Daily Times

You may call it predictive programming or down straight coincidence. There is no such thing as a coincidence. Predictions are made after years of in-depth research and analysing trends with human and consumer behaviour, leading such studies.

A plethora of films produced in the US did predict a virus taking over the world. “Outbreak” (1995) is about a deadly fever that spreads in the African jungle. This dangerous airborne virus threatens the US when the monkey carrying it is smuggled from Africa. The virus begins to spread across towns, and the army is called in to save the people. “28 Weeks Later” (2007) is about a Rage Virus that spreads in London affecting millions. Many are killed because of starvation. “I am Legend” (2007), starring Will Smith, is set in 2009, where a genetically re-engineered measles virus, created as an antidote for cancer, kills 5.4 billion out of a population of six billion. The rest (nearly 588 million) turns into vampires, vulnerable to sunlight. Will Smith’s character (Dr Robert Neville, a former US Army medical doctor and scientist) must find a cure to end this predicament and save the humans, who are still normal and living in isolation.

Perhaps among the films showing a plague or a virus affecting the world, Contagion (2011) resembles the most with the Coronavirus epidemic of 2020. It is about how people are being affected by an unknown disease, which impacts their respiratory system. The Department of Homeland Security, US, fears that this is a bioweapon spread to cause panic during the Thanksgiving weekend. Wikipedia writes, “In a flashback, a bulldozer knocks down a tree in a rainforest in Asia, disturbing some bats. One flies over a sty and drops a piece of banana, which is eaten by a pig. The pigs are slaughtered and prepared by a chef who shakes hands with Beth in the Macau Casino, transferring the virus to her.” Too real, isn’t it!

Such a depiction of the future seems nothing short of wizardry. Hollywood films are known for implementing such science, and the viewers find these predictions both exciting and horrifying. The chaos being observed round the world because of the Coronavirus spread is real and growing with each passing minute. The films may have informed us in the past but considering them fiction, we did not pay any heed to such stories turning into a reality.

Among the films showing a plague or a virus affecting the world, Contagion (2011) resembles the most with the Coronavirus epidemic of 2020

The film “Contagion” has been the talk of the town for its eerie resemblance with the state of affairs. Intended to be released as fiction–we hope so–it was based on a jargon that we may not come across in real life. But the film’s script and the story was, nevertheless, based on research. Those who conceived the concept and those who wrote the screenplay would have pondered on several factors before actually going on with the film’s production. The question is what now? With the Coronavirus now raising havoc across the world, we must remain isolated. Even if we have to leave our homes, we must maintain a safe distance with strangers, friends and even family. One must understand that fiction, as portrayed by Hollywood films, is not entirely fiction. They do use fictional characters to show a story that may as well have realism attached to it. This pragmatism and logicality may be presented subliminally through dialogues hidden between the words.

Whatever we had seen as fiction has–at some point in time during the last two decades or so– translated into a reality. This truth and authenticity have always been too great for the population to fathom. From Dan Brown’s antagonist, Bertrand Zobrist (Inferno, 2013), who develops a virus to cause infertility in humans to control population to the film “Contagion,” which discussed our reality of 2020 in 2011, the fiction we enjoyed while watching and reading is now raising havoc in our lives. Are we prepared for what will happen in 2035? Not a chance!

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist