As have many of us, Ive watchedContagionwhat can only be described as an unhealthy number of times lately.
Movies about pandemicsinclude zombie virus moviesare oddly comforting right now.
And Im not the only one; it seems to be a bit ofa phenomenon.
iStock/Getty Images/Morgan Johnson
But one of the hardest parts of this right now?
The heavy, constant uncertainty about anything in the future.
When will there be an end?
How bad will it be if I get sick?
Will my loved ones be okay?
But more importantly, when in the name of Joe Exotic will this nightmare end?
Watching crowds of people concentrated in a small areaits like theyre trying to create their own little pandemic movie.
The world-is-ending, everyones-gonna-get-infected stories always start the same way.
Wait, wasnt I writing about a pandemic of a respiratory virus?
), there are some clear parallels between both fictional universes and the hellscape known as reality.
One thing Ive learned?
Watching zombie apocalypse movies provides not just distraction butsurprisinglycomfort, familiarity, and context for the pandemic.
It all starts with one alarmist scientist warning us about an impending doomsday (whom we ignore).
No global pandemic ever seemed bad at first.
It always started with…just one guy and a sniffle.
But theres always one expert who has put the pieces together and sees whats coming.
So, what about the current pandemic?
Well, some scientists did sound alarmist early in the pandemic.
One tweeted athreadcalling the coronavirus thermonuclear pandemic level bad.
As with some zombie pathogens, the coronavirus can be spread by people displaying no symptoms at all.
They find one woman still in a hot zone whos carrying the virus but isnt displaying symptoms.
So someone spends time with someone who doesnt know theyre infected yet.
In zombie movies, one zombie can lead to exponentially more.
A highly contagious virus is similar.
WatchingWorld War Zwhile sheltering in place during this pandemic hit me hard.
Theres no time for social distancing!
you could make a run at shelter in place, but a zombie might just bust down your door.
People with the coronavirus are not zombies!!
Many of them are, as I mentioned above, not even visibly sick.
Theyre not taking to the streets to intentionally spread this thing.
And keep in mind that those numbers just refer to confirmed cases.
There are likely plenty of people who dont realize they are contagious and have unknowingly transmitted it.
The spread of the virus can be slowed…with science!
Each fictional zombie pathogen has its own characteristics.
InTrain to Busan,zombies become blind in the dark.
How immunity to this will pan out is stillsomewhat unclear.
Its going to take a lot of work andthe hardest part of handling this mentallytime.
But we can buy some time if we all help out with…
5.
Do not get too close to the zombies, and you will not become a zombie.
Do not get too close to the coronavirus, and you will likely not get the coronavirus.
(Other than guns.)
Its a lot of distance between them and the zombie thats trying to eat their face.
You dont need a megafort to protect yourself from the coronavirus.
That means taking stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines seriously and following them rigorously.
We know this guy.
They believe their immune system is strong because they take vitamins and drink expensive juice and buttered coffee.
Theyre not scared of a little virus.
Theyre going to have the asymptomatic case and then theyll be fine.
They even lift, bro.
There are people who are young and apparently healthy getting and dying from COVID-19.
But this virus spares no group of people entirely.
This is a potentially deadly virus for anyone who contracts it.
You want to go to the grocery store without a mask because you feel fine?
You might be on day six of incubating COVID-19.
They didnt sign up for your unmasked rant about freedom, Chet.
Maybe just dont be a dick and wear a mask and wash your hands, huh?
You will probably not be the hero, but you’re free to do your part.
When we watch these movies, we have the heros-eye view.
The zombies are visible, tangible in their universe.
And we know that if theres even one zombie and one human left, the infection can still spread.
If youre alive in the zombie apocalypse, youre one of the scrappy band of heroes keeping humanity alive.
And maybe stop watchingContagion.
