The coronavirus outbreak came out of the woodwork like a rattlesnake and spread its fangs to test the very foundational tenets of humanity . As much of an enigma it is, it’s time to step up to the challenge of safeguarding lives above anything else. Like many millennials, this writer too agrees that the unprecedented shock generated by this catastrophic milestone has become definitive of our collective fears for the present; a present we have cultivated in view of our complacency in, what I like to call, ‘invincible modern standards of living’
We felt a contagion was far beyond our reach in an age of technological marvels and medical miracles . Until it descended like the very plague upon multiple nations without any precedent or explanatory basis for its global tentacles. I feel it in my bones that the current situation has reminded us of the lockdown and paranoia of wartime paradigms from years past. It has truly hit home for each and one of us.
Apprehensions and conspiracy theories are dime a dozen to further fuel the fire of disinformation but in this hour of urgency we must be vigilant, abide by guidelines regarding self -imposed quarantine and spread the word in the vein of scientific facts and seriously looking out for others amidst this extraordinary crisis.
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On this note, I have my own recommendation and that is an article from ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE on the 2011 film CONTAGION that has become shockingly relevant and seemed to be prescient about the future course of things, as it deals with an eerily similar churn of events following a global pandemic . As visual representation always makes us stand up and take notice, this film has occupied the centre of our immediate discourses; this article will further illumine our minds about the fact- based content of the Steven Soderbergh directed ensemble .
Coronavirus has also been deemed as a natural calamity and Act of God owing to its mystifying nature and reading this article and watching the film in conjunction will bring us closer to clearly estimating the human cost of the scenario and take stock of its repercussions.
I remember reading about the film in terms of reviews and trailers in its original year of release and I would have never thought back then that the representation of images in fiction will translate to real life almost a decade down the line , as it often does sometimes because ultimately cinema mirrors truth.
Below hence is the link to the ROLLING STONE article
How ‘Contagion’ Suddenly Became the Most Urgent Movie of 2020
So read about CONTAGION and watch it to get a grip on the conscious truth of our times.
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An Awadh Boy's Panorama : tracing words on these filigreed, discerning fingertips. 