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With 2022 right around the corner, it is time to say farewell to 2021. What better way to do it than with a satirical revisiting of the year gone by.
Death to 2021 is made in the fashion of a documentary, which itself is a satire, and combines archival footage gathered throughout the year with commentary from fictitious characters. The show attempts to deliver a hilarious retelling of 2021, which will make viewers reflect on the bygone year.
More about 'Death to 2021'
2021 has been a bizarre year that made 2020 only look like a trailer. With the pandemic surging to forest fires and flash floods, not to mention the political turmoil this year has seen, 2021 surely deserves a recap and a proper farewell. Death to 2021 is exactly an attempt in that. It is a comic reflection of 2021 told through fictitious characters played by various actors.
The characters range from pretentious academics, prying journalists, melodramatic cable news anchors, billionaire tech moguls, scientists, influencers and average citizens. They are played by Hugh Grant, Joe Keery, William Jackson Harper, Lucy Liu, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, Stockard Channing, Cristin Milioti and Diane Morgan. Laurence Fishburne narrates the mockumentary.
Death to 2021 recounts all the hilarious as well as terrifying episodes that occurred in the year 2021. The movie flags off with the Trump and Biden presidential election war that led to vandalism and followed it with the coronavirus variants and vaccines and how the pandemic consumed the world in the early months of the year. In this context, the movie also addresses the issue of anti-vaxxers through fictitious characters of the mockumentary itself.
Racism is also addressed in the context of Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton, as well as the royal family, especially in the interview that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had with Oprah. Climate change is also covered through the documentary Seaspiracy and archival footage of the erratic weather that wreaked havoc all over the world.
Apart from these themes, the mockumentary has also explored the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, gender pronouns, cancel culture and even online dating through mock interviews with the characters and archival footage.
Is Death to 2021 worth the watch?
Death to 2021 is a light-hearted and satirical retelling of grave issues that 2021 saw. It takes away the burden of anxiety but also serves to remind us what a horror year this was and the path down which we are headed. The mockumentary uses real-life footage, which is interspaced with mock interviews with fictitious characters played by a number of acclaimed actors who delivered stunning performances.
However, the most memorable performances are surely going to be that by Hugh Grant and Cristin Milioti. The ease with which they stepped into the shoes of their characters, one a problematic academician and another, an equally problematic American citizen, is something which is very commendable. Their performances are sure to make the audience double up with laughter.
Mixing reality and fiction, Death to 2021 gives us a chance to laugh as well as draw caution and reflect on the unpredictability of the year that we are leaving behind, making us ponder what 2022 has in store for us.
The mockumentary does make us draw humor from the apocalyptic situations of 2021 in hindsight, but it does not attempt to dismiss the entire thing as a bad dream. A looming threat still hangs, making viewers rethink and reflect on their actions regarding the situations that 2021 saw.
Written by Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker, Death to 2021 seems to be a promising farewell to the year gone by. Tune into Netflix to bid adieu to another devastating year.
