Contagion utilizes a unique kind of movie format to reveal a messy and connected modern life. This “fractal” approach enables the depiction of ways in which the chaos of the real world is mirrored. In the same way that a virus would spread out of control, the story of Contagion branched outward to reveal that humankind is all interconnected. This helps audience understand that one minor event happening to a person elsewhere will rapidly affect everyone.
The movie uses a documentary look to make the story feel scary and true. Instead of looking like a shiny Hollywood movie, it looks like real life. This realism complements the scientific facts in the script, making the audience trust what they see. In filming this way, the director has made us feel as though we are watching the real news report of a disaster instead of just fiction.
The movie uses a “hyperlink” narrative, meaning it jumps from one person and place to the next in a fast manner. This effect shows the virus as a global problem that does not pay attention to borders. The movie constantly switches locations to prove that the world is a single network. It helps us see the big picture of the crisis rather than just one person’s small story.
This style of jumping may be hard to digest for some viewers conditioned with having one main hero to root for. In truth, it actually serves the cause of better engagement by basically keeping the audience alert and anxious. It forces us to worry about the survival of the human race instead of just one character. It makes the fear feel bigger and more urgent.
Comparing Contagion to other films of this structure, it can be observed that they all utilize multiple storylines in explaining particularly intricate problems. Like other network films, Contagion is not dependent on one major star but instead utilizes a web of characters to show the complication of the world. It parallels how other movies address huge, confusing topics: it shows many perspectives at once.
These films use network storytelling to perfectly represent global crises. They depict that in a networked world, a disaster happening in one country hurts people everywhere. This style of storytelling just proves that in today’s globalized world, we are dependent on each other. It sends a warning that we cannot afford to ignore problems simply because they happen to occur very far away.
The film equates misinformation with a virus, and clearly, the movie illustrates it. Just as germs jump from person to person, so the lies spread fast online. Visually, the movie reinforces this by showing panic traveling on blogs and screens. It is just as contagious and dangerous as the biological sickness itself, argues the movie, as fear and fake news.
Lev Manovich discussed “database logic” that changed the perspective on viewing the movie. It no longer felt like a story but as points of data. That digital aesthetic matches the ways we currently read news through the internet. It made the movie feel cold, very modern, like what we face with information overload during real-life emergencies.
The film harshly critiques the internet through the character of Alan Krumwiede, who uses his blog to perpetuate lies and deceive people into buying sham cures. This shows how the internet can be used as a weapon to spread miscommunication. In this movie, online influencers are portrayed as potential public health threats because they can use fears to make money.
Contagion parallels real-world conspiracy theories; it looks very much like the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie depicts people shunning science to believe in secret plots and government lies. Precisely, the film predicted just how contagion would spread when there was a breakout. It captures that mood of suspicion which takes over when people are scared and looking for answers.
The cinematography is highly immediate and authentic. The camera work is shaky and raw; it’s as if we’re right there in the room. This type of cinematography removes the “gloss” of movies, making events feel live. It raises the tension and makes the viewer feel the urgency of the situation.
The film reflects tension due to globalization, which is both economic and cultural. As much as money and planes connect the world physically, the movie shows cultures still clash. The film depicts that being linked with trade does not mean we are joined in how we think. It shows the struggle between global business and local cultural responses.
Contagion essentially portrays globalization as a pernicious, even deadly, force. It makes us vulnerable, with our porous borders and our jet-age travel. The film insists that the same shipping lanes delivering wealth to our doorsteps also deliver death. Here, no one is safe because everyone is too close to everybody else.
This is a film that reflects a Western-centric view of crisis management. Even though the virus originates in China, the heroes are some form of Western groups, such as the CDC and WHO. That suggests the West thinks it is responsible for leading the world. It ignores the local heroes of other countries; instead, the doctors saving the day are American and European.
Contagion critiques Hollywood’s role in shaping the narrative of pandemics. It refrains from a happy ending whereby everything just bounces back to normal instantly. Instead, it gets down to a hard, scientific reality. In doing so, the movie goes against the typical movie notion of solving complex global problems with simple heroism.
The movie supports Mark Harrison’s idea of how global commerce spreads disease. The virus travels through business meetings, casinos, and travel. Contagion puts forward that it is our economy and hunger for profit that drive pandemics. Our shopping and trading habits are linked directly with the virus spread. Ultimately, the virus is linked to environmental destruction.
The final scene shows a bulldozer destroying a bat’s home, which initiated the disease. It is a warning against human encroachment on nature. Its argument is that with environmental degradation for profit, nature fights back with deadly diseases.
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