“Contagion” true to life
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Editor,
I saw the movie “Contagion” this weekend and; as an educator, I was very impressed. Two other virus movies, “Outbreak” and “I Am Legend,” were Hollywoodized and ruined. “Contagion” is not so much about entertainment as a fictional documentary on the outbreak of a previously unknown “emerging virus” that swamps the ability of society to deal with it.
You see the spread of the disease through mass transit and personal contacts and the efforts of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) to track and react to the virus. You see scientists who understand that our present system of producing vaccines is totally inadequate to respond to this new threat and who make the career-ending choice to step outside the boundaries of today’s medicine to do the work that must occur to get a handle on this thing. Eventually you see how societal boundaries fail when the underpinnings are strained and fail.
This “documentary” is not a pretty picture, but it is very realistic. Normally the only people who consider the impacts of an event like a pandemic (world-wide epidemic) are emergency personnel from FEMA down to our county Office of Emergency Management who try to formulate plans of response. But with “Contagion,” every person can form a plan as to what to do if faced with the conditions the movie portrays. We are due for a huge outbreak. The scare of Swine Flu H1N1 a couple of years ago could have resulted in conditions similar to this movie if it hadn’t been contained. If people have a picture of what can happen, we have a better chance of reacting in ways that promote humane and ethical survival attempts.
I would highly recommend that you see this film showing in Polson. It is rated PG-13 due to “disturbing content and some language,” but I have seen much worse PG-13 movies. I have encouraged my 7th grade science students to see it. They will receive extra credit for bringing their receipt to me. This movie alone could be my entire virus unit.
As you watch this, think about how you and your neighbors would need to be involved through the course of an event that we pray never happens.
Lynn Kelly
Polson
