The Pernicious Pandemic
What makes an apocalyptic science fiction thriller successful? Science fiction is a lasting genre filled with everything from aliens to zombies to time travel. People everywhere are constantly excited to see what the latest Sci Fi thriller is going to inquire about next. Science fiction can relate to just about any topic, but to be successful and exciting, there are a few key aspects that need to be included into the story. In the film Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh in 2011, there is an outbreak of the MEV-1 virus, and it becomes a horrendous pandemic within weeks. The outbreak begins with Beth Emhoff, who was traveling on business to Hong Kong. Within days she has spread the virus across the globe, and it
…show more content…
When the viral pandemic emerges, the CDC and the World Health Organization work around the clock to figure out what is affecting the health around the world. Although there have been numerous small epidemics or even a pandemic, there has not been anything as severe as the MEV-1 outbreak in Contagion. So, the WHO and CDC’s actions throughout the film are based upon their actions during smaller outbreaks. Because of this, the movie essentially guesses what would happen to world and what steps governments would take if a pandemic outbreak occurred throughout the entire movie. For example, during the Ebola outbreak the WHO “immediately mobilized its collaborating laboratory in Lyon, France, together with West African laboratories, to prepare for the diagnosis of more cases” and set up isolation facilities (“Key Events in the WHO Response”). The writers of Contagion also extrapolated when they depicted parts of the world descending into anarchy before the vaccine is created. During war times citizens have looted and disregarded laws in masses. Kristallnacht, during World War II, was a night when Nazi supporters looted and murdered known Jews in Germany and Austria (“Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom”). Also, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, citizens of New Orleans formed gangs and started looting houses and stores. However, there have not been any significant acts of anarchy due to a disease outbreak in recent
This brief essay examines racism in the 1974 motion picture Conrack. The movie is an adaptation of Pat Conroy's autobiography, The Water Is Wide. The main character, Conrack, a young white male teacher portrayed by Jon Voight, is assigned to teach students from poor black families on a small island off the coast of South Carolina. The small community has little contact with the outside world and develops its own language. He finds the students essentially illiterate and their education neglected by state authorities. Poverty and their race cause neglect of their educational needs. The black school principal has convinced the students they are stupid and lazy. Conroy begins teaching the students useful, essential life skills. The community has no interest in learning about anything away from the island. The community has lived in fear of a nearby river because none can swim. While trying to improve the students' level of knowledge and their enthusiasm for
This essay is and both exploratory and informative. Gladwell tells a story about different epidemics to prove his point that small events can lead to massive results. This essay connects well with the others because it is examining the entire premise of social issues, and the large effect they can have in society. Several elements of creative non-fiction are present in this novel, such as the apparent subject vs. deeper subject, storytelling, reflections from the author, and interesting phrasing. This essay is an excerpt from Malcom Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point which goes into greater detail about how epidemics are created. The target audience of this well-written informative essay is anyone interested in learning about the factors that lead to epidemics
The movie, Loving, directed by Jeff Nichols is based on a true story about Richard, and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple fighting for their rights to stay married, and be able to raise their family in the state of Virginia where in the 1950’s it was illegal to be married to a race other than your own. Richard Loving grew up in a small town called Caroline County in the state of Virginia, where he met Mildred and knew that he would do anything to be able to call Mildred his wife. Richard proposed to Mildred on an estate of land he bought for them to raise a family on one day. Mildred agrees to marry him, but unfortunately, they are aware that in the state of Virginia it is illegal for them to get married because of their anti-miscegenation law. They agree that they will go to Washington, D.C., where they will be able to become legally married. In 1958, Richard and Mildred Loving became legally married in Washington, D.C. When they return home to the State of Virginia they are harassed by the Caroline County police and thrown into jail because they got married outside of the state that they reside in, which is illegal in Virginia. Richard is set out on bail, but Mildred is forced to stay in jail for several more days. Richard and Mildred’s case was presented before a judge to decide the ramifications of their actions.
Steven Soderbergh’s film Contagion (2011) opens with a blackened off-screen shot accompanied by the sound of an unseen person coughing and then cuts to a tired sweaty Gwyneth Paltrow eating nuts out of a shared bowl at an airport bar. Superimposing “Day 2” in red lettering, Soderbergh initiates a wave of unanswered questions and his slow reveal heightens the drama and gets under your skin. The simple and effective opening begins a journey that traces the path of a new virus as it spreads across the globe, moving from host to host with the ease of a touch. Contagion uses a realist style to comment on the links of globalization, and the connected technologies that enable the rapid transmission of a virus which takes advantage of our networked
The movie, The Outsiders, starts with the Curtis parents on their weekly, Saturday evening drive to the baking store to buy some ingredients for their boys’ favorite Sunday morning, breakfast treat: chocolate cake. The Curtis boys love their chocolate cake for Sunday breakfast not only because they love it, but also because they appreciate how hard their parents have to work to save the monies necessary for the morsels that put smiles on their faces!
That’s where we’re heading” (Dr. Erin Mears, Contagion). Though the zombie metaphor focuses primarily on fear involving unconscious contributors and their mission of adding to their population, the fear of governmental control and how society responds to the epidemic is also an issue that needs to be considered. In this scenario, the viral epidemic is the initial zombie, however, fear is also a main contributor.
The outburst spread of diseases in a population causes people to panic and become hopeless. The main reason diseases spread is due to unsanitary living styles. Also when a disease first begins, it is really hard to find a cure right away. A very deadly, infectious disease known as Typhus spread during the Holocaust. Typhus is caused by rickettsia and is spread by lice and flees.
Throughout World War Z by Max Brooks, readers can see how the apocalypse begins. Some of these mistakes can be considered individual human error, but overall can be seen as the government failing to serve its purpose. For example, early in the book, China first discovered that there was a newfound disease starting to spread. Instead of taking the responsibility for this disease, they shrugged it off and redirected other countries attentions. This caused the disease to start as a small outbreak and eventually multiplied. This failure in government can be seen as somewhat of a selfish act in order to preserve the country’s secrecy. Because they did not take the initiative to tell anyone else about the disease, people were unable to take caution and prevent themselves from contracting the plague. Similar to the book Blindness, nobody understood that the disease was amongst them at first. People were suddenly beginning to go blind with many unanswered questions. However, there was never any real truth to be revealed to the citizens in Blindness as there was in World War Z.
...influenza pandemic in one way or another; the use of quarantines were extremely prevalent among them. Also, the pandemic is directly responsible for the creation of many health organizations across the globe. The organizations help track and research illnesses across the globe. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for example, strive to prevent epidemics and pandemics. They also provide a governing body with directives to follow in case an outbreak does occur, and if one shall occur the efforts of organizations across the globe will be crucial for its containment. It is amazing that with modern medicine and proper organization that influenza still manages to make its appearance across the globe annually.
As you exit the bus, another passenger next to you starts to cough, and then you hold the handrail as you exit the bus. Since you’re late getting home, you take a shortcut through a field to get home quicker. These three simple acts just exposed you to bacteria, viruses, and insects that could cause illness or even death. Infectious diseases, also known as communicable disease, are spread by germs. Germs are living things that are found in the air, in the soil, and in water. You can be exposed to germs in many ways, including touching, eating, drinking or breathing something that contains a germ. Animal and insect bites can also spread germs.1
middle of paper ... ... When the people leave that area, they carry people or animals that may be carrying the infection to uninfected populations, thus creating a pandemic. Once the infection spreads to a pandemic status, the world’s military will crumble; there will be mass panic and anarchy in cities everywhere. Looters, pillagers, plunderers, and thieves will run rampant with no law enforcement to uphold the peace.
Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic movies are a sub-genre of science fiction, horror fiction, or fantasy that focus on the end of the world, or the world just after "the end." But, where do the influences of these movies come from? Every good apocalyptic film that we know and love stems off of the fear and concerns that revolved around the time it was made. Steven Glawson provides a strong quote that parallels to my research in the article, “Post-Apocalyptic Cinema: What The Future Tells Us About Today” saying that, “[s]ince the 1950s, post- apocalyptic films can be seen as gateways into the crises of the decade they were
KUMAMOTO JAPAN: Two Japanese chicken farms had to put down 112,000 chickens because of a new outbreak of bird flu. While there hasn’t been any transmission between birds and humans in Japan ever, the Avian Influenza Type A virus is still being handled with significant care to avoid any possibility of human harm. A Japanese Food Safety Commission publishing noted that avian flu was quickly broken down by stomach acid so there wouldn’t be foreseeable harm to any people if they ingested some of the contaminated chicken or their eggs. As a further precaution, authorities are banning the transportation of chickens and eggs within the affected areas. Additionally, vehicles are being inspected and disinfected near the chicken farms. These restrictions are posing financial problems for the farm owners who rely on steady sales to keep operating—the trade embargo and loss of a significant amount of livestock can be troublesome.
The movie I chose to review was The Help. The Help takes place in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. The movie focuses on the lives of two African-American maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson. Aibileen worked for a family who had a young girl that she helped to raise. The other maid, Minny, got fired from the first house we saw her working in because she used the homeowners’ bathroom without their permission. She ends up finding work with Celia Foote, who is not very popular among the other women in the town. After Minny found out Celia was having complications with her pregnancy, the two became very close. Celia even spent a whole night cooking a meal for Minny.
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.