Contagion

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'''''Contagion''''' is a 2011 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring an ensemble cast of [[Hollywood]] stars, including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, and (somewhat ironically) [[Gwyneth Paltrow]]. Its plot concerns the birth and spread of a deadly [[virus]] that causes a worldwide [[pandemic]], and the efforts of various people, from [[CDC]] [[scientist]]s to bloggers to average Joes, to deal with it. The film saw renewed popularity with the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], as its plot points anticipated the response that various groups of people had to COVID, both good and ill.

==Portrayal of scientists==
What makes the film of interest for [[skeptic]]s is the manner in which it portrays scientists and the spread of [[woo]] and [[conspiracy theories]] during a crisis. Refreshingly, the film comes down solidly on the ''pro-science'' end of things; unlike so many other movies that use the stock "[[mad scientist|evil scientist]]" character who causes a disaster due to "playing [[God]]" or "[[Scientism|researching things man was not meant to know]]," the scientists in ''Contagion'' are ultimately the heroes, developing a working [[vaccine]] that ends the pandemic. (Seriously, there are not a lot of these out there.) When they act in a manner that puts people at risk, it is not out of malice, but because they either lack the information they need to do the right thing, or (in one case) because they want to protect their loved ones. They are chiefly good people who simply don't know what to do in the beginning, and their goal is to figure out what they should do and respond accordingly. In other words, they behave like fucking scientists.

==Portrayal of pseudoscientists==
The [[anti-science]] characters, meanwhile, are depicted as [[crank]]s who engage in [[deceit]] in order to push an agenda and make themselves rich. This is exemplified with Jude Law's character, Alan Krumwiede. Alan is essentially a more attractive (because hey, this is Hollywood) version of [[NaturalNews|Mike Adams]] or [[Alex Jones]], a blogger with an inflated ego who spouts various unsubstantiated allegations about the pandemic, including claims that it was [[genetic engineering|genetically engineered]]. His pet theory, however, is that the disease can be cured via a [[homeopathic]] remedy that he is promoting, and making millions off of, through his blog, going as far as to pretend to be sick so that he can "cure" himself with the drug and create [[false hope]] among his loyal followers. All the while, he tells people not to get the vaccine for the disease, claiming that [[Vaccine denialism|it will make them even sicker]], while conveniently leaving out his conflict of interest. At one point, he goes onto national television and accuses the CDC director (Fishburne's character) of suppressing research into his [[Alternative medicine|alternative remedy]] in order to allow [[Big Pharma]] to make more money with their vaccines. Fishburne counters that they have already tested it just to be safe, but (unsurprisingly) got negative results. The film ends with him barely dodging a [[prison]] sentence for the fraud he committed, and he winds up discredited and ranting at people who are in line for vaccines.

==Conspiracist reaction==
As expected, for daring to depict alties as anything other than holy and for not giving the CDC and the WHO [[Demonization|horns and a pitchfork]], some of the usual types claimed that this film was a Big Pharma/[[NWO]]/what-have-you [[propaganda]] piece.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/09/13/contagion/ "The ''Contagion'' of conspiracy mongering and pseudoscience"], ''Respectful Insolence'', 13 September 2011.</ref><ref>Let the folks at [[Above Top Secret]] [http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread729237/pg1 "tell it like it is."]</ref>

==So...==
See it.

==External links==
*{{wpa|Contagion (2011 film)|''Contagion'' (2011 film)}}
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/ ''Contagion'' (2011) on IMDb]
*[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Contagion2011 ''Contagion'' (2011)] on [[TV Tropes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:Viruses]]

Categories: Films, Viruses