Have you ever thought about the fact that we’re all living in an important time of history? That, years from now, students will learn about what we’re going through? A pandemic such as the COVID-19 is one of the biggest to happen so far, along with the H1N1 pandemic, that according to the CDC, in one year infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, and 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, that hit an estimated of 500 million people. But, even though we’re are living this in 2020, the situation seems to have already been turned into a big Hollywood movie.
Film ‘Contagion’
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, the movie Contagion, released in September 2011 by Warner Brothers Pictures, tells the story of a global pandemic scenario caused by a fictional virus called MEV-1. As well as the COVID-19, the virus invented by the creators of the movie comes from China and, since it is a completely new kind of virus, also causes a great distress amongst society. The thing that differs both viruses the most, is the death rate, that appears to be 10 times bigger in the movie plot than the one caused by COVID-19.
Contagion shows different perspectives of people in different situations and countries. It starts with Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow), a woman who lives in Minneapolis but is away for a business meeting in Hong Kong. Two days after getting home, Beth dies and, soon after that, her son passas away too. In shock, after authorities tell him they don’t know what happened, her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon) must be kept in observation.
It is then that the hospital finds out that he is, somehow, immune to the effects of the virus and, because of that, is allowed to go home with his daughter. Soon after that, the number of cases start going up all over the world. A man in Hong Kong collapses inside a bus and the blogger journalist Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), from San Francisco, receives the video of the accident and starts trying to find ways to make money out of the tragedy.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization tries to find out more about the mysterious disease that, until now, has been misunderstood as a strange encephalitis with no known causes and ways of spreading. At the USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters, Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) begins his research on the US outbreak. Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) is a dedicated professional who is also Cheever’s protégé. She goes to Minnesota in order to investigate the deaths registered there, especially Beth’s, since she was the first one and also concludes that the way to prevent the disease from spreading would be by isolating the sick and quarantining the exposed.
During a meeting, Dr. Mears tells her partners that the virus can be transmitted by respiratory track and from the moment people touch surfaces that carry the MEV-1. When talking about all the risks and what should be done in order to prevent the pandemic to happen, Dr. Mears is questioned by her co-workers that say they should not tell the public about it and that it would be an exaggeration to stay at home. Dr. Mears then explains that there is an equation used to show how many people an infected individual can infect. That number is initially shown as 2 (someone who’s infected might infect two other people), but add up quickly to four, eight and then sixteen, which deeply concerns the government.
Fiction Turning into Reality
Besides showing how epidemiologists deal with the disease, the movie also shows how society molds itself into chaos and desperation. The most interesting scene of that movie is when the audience finally finds out how the virus began spreading in the first place. It’s incredible to see how fast it all happens, creating an atmosphere of fear and desperation. The movie is, indeed, very gory, once it shows patients dying and a great level of violence, resulted from confrontations over food and other supplies. Due to the rather disturbing content, it’s rated PG-13.
It’s crazy to compare both our reality and the reality shown in the movie, since they do have a lot of similarities. One example of that is the mistreat applied by the population in the beginning of the film, when they still don’t know exactly what the disease is about. Something that gives us hope while watching the movie is the founding of the vaccine against the MEV-1.
As we all know, in the moment we’re all in, doctors and specialists still haven’t found an antidote to the COVID-19, which can put a great number of people in despair, but hope cannot be lost. In the plot of the movie, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle), after a long period of time and number of attempts, is finally able to come up with the vaccine that can end it all. By committing the bravest act of the story, the virologist tests the antidote on herself and, with great honor, brings a wave of relief to the government and other doctors.
Current Scenario
Contagion is a great movie, very well thought out and done. It’s a very good choice of film to watch during your quarantine, since it’s very relatable to our reality. Although, while watching it you should keep in mind that it’s only a made up scenario, even if it seems as real as it gets. Besides that, by watching it, it’s possible to make a big amount of critics as to our government and even to society itself and the way we’re all dealing with the pandemic scenario.
A lot of measures taken by the epidemiologists during the movie can be applied to our present time and the oppositions created by a number of professionals who didn’t accept the effects of the MEV-1 can also be easily related to the position taken by Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, who says we should not be under quarantine and puts himself and other people in severe danger by doing so. How far can this go and what should we do in order to prevent things from getting worse? Contagion is a fictional story that seems to be based on the real facts we’re living today.
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The article above was edited by Clara Suaiden.
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