In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the movie “Contagion” has been getting a lot of attention. After watching it last night with my family, I can definitely see why. There are a lot of scary parallels between the film and what’s happening in real life. The scary part? That it was released almost a decade ago. It was basically a warning for the future. Let’s take a look at the terrifying similarities:
1. The fast spread
In the film, the main character Beth, played by Gwenyth Paltrow, is on a business trip to Hong Kong. She is unknowingly infected with a virus called MEV-1 and spreads it to everyone she comes into contact with in the casino. Every little surface from her glass cup to her credit card leaves little droplets that spread the deadly disease as others unknowingly touch it. Pretty soon, countries all around the world are infected, killing 26 million worldwide.
While Covid-19 hasn’t reached close to that number, it has still taken a significant amount of lives. In just December, it was making attention in China. A month later, its first cases were found in Thailand and later the U.S. Two months after that, every continent is affected with entire countries on lockdown and in quarantine. In a flash, government officials have declared closures of public facilities, schools and workplaces, rapidly changing lives in just one day.
2. Panicked shoppers
In the movie, entire manufacturing companies are shutdown. This leaves grocery stores completely empty with people relying on military pre-made meals as food. However, they don’t have the resources to feed everyone and eventually run out. This leads to mass chaos as people break into homes to steal food, raid stores and even resort to murder.
For us with the Covid-19 situation, essential places like grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, hospitals and public transportation remains open. While officials claim that they have plenty of items in stock and that there is no reason to hoard, this hasn’t stopped people from buying mass amounts of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. In literally every store across the world, shelves that once contained such items are now empty. We’ve seen the memes online and the viral videos of elderly women fighting over toilet paper. The movie is a warning that when people get scared, they resort to these kinds of solutions to feel in control again.
3. Fake News
In the movie, a wannabe reporter spreads misinformation that goes viral on the internet claiming that the chemical forsythia can cure the virus. Despite the fact that he has no scientific credentials whatsoever, people go crazy and raid pharmacies in search of this drug. The reporter goes as far as discrediting the Department of Centre for Disease and Control Prevention on live television.
In terms of the Covid-19 situation, many similar false information has gotten media coverage. In the earlier days of the outbreak, many claimed that the virus was “just like the flu” and that we had “no reason to worry” because it “only affected the elderly.” Even President Trump claimed that people were overreacting as the flu took more lives each year, yet just two days later he declared the situation a national emergency. Funny how tables turn, isn’t it?
Many other business scams and fake ads have surfaced as well, claiming false cures for the virus through specific medications and drinks. The movie “Contagion” is a valuable lesson as they display two facts here: one, that people can take literally any opportunity they can to exploit the vulnerable for their own gain, and two, that people need to do their own research rather than relying on discredited social media pages for information.