"McKay excels in satire that exposes how we’ve been manipulated by the world’s powerful institutions."WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / Harald Krichel

Without a doubt, Adam McKay has proved himself ‘the people’s satirist’. The esteemed director rose to fame through comedies like Step Brothers (2008), but it’s his dramas post-2015 that truly showcase his cinematic genius. He refuses to shy away from complicated subject matter. He takes on the baffling complexities of economic systems and political administrations, always equipped with a surprisingly humorous tone. Tackling these provocative topics, he's become the people’s champion.

In a McKay film, the unknown forces at play in the world are unveiled to people who have fallen victim to their corruption, greed, and malice. We, the people, are bolstered, while the self-seeking politicians, bankers, and industrialists are caught out for their hedonism. But we are not off the hook. McKay’s filmmaking develops an important message for the audience: don’t be passive.

“Margot Robbie explains subprime mortgages from a bubble bath”

The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short was McKay’s first foray into drama, with a terrifying exposé on the 2008 crash. The crisis that left millions unemployed is unravelled with a satirical edge that uncovers the nauseating apathy of the bankers involved. He lightens the subject matter with cameos from celebs, subprime mortgages explained to us by Margot Robbie in a bubble bath. McKay is focused on his audience; he wants the people who suffered to know who exploited them and how. Yet, the film’s sheer frustration reaches its climax in a brutal concluding narration. It details the justice brought on the shameless bankers only to abruptly end with “Just kidding… they blamed immigrants and poor people”. These real-life villains return to their luxurious lives and it’s the working class who get blamed.

Vice (2018)


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McKay swaps out econ for politics in Vice, scrutinising Vice President Dick Cheney’s role in the Iraq war. We focus on the shadowy figure of a foreign policy puppet master. The focus-group scene is particularly poignant: people uncertain and confused about the suggestion of a war with Al-Qaeda are asked “Would it be less confusing if it was a country?” Constant cuts between the focus group and a dinner party of politicians accentuate how Cheney and his fellow bureaucrats manipulated the population into supporting war. While McKay is again supporting the little man, showing him where he was blindsided, he is also critiquing the audience. In Cheney’s final monologue, he doesn’t apologise for the devastation in Iraq and instead asserts, “You chose me and I did what you asked.” We see the bleak reality that when we vote leaders in, we get what we deserve. McKay warns us that we must exercise our voting rights if we wish to rid our governments of self-interested politicians.

"Vice shows that when we vote leaders in, we get what we deserve”

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Don’t Look Up strays from critiques of past controversies to prophesy an ominous future. The usual satirical tone is in full swing with a climate-change metaphor this time — a meteor on a collision course with Earth. The ability of the rich and powerful to foster divisions for their own gain is shown at its most sinister. Seeing the monetary value of the asteroid’s minerals, the government launches a ‘Don’t Look Up’ campaign to encourage people to ignore the science pointing to potential annihilation. Some argue that the depiction of subsequent Pro-Meteor supporters is MacKay’s cynicism gone too far, but looking at our general apathy towards global warming, it’s not too hyperbolic. In one impactful scene, our protagonist screams unrelentingly on television in a move that seems directed beyond the fourth wall. It is not just two fictional scientists begging us to wake up and smell the apocalypse, but the director himself.

McKay excels in satire that exposes how we’ve been manipulated by the world’s powerful institutions. The sardonic wit he uses tones down the complexities so they’re accessible to the people McKay really wants to reach. Humour is also there to make us laugh, or else we could only cry at our bleak reality. But we’re not immune to McKay’s critiques. Through our votes and investments, we give corrupt officials the power they so willingly abuse. McKay may be championing the rights of the people, but he also leaves us with a warning that our passive indifference is contributing to our own exploitation.