Buzz
2020 was an unforgettable year for us all, especially those living in the 21st century, and indeed for world history in general. The Covid outbreak emerged at the end of 2019, and after over a year, global infection numbers soared to hundreds of millions, impacting all sectors worldwide. Films about epidemic themes suddenly became more captivating than ever before, even those that are old, upon revisiting them, we can somewhat relate to the context of the Covid pandemic that occurred last year.Infectious Disease - Contagion (2011)
This movie was released in 2011, at that time it didn't garner much attention. Until the past year of 2020, Steven Soderbergh's film has been startling many people for its uncanny resemblance to the Covid-19 pandemic details.
The plot begins with a woman returning to the US from China, unknowingly carrying a deadly virus called MEV-1. This virus is transmitted from a bat to a pig and then to humans. In a short time, the virus spreads rapidly. Although it's a fictional storyline, Infectious Disease also successfully touches on and connects with many real-life events at that time, especially mentioning the SARS outbreak or bird flu.
Infectious Disease is highly regarded for authentically depicting the fear and panic of all global citizens during the SARS epidemic in 2003. In the film, we can see similarities with the Covid pandemic as the scenes describe the crowd psychology, societal disorder. Alongside are the efforts of doctors, healthcare experts to identify and prevent this disease.The Flu Pandemic - The Flu
This movie was released 7 years ago, and at the end of December 2020, it was brought back to cinemas and still received a warm welcome from the audience. Like foreseeing the future, the movie's plot also has similar developments to Covid-19. The film revolves around humans struggling with a major pandemic. As it erupts and spreads rapidly, hospitals continuously receive emergency cases. Life gradually becomes chaotic, societal crises occur as people scramble for necessities, engage in illegal immigration, isolation areas push the sick closer to death, and even government deception.
In addition to the suspense and breath-holding moments for viewers, the film also creates deeply moving scenes. Alongside, the cast of The Flu delivers extremely realistic, outstanding performances, especially with the participation of Mr. Ma Dong-seok.Journey of Survival - Train to Busan
This South Korean blockbuster is one of the rare Asian works to make it to the top of the most famous pandemic-themed movies and TV shows list according to IMDb. The entire film tells the story of a group of people on a train to Busan trying to escape from a zombie outbreak.
The film is fast-paced, intense. It not only depicts the struggle between humans and zombies, but also gives us a lot of thoughts on how humans overcome pandemics. When disaster strikes, the true nature of each person is revealed distinctly.
'When a pandemic strikes, do we think about others or just focus on ourselves?', a villainous character in the movie said. A thought-provoking statement, isn't it!?
Like a microcosm of society, the characters in the film all share the common goal of surviving the pandemic. However, each fate has different decisions and actions, lacking unity and even harming each other. Train to Busan is a great lesson for us, those who are still facing the current Covid-19 situation.Kingdom of the Undead - Kingdom
Streaming on Netflix, spanning 2 seasons with 12 episodes, Kingdom has garnered immense attraction and attention from audiences, as well as receiving much praise from film critics.
The storyline revolves around the Joseon era when the Korean peninsula is threatened by both internal and external enemies, as well as the impact of natural disasters and epidemics. The series premiered at a time when the world was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which only adds to its dramatic intensity and enthusiastic reception from viewers worldwide.
In addition to portraying a society in chaos if the government is factionalized and lacks unity, Kingdom also demonstrates how disease and the undead, if not stopped early, will be exploited to serve dark agendas and personal interests. The series features breathtaking action sequences, cinematic effects, and chilling depictions of the undead, leaving viewers thoroughly captivated.
