Contagion shows how a pandemic spreads and how the world reacts by following a lot of different people instead of one main character, which makes it feel way more realistic. The movie jumps between doctors, government workers, families, and regular people in different countries, and it shows how simple everyday moments like touching something or being near someone can snowball into a global problem. Everything is filmed in a very natural, documentary style, so the science and the settings looks very believable, from the labs to the hospitals to the way scientists run tests and try to make a vaccine. Because the story keeps moving between different places and characters, it shows it’s a hyperlink style, it doesn’t focus on one emotional storyline, but it really shows how big and connected the crisis is. The movie also deals a lot with globalization by showing how fast the virus spreads through travelling and business, but also how global communication helps scientists share information without direct contact. Even though the virus begins in China, the film mainly centers on Western groups like the CDC and WHO as the main problem-solvers, showing how Hollywood often highlights Western leadership. The military appears, too, mostly to control crowds and keep order when things fall apart, suggesting that in extreme situations, governments rely on force to keep things stable and to ensure balance. The movie connects well with Mark Harrison’s ideas about trade spreading disease, since the virus in the film moves quickly because of international travel and global business. The ending ties everything back to the environment by showing how deforestation and disrupting animal homes caused the virus to jump from bats to pigs to humans. Overall, Contagion uses its storytelling style, science, global setting, and environmental message to show that pandemics aren’t just medical problems.
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