‘Cunk On Life’ Movie Recap And Full Story

Cunk on Earth was basically one of the best pieces of satirical comedy out there, a mockumentary series created by Charlie Brooker, who has famously given us the dark and disturbing Black Mirror. Cunk on Earth was about everything around the planet that affects humanity and every living being and questioning the experts about it in the most honest manner. The 2025 Netflix film, Cunk on Earth, is a sequel to the aforementioned series, and describes the life cycle of living beings across the globe and questions its aspect as well.

Spoilers Ahead

Chapter One: Creation

Creation is all about Philomena Cunk, the host of the mockumentary, asking several questions about our presence in the universe, which is tiny. She also discusses how our value is basically second to none in the universe, yet human beings take themselves too seriously. There is also a discussion of God, who many faiths believe is the creator of our existence. The movie emphasizes the fact that a large population of people believe in divinity of God and hence the form needs to be respected. 

Chapter Two: Sin & Virtue

Creation is followed by Sin & Virtue, which discusses the very famous Adam & Eve, who are the embodiment of male and female. Adam and Eve is a creation myth mentioned in Abrahamic religions, and in this mockumentary, Philomena Cunk discusses how the concept of sin was developed to portray God as an omnipresent being that was watching you all the time and making a note of your thoughts & movements. This gave birth to the idea of heaven and hell, with God deciding the person’s fate depending on the sins committed. 

Chapter Three: Innards and Outards

After Sin & Virtue, Innards and Outards is about the physical act of making love and how it is indispensable in the creation of another living being. Since this is a mockumentary, there are shots mocking how the famous National Geographic discusses the life cycle of all kinds of living beings, starting with plants, trees, insects, mammals, and amphibians. The point of showcasing male and female genitalia was to focus on the fact that men and women’s body parts are also treated differently in social terms, yet both are crucial in procreation.

Cunk on Earth also discussed the famous theory of evolution Charles Darwin proposed and how it established the idea that homo sapiens came from apes. There was a detailed discussion on DNA and how it plays a crucial role in differentiating one living being from another. The human body and the importance of organs are explained to lay out what role each of them plays in the daily functioning of a human. The most important bit of this segment is the discussion on the brain and its physical function. The brain also gives birth to the concept of mind and consciousness that shape human minds and evolve into a certain personality. The mockumentary could not help but delve into the subject of expanding human consciousness and how using chemical and natural narcotics could aid in it. The movie went on to mention meditation helps in expansion and calming of the human mind. Some name-dropping came when the Beatles and their experiments with ashrams in India and psychedelics were mentioned. 

Chapter Four: Death

The fourth chapter is about the inevitable event in the life cycle of humans, which is death. Unlike other mockumentaries, this movie has a hilarious take on death, which includes several painters and their impression of the dead. This includes a famous painting showcasing the army of the dead (cue Game of Thrones). It also covers the subject of reapers and ghosts, who are mentioned in the several rumors and stories most of us hear growing up. Science, however, does not believe in the existence of such entities, for there is no solid proof. 

Chapter Five: Doubt

Friedrich Nietzsche’s controversial statement ‘God is Dead’ also makes an appearance, and its significance is discussed. The experts elaborated that Friedrich Nietzsche believed people having immense faith in an imaginary entity was harmful to society. 

Chapter Six: Morality and Stuff

Morality and Stuff is about the law-and-order system that decides who is right or wrong. This is followed by an understanding of the criminal justice system that decides who should live or die based on the charges proved against him/her. The mockumentary film highlights Russian authors like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, and Pushkin, who have delved into the morality side of life. The movie has a hilarious take on using an electric chair, a form of death penalty that is still used around the world. With the mention of Friedrich Nietzsche, the makers had to mention the concept of nihilism and existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre, who discussed these subjects in length. The makers went ahead and explained why cats experience existentialism as well. 

Chapter Seven: Art

This segment dives into the meaning of art, artists, and paintings in specific. The movie mentioned Edvard Munch’s Scream (the original painting is in Oslo, Norway). It describes the agony the man was in, and he was able to express it only through his art. Art helps in describing the mental situation of the artist, and hence many experts are able to decipher the hidden meaning behind their cherished works. Cunk on Earth had to mention Vincent Van Gogh, who is back in popular culture as many studies about his paintings have helped experts understand how the famed artist was not in a good mental state, especially nearing his death. It is easy to notice the same in his paintings, as his style kept changing over the years. Vincent Van Gogh is now considered an all-time great, and his paintings are valued in the millions in the present day. 

Chapter Eight: Work

Work focuses on activities humans have had to do since the days of early man. This has spiraled into current times where human beings are constantly working with no end in sight. This focuses on the depression that comes with the idea of working constantly and earning money, but in reality the money is just sitting in the account. This part of the movie focuses on the world pressure and how humans are further pushed into a bottomless pit when streaming platforms came into existence. This was a satirical take on Netflix, the platform on which this movie is streaming, and other OTT services. The fake executive explains how they control the minds of the people through algorithms. This allows the streaming platform to provide customers exactly what they want. It could also be a take on gaming and other online pleasures that serve as a temporary reprieve after a hard day at work. 

Chapter Nine: The Final Chapter

The final chapter of the movie focuses on the creation of the world, and this concept was developed by Edwin Hubble. The Hubble telescope in NASA was named after him, given he discovered the phenomenon of the ‘big bang theory.’ This theory negated the claim that God created the world, as there was now a scientific explanation for why the universe existed. Cunk on Earth discusses CERN, which is situated in Switzerland. The god particle, or the Higgs boson particle, was discovered to be the first-ever atom that came out from the explosion. The atoms fascinated Philomena Cunk, as she could not believe everything around us is basically made of atoms. 

Cunk on Earth ended with the makers diving into topics like cloning and how it began with duplicating a sheep named Dolly. The movie jumped to the subject of artificial intelligence and how it helps people at the moment with a lot of work in their professional and personal space. The movie could not end without mentioning ChatGPT, the current talk of the town. The mockumentary had to end with the mention of technology taking over human lives, and how as people, we seem to not be able to disconnect from it.