Pandemic Patterns: Analysis of Contagion

Steven Soderberg did an excellent job directing Contagion (2011), had me convinced that he based this movie off COVID-19 until after the movie I realized it was made long before the pandemic. Soderbergh uses fractal film structure, hyperlink narrative and documentary-style realism approach to show the spread of the virus, how we are all interconnected and that actions in one place can quickly affect others globally.
Contagion uses fractal film structure, like described by Wendy Everett, to depict the chaos and interconnectedness of modern life by using similar storylines that echo each other but on different scales, instead of using a single linear plot. While using fractal film structure, Soderberg intertwined hyperlink structure by cutting between characters and locations to show the spread of the virus. These two techniques together encourage viewers to stay engaged and become detectives while piecing together a nonlinear story. One look at your phone and you’ll miss important information that might change the storyline. Personally, I have never seen any other movie using similar techniques to portray a non-fiction movie like reality but it has sparked an interest to find similar films.
The way Soderbergh directed this film with handheld camera action gave Contagion that documentary-style realism to enhance its scientific credibility. Also by using real institutions such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local health departments and real scientific procedures in order to trace the virus. It may have not been based off of COVID-19 but it could have easily convinced any viewer, like myself. Throughout the whole film, Soderbergh used cinematography to contribute to a sense of immediacy and authenticity, one main example shown throughout the film was how camera shots would linger on objects like tables, door handles or glasses to show the importance and seriousness of the spread of the virus. The film’s palette was also perfectly adjusted to show cool natural colours to give the scenes a sense of real environments instead of a staged theatre.
Scott Burns, the screenwriter of Contagion, compared misinformation to the virus because it is something that spreads through contact. As we saw in the film, the constant and rapid cuts would show blogs, videos, and social media to spread misinformation and fear. Alan Krumwiede, the conspiracy theorist and journalist, played a big factor spreading this misinformation. He took much pleasure being the “light” in the darkness but in reality he was doing more harm and bringing fear into homes when the government was trying to do the opposite. There are many similar patterns seen in Contagion and COVID-19, we watched our society collapse just not as rapidly. One thing that will always stick with me was the lack of toilet paper during our pandemic, even in the movie we saw people lose themselves and started breaking into stores and stealing in blind fear. More similar patterns we saw were individuals like Krumwiede promoting false cures, we distrusted the experts on the vaccine, and so much misinformation traveled through every social media platform. We still see this happening nowadays with pop culture and all the false story lines going around for fame or ragebait.
Contagion dramatizes globalization as a force shaped by both economic and cultural, portraying a world interconnected but still dominated by western institutions. Economically, because the first infected individual, Beth Emhoff’s, was traveling abroad where she caught the virus in Hong Kong during a business trip; corporate expansion. Culturally, because even though the virus started and spread from Hong Kong we saw dominance of the Western institutions and media narratives. So answering the question, “does this reflect a Western-centric view of crisis management?”, yes it does. The scientific authority who led the discovery of the vaccine was primarily in the U.S. and Chinese actors were never full agents playing a big role in this discovery. Reinforcing the idea that Western expertise is both superior and globally essential. Although globalization is beneficial to our growing society, like scientific collaboration or data exchange, we can see how it can be harmful by the spread of potential viruses and this movie shows us just that.
The closing sequence ties together the whole story, showing us how the virus developed with a bat and a pig, and supporting Mark Harrison’s argument how global trade and environmental destruction are key factors in modern pandemics. The final scene functions as an ecological flashback, showing the relationship between humanity and the environment and how our species can cause harm unintentionally. Genuinely showing us a warning of human encroachment on nature and reinforcing the idea that pandemics are not an act of God but consequences of actions.
Overall, Contagion does a magnificent job reminding us that our world is interconnected and how easily crises spread through those connections. Through the film’s structure and themes shown, it warns that disease, misinformation, and environmental damage are all part of the same global system