By: Anne Griffin
April 13, 2020
During this time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, Netflix has been adding many more television shows and movies. Two that have flown under the radar, not quite as wild as Tiger King, are Contagion and Outbreak. Each of these two very different films takes on a fictional epidemic that has the potential to threaten the World.
While both of these movies did well at the box office when they were released, they have fallen off of the radar since then. However, in light of the current situation, many are now watching them for the first time and discovering that Hollywood had predicted a lot.
Contagion, which was released in 2011 and stars Gwenyth Paltrow and Matt Damon, follows the journey of a virus which was originally contracted in China, but was brought home to the United States. The virus kills everyone that it infects, and soon a massive quarantine begins. The quarantine is very similar to the current guidelines set in place, except much stricter. The public begins to panic as they learn about the virus, and very quickly, civil unrest breaks out. Grocery stores are looted and lay completely empty, and soon the military steps in and has to provide food. After almost a year, a vaccine is developed and people will be able to leave their houses. The movie also highlights corruption within the CDC, as well as the general disorder within the government as they try to mitigate the crisis.
Outbreak, released in 1995, also follows the journey of a disease, but one that originates from Africa. In a bizarre series of events, it reaches the US in the form of an illegal monkey. The virus quickly spreads, mutates to become more deadly, and soon an entire town is quarantined. The main character works for the army but is also affiliated with the CDC. While the government contains the outbreak relatively fast, it soon becomes clear that the government had known about the disease for 30 years, and was secretly storing it as a biological weapon. In an attempt to keep it a secret, the army was prepared to bomb the entire town, but in the end, the main character creates an antidote.
Both of these movies imagine the “worst case scenario”, mostly because it makes for a gripping plot and good entertainment, but parts of what Hollywood predicted 10 years ago have now become reality. Obviously, we are all sitting in quarantine, but as Contagion showed, the situation could be far worse. Luckily, America seems to have avoided mass civil unrest and the country is still relatively open. We can still drive to the grocery store, or the doctors’ office, and the death rate of coronavirus is very low.
But these movies also highlighted the rigid chain of command in places like the CDC and other government organizations. The power structure slowed the reaction to an epidemic mostly because many officials held the belief that America is “untouchable”. In these movies, there was extreme disbelief that a virus would ever reach America in the first place. There was definitely evidence of that same belief two months ago. Obviously there is a difference between alarmism and proactive behaviour, but when the Coronavirus became serious in China, our government was still finishing the impeachment trials.
These movies are not only extremely entertaining, but can also greatly relieve or exacerbate worries about the current situation in America. The truth is, outbreaks happen often all across the world, and after each new pathogen, people learn more about how to contain and stop a virus. Hollywood has done an amazing job predicting and portraying the “worst case scenario”, but it is important to recognize that although the Coronavirus is bad, the reaction could have been a lot worse.
However, it only takes one virus to completely destroy the human race, and the crises presented in these movies could possibly show what is yet to come; civil unrest, starvation, and a government that no longer does what is best for its citizens.
Whichever way you want to look at it, Contagion and Outbreak are still extremely entertaining movies and if you have two hours of unscheduled time, they are definitely worthwhile to watch.
