I didn’t get the chance to see very many movies in theaters last year. At least, I didn’t see as many movies as I wanted last year. I guess that’s one thing that I regret. Another thing that I regret is that when I actually got the chance to go see a movie, I picked the movie Contagion.
I was interested in the movie. The trailers made it look like an intense thriller. I expected to be on the edge of my seat the entire time. I have read several books about biological warfare, and I really enjoyed the stories, so I figured this would be one to enjoy. I was wrong.
It looks like a decent thriller, but I left the theater saying “That was just…ok.” As I was thinking about it the next day, I realized that none of the major plotlines were resolved, and I left with more questions than the movie even tried to bring up. Matt Damon was immune for some reason. Why? Matt Damon quarantines his daughter and doesn’t let her go to the big school dance. Did she ever get her vaccine? Laurence Fishburne gave away his vaccine. Did he ever get another one? Jude Law was a conspiracy theorist that was trying to scam people. What was up with that? Demitri Martin was in the movie, and he wasn’t funny. Why would you cast Demitri Martin in something serious? It really seemed like the virus was the main character of the movie, and once we found out where it came from (also disappointing), the movie ends without explaining what happened to the characters that you have just been following. It’s been almost a year, and I’m still mad.
So what does this have to do with fear or addictions? Good question. I could talk about how my addiction to bio warfare thrillers led me to a terrible movie, but that really isn’t as big of a deal as I am making it out to be. The point I would like to emphasize is fear.
All of the reviews of the movie that I read said something about washing your hands. Some scary movies make you scared of the monsters underneath your bed, but this movie makes you scared of elevator buttons and subways. I walked into the movie knowing that. After reading these chapters, I wonder if the movie was made to sell hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. I thought, “I’m not going to let this influence me. I like riding on elevators.” But as I walked out of the theater, I was conscious of how many times I touched my face, and I made sure not to touch the handrail as I walked down the steps (It’s a good thing I didn’t watch a movie about people falling down stairs).
I went home, and told everyone how I thought Contagion wasn’t that great of a movie, and then I went and got a flu shot. I don’t think I have ever been so excited to get a flu shot in my life. Even though I didn’t like the way that the messages were being presented to me, I was still affected by them.
Random: have you ever noticed that you sometimes have to wait in line to use the toilet, but you never have to wait in line to wash your hands?
Luke 12:25 says “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” I was worrying about getting sick (for a really dumb reason), but I know that worrying about it won’t help.
No, worrying won’t fix anything, but I bet you are probably conscious of how many times you are touching your face now. And if you have been exposed to the scare tactics in the movie Contagion, I bet you worried about keeping your hands clean. People like to worry, and the media industry knows it, and is there to capitalize on it.
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