The natural, systematic storytelling of contagion mimics real documentaries’ slow revealing of a pandemic. The story not only follows the individuals affected by the disease, but the processes of tracing where the disease originated, as well as, exposure tracking to attempt to control the spread. The audience witnesses the scientific process of finding out about the disease, through lab protocols. Witnesses the process of developing a vaccine, and the complicated roll out, as tensions rise. We also witness the government, and international health organizations, (CDC, WHO), as they scramble to calm the masses, creating scapegoats in order to ease tension.
The use of a hyperlink narrative keeps the audience on their toes. As the movie unfolds, one is properly engaged in multiple stories that are connected through the same tragedy. Since the storytelling is straightforward and easy to follow the switches don’t feel alarming, but natural. Every story unraveling is interconnected, helping the audience understand the complexity of the global event through individual perspectives. In contagion we see how the global health crisis is affected by the societal response.
The character Alan Krumwiede is not just an example of misinformation in the media, but rather, the human need to believe that there is more to the story in a bleak, hopeless situation. In a successful attempt to profit off of the population’s collective fear, he claims that there is a natural cure to the disease that the government was trying to cover up. Wanting to believe that there is some kind of hope, as well as, natural instincts humans have to assign blame, people believe it to be true. The audience witnesses the toll Alan has taken on the population when people storm a drug store for the “cure.” We see parallels of misinformation online to reality, such as, one tweet claiming we would be out of toilet paper in lock down made everyone go out and buy all the toilet paper, causing an actual shortage. The fear itself, caused the dreaded outcome.
By relying on natural light, the film achieves a convincingly authentic appearance. The often handheld camera work reinforces this realism, making viewers feel as if they are experiencing the story firsthand with the characters. Sorenbergh uses close ups as a way to emphasize emotion, or draw attention to an important detail. We see an example of this is in the first scene of the film at the airport bar. In this scene everything Beth has come into contact with and every person who subsequently does the same is emphasized, so as to cultivate this habit within the audience to watch for the spread throughout the movie.
Contagion suggests that globalization is both a good and evil of modern life. The disease was created and spread through the acts of globalization. The disease develops zoonically from a pig in a factory farm. It is assumed that these pigs would be distributed internationally as they are not ethically raised. The disease is spread from patient zero, Beth, from Hong Kong to America because she is on an international business trip. However, the film also highlights the importance of global collaboration in the case of a pandemic, as people from around the world worked together to trace the origins of the disease. Once the cure was developed, globalization enabled its international distribution.
Despite its realism, the film does maintain a western centric view throughout the film. This is not surprising as where a filmmaker is from will always affect their ideas of how a global crisis will be dealt with. In this case the film is American, and Americans notoriously have a tunnel visioned view of the world. However, the film missed the opportunity of having countries around the world treat finding the cure as an international race, rather than an imperative solution to a global crisis. Observing the reactions and strategies of different cultures during a pandemic would have been a thought-compelling addition to the film’s message.
Throughout the film we see how fear, denial, and self interest of the individuals generate complications at a mass level. The audience not only witnesses a critique of human nature in the individuals, but human nature internationally, as the movie extends this evaluation as a global trend. Contagion’s warning about humans infringing on nature at the end of the movie isn’t out of place as a critique as it blends well with the messaging of the film. The audience observes the conflict that arises in a time of crises, and a crisis that originates from despicable human acts. Contagion critiques capitalism itself, as many eco-thrillers highlight a singular villain, or corporation, Contagion analyses the system.
In summary, Contagion is a thoroughly crafted story that realistically depicts humans’ dark intrinsic traits in a time of crisis. It sensibly portrays a global pandemic, by blending scientific procedure, political behaviour, misinformation in the media, and the struggles of the individual. The messaging is tied together with a critique on capitalism and the consequences of humans’ invasion of the wild. The film leaves the viewer reflecting on the fragile, unethical systems that have formed the modern world.
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