CONTAGION: What if we look the other way?

After analyzing Contagion, a movie by director Steven Soderbergh, for a second time in 11 years and after a series of personal, tragic and deeply introspective experiences which I had at the time, I can confirm what I thought back then: if we as a species don't change urgently, our annihilation is imminent. People's full and incomprehensible ignorance is one of my biggest fears and worries since I'm surrounded by them wherever I go. I don't refer to them as humans since my detachment unfortunately increases gradually: I see it in the lack of empathy towards others and animals, I see it in how unaware we are of the fact that if we face another pandemic, we may not be prepared―I feel it in society's general attitude.

A little more than a decade after that premiere (and with a pandemic in the middle), we have decided to maintain the same customs and philosophy and we continue to be completely ignorant of our bodies, souls and hearts. Was it that easy to forget everything? I thought about my personal observation after "reliving" this movie in a context in which several cases of mpox in Africa are making the WHO worry about a global spread. In addition, these cases made me think of one specific existential question, which I believe many people might identify with:

Are we ready to face the consequences of living another pandemic?

I get it. The question itself is terrifying, it makes us want to look the other way, but it affects us all anyway. It seems that nothing makes us reconsider the way we live, even when we were presented a film directed by a renowned Hollywood figure and with a star-studded cast. What else do we need to open people's eyes? What happened a few years ago (like the loss of families, friends and confinement) wasn't enough? Recently, we have been mocked from all possible angles: Argentina has had a president who liked to pretend he was in his twenties by seducing women sitting in the presidential sofa while many people were crying for their loved ones from far away. Meanwhile, in the United States, several businessmen used funds from taxpayers aimed at helping the investigation about COVID-19 to buy Lamborghinis and Teslas. This list of unforgivable scandals could go on and on.

Why do people feel different now?

At the beginning of this thriller (unmistakeably influenced by director David Fincher in relation to the photography, mise-en-scène, acting and even the soundtrack), we simultaneously see the sudden cases of four people who are suffering a condition that doesn't seem to be connected. Firstly, we see an American woman who awaits her flight to Minneapolis from Hong Kong with a mild cough. Secondly, also in Hong Kong, we have a young Chinese man who travels back home from work but falls extremely ill when he arrives. Thirdly, we witness a British model who decides to return to her hotel in London due to suspiciously similar symptoms to the others and who later is found dead. Lastly, we have a middle-aged Japanese man who suffers a seizure in a bus and collapses while returning to his homeland from Hong Kong. The fatality of the virus that apparently connects them is shown in an extremely raw and crude way that leaves us breathless as fast as the protagonists fall ill.

Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), an independent journalist/writer and creator of a famous vlog where he exposes what no one wants to reveal, sees a real-time video of the deceased. In this way, we see how Contagion wants to deeply address the ambiguous singularity of the “nature of truth”―or what we can comprehend of it. What seemed like a simple flu spreads and turns into a pandemic and there seems to be no way to stop it. Or is there a cure that the media doesn't disclose and which scientists profit from? This movie premiered when social media was just starting, therefore, it seems crucial to understand that it predicted the transition from a tangible to a digital experience as a society in relation to information and misinformation, the update of our ideals according to what we consume daily and the political and philosophical choices which may be our saviors… or destruction.

The importance of "diversification" of reality

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is that we can understand (or not) the decision that the protagonists make from different perspectives. The two extremes of humanity are as clear as ever in these eras (the one in the movie and the actual one where humanitarian crises exist). On one hand, we witness selfishness, human misery and cruelty. On the other hand, we see solidarity, empathy and respect. Here is a brief summary of what happens in the movie:

• Writer Alan Krumwiede tries everything to demonstrate that forsythia, an herbal medicine from China, is the cure of MEV-1 (the virus killing the global population). Is this a move to become famous or is this a fact?

• Bryan Cranston, who plays a character part of National Security, intervenes with the only worry of safeguarding his friends and acquaintances.

• Kate Winslet, who plays an epidemiologist, dies trying to find out the truth and is buried in a common pit next to other infected people.

• A doctor, who is also a spokesperson of the American Government, seems to be the ideal person to spread reassurance and peace but certain personal decisions establish him a bad reputation immediately.

• Mitch Emhoff, the most human figure of all, cries the death of his wife and stepson and, at the same time, swears to protect his daughter at all costs. He represents the actual fears of being an average citizen.

Are the events bioterrorism or part of a bigger agenda? The director presents the definitive answer in the last seconds with an overwhelming message: the most necessary change we need is to reconsider the way we live. It may seem clichéd if expressed in this way, but with the clear and horrifying shot of a bat defecating in a pork farm in China, a pig of that farm walking over that fecal matter and the negligence of a cook (who manipulates that same pig and “washes his hands” with his apron) that shakes hands with a woman in the worst moment of all, it is more than clear that it is time to question ourselves and act immediately.