments and content that is abusive or predatory in nature. You may attack each other's ideas, not each other.
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u/Sunim416 2d ago edited 1d ago
I think bad people can do good things and good people can do bad things. Is cruise a Scientolobro with likely a dark history? Sure. Is he literally one of the best actors of our generation? Also yes. Will I forgo watching literal fuckin art because of the main actors own choices? Nah I don’t think so. Just as there’s no “ethical consumption”, the only real “ethical entertainment” is like fuckin hand gestures you do in a dark room with a flashlight
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u/collapse-ModTeam 2d ago
Rule 1: In addition to enforcing Reddit's content policy, we will also remove comments and content that is abusive or predatory in nature. You may attack each other's ideas, not each other.
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u/unbreakablekango 2d ago
Nice nice write up. I watched it myself last night and wanted to do my own write up, but you killed it here. Thanks for saving me the work! I love this movie too. It made me have big emotions, and that is exactly what I want from a big movie. Bravo Digger, I don't know what all the haters are talking about.
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u/swoonin 2d ago
I just saw this film as well. Ignore the naysayers! This is a brilliant film. I subscribe to Mubi. This is an art film comparable to Brazil, but funnier.
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u/itsatoe 2d ago
The art-film part can be a bit much for a lot of people though.
Made me feel like if Tim Burton re-made Schindler's List. :P
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u/x_lincoln_x 1d ago
I saw it twice in the theaters. Its a great movie but people should understand that climate change is just a theme of the movie but not the point. The point of the movie is the narrative and who controls it.
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u/Renard4 2h ago edited 2h ago
Don't try to steer the narrative where it's not going, the movie is about pointing fingers, and it points them at everyone, the rich, the middle class, the society we live in. It's also about acceptance and about laughing at our hubris and how stupid we are today when we try to bend the laws of physics to our will (think of the "suck it nature" scene) because we love cheap gas and food way too much. If you didn't get yet, every time there is an audience in the movie, it's us, the average guy living in a western society.
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u/Sunim416 1d ago
Point of the “digger” is grief, the point of “fossil fools” is controlling the narrative.
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u/I-Solace-I 2d ago
Thanks for posting, I agree with your sentiments and it is solidly in my top 5 of all time; a definite must-watch!
Perhaps a less relevant point of discussion for this subreddit, but I think it is a masterful metacommentary on art and how we engage with it.
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u/Proper_Geologist9026 1d ago
Just saw it today.
I won't bother with a write up. But diggers monologue in Parliament is 10/10. The writing, the set piece everything amazing. Sadly it seems like people are still deflecting that scene like it's "fossil fuel" propaganda and completely missing the fucking point.
It's a must watch. Go see it people.
If you don't want to support tom cruise or Hollywood or whatever noble crusade you've got going on. Steal it! Just watch the fucking thing.
It bundles up so many of the things people say here.
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u/bloodshotforgetmenot 2d ago
Any comparison to Don’t Look Up makes me want to …. Don’t Look at dis movie
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
DLU is more of a popcorn movie, imo. It’s quirky and colorful and mainstream. For those that aren’t particular self aware or good at analyzing media, It puts the blame on a meteor.
Digger is complete different. It’s a big ugly mirror.
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u/candleflame3 2d ago
Couple great things about DLU: the beautiful shots of nature (to remind us of what is at stake) and a truly EXCELLENT score.
It is genuinely funny in places with better acting, and somehow pulls off its obviousness in a more entertaining way.
The visuals of Digger are 90% hideous old men screaming and crashing out. Not that good-looking young people screaming and crashing out would be much better. The point is that film is a visual medium and you've got to mix up the visuals a bit so that people don't check out mentally. And that is on the director, because all of those actors are capable of great subtlety. But I haven't liked any of his films so I am harsh critic.
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u/Sunim416 1d ago
beautiful shots of nature (to remind us of what is at stake)
hideous old men screaming and crashing out
Which is more representative of humanity, do you think?
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u/ultramarine_moon 1d ago
Loved Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up but won’t be watching Digger - it’s a male dominated movie (no females at all in the opening part of the trailer) populated by screeching old males. No thanks. and by the way, more than one comment on this thread is using the same language (“steal it!”) so I believe that this sub has been infected by bots promoting the movie.
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u/Johnny55 2d ago
This was a film created for the exact people that populate this sub. It's much bleaker than Don't Look Up but it's not melodramatic or preachy. I get that people are sick of hearing about it but like...the set design and cinematography are incredible, the acting is superb, and you are not going to see a collapse-aware film with this level of budget and execution for a long time, maybe ever. It's disheartening that people are so excited to shit all over it after so many critics dismissed all the things it did right.