"The only lesson that mankind has learned from history is that it has not learned any lessons."-Hegel
Just as the prophecy flashed at the beginning of the film, in the magnificent river of human development, the continuation of life and the prosperity of civilization have been repeatedly interrupted by viruses, from cholera, influenza and plague, to the outbreak of SARS, Ebola, and the new coronavirus in recent years. Viruses, humans have also paid a heavy price in ignorance and ignorance. And today, when the new coronavirus is raging, if you want to pick a movie that fully records a series of specific processes from the discovery of the virus, the route of transmission, the treatment method, and the control plan, perhaps this movie can give you the answer——
Director: Wolfgang Peterson
Screenwriter: Lawrence Devolette/Robert Roy Poole
Starring: Dustin Hoffman/ Renee Russell/ Morgan Freeman/ Kevin Spacey...
Production Country/Region: United States
Release date: 1995-03-10 (U.S.)
Duration: 127 minutes
The film begins with a terrified close-up of a monkey in a rain of bullets. It focuses on a strange disease that occurred in a mercenary camp in Zaire, Africa thirty years ago. The United States sent soldiers to take blood samples and bring them back for research, and promised to send airplanes to bring medicines as soon as possible. supply. When people cheered for the hard-won airdrop, the sinking incendiary bomb exploded in the open space surrounded by rainforest.
Fast forward to 1995 in Detroit, the United States. The male lead Sam was a colonel at the Army's Infectious Disease Research Center. His wife was also working in the Extreme Infectious Diseases Laboratory. Sam loved dogs and had a strong personality. He kept arguing with his wife but loved him deeply. Although she is divorced, she is still eager to break the ice in the relationship. At this time, the strange disease of Zaire in Africa turned out again, and Sam and the whole group were appointed to Zaire.
The Motaba virus in this epidemic is homologous to the plague 30 years ago. The initial symptoms of the patient were like influenza. After two or three days, erythema appeared all over the body, and soon became a pustule with ulceration and bleeding, and the erythema became Pustules are like roasted corn kernels, vomiting, diarrhea, eyes, ears, nose, gums and bleeding until the internal organs rot. After two or three days of infection, it is enough to kill people, and the mortality rate is as high as 100%.
When Pandora’s box is opened, the virus can complete the evolutionary process that humans can complete in tens of thousands of years within a few days. Today, when the global network synapses are sensitive and close, the three-level relationship between viruses, people, and society is as fragile as cellophane.
The chain reaction of topology is possible. The film tells the story of a white-faced monkey growing in the tropical rainforest of Zaire, who was caught on a cruise ship due to human curiosity. The Motaba virus moved with its host to the other side of the ocean in the United States. Following the landing of the Republic, the trajectory of human actions began to flood, and gradually evolved into a new type of highly infectious influenza that can spread in the air. The tranquility of a small American town is broken by a virus. Should we continue to adopt biological defense methods to burn all the residents within a mile and the viruses in the air, or actively seek hosts to develop antibodies to save thousands of people?
The film puts the main line of character action in the logic of the confrontation between individuals and the regime in the general environment. Sam and his assistants jointly resist the orders of the regime leader to find the virus host; while the double line focuses on the intimate relationship between people, Sam The loss of love with his ex-wife is a dark thread in the film's compact suspense narrative about the transformation of the character's psychological state. At the end of the film, the successful development of anti-viral serum makes the two lines merge, which is both a humanitarian victory and a return of intimacy.
This is an allegorical imagination about the "unknown virus". In the chaotic world swept by the plague, selfish desires, human nature and political methods are surging under the influence of the media, and spread the appearance of all living things to us with a destructive force.
1. The "drug running" game of conflict between humanitarianism and political power
The fire in 1967 was not a helpless move. Morgan Freeman and the military had already known about this virus, and developed the antibody serum of E-1101. However, the Motaba virus is suitable as a biological weapon to protect the US The global military dominance, so the military used concealment to pretend to be ignorant. Soldiers in the military camp were treated as victims of the war, and they must die for the war in the face of national interests.
The images reflect reality, and humans have a long history of using biological warfare agents to kill each other. During World War I, German agent Anton Dilgil sneaked into the United States, established a laboratory in Washington, and made anthrax spores. Dilgil tried to spread disease among horses and donkeys in the United States in order to curb the supply of livestock to the Allied nations.
After the First World War, countries began to discuss the complete prohibition of chemical and biological weapons. As a result, in 1925, the "Protocol on Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Toxic or Other Gases and Bacterial Methods of Warfare" was passed in Geneva in 1925. However, this The treaty only prohibits the "use" of biological weapons, and does not prohibit R&D and manufacturing.
The movie went to 1995, and history repeated itself. The military still submitted a proposal to the Congress to bury the dead bodies of more than 2,600 live lives in Songwan Town in order to protect biological weapons and exaggerate the severity of the virus. After discovering all this, Sam stole the helicopter, waded through the mountains and water, looking for the white-faced monkey released into the forest, and blatantly violated the order to confront his superiors.
"Extreme Panic" can be seen as a personal heroism that hits the soul of the United States. Sam has no hesitation in provoking the burden of saving the California town, and even willing to sacrifice his life for it. The classic Hollywood model satisfies the individual's potential heroic complex and Dream narration.
But if you are truly immersed in the panic atmosphere created by the film, when each of the real and living individuals collide with the state's collective rights, and when the whistleblower becomes the target of the government's manipulation of the focus of public opinion, under this "drug running" game There are still warriors who dare to speak up. They raise their swords to the strong, put humanitarianism on their shoulders and swear to defend the rights of health, breathing, and relief. Isn’t it a delightful thing for the regime to compromise on human rights?
2. The rabble sentient beings under media panic and ambiguous reports
The senior management approves the proposal without any definite information. So the army closed Songwan Town and strictly controlled media reports. The media has an important influence on the audience. When the media does not adequately present the elements of the event, the ambiguous reporting of social public events makes the audience more panic than the event itself. This is the media panic.
This lack of aphasia in mainstream media is prone to short-term destructive effects on society. Research has shown that ordinary people in society are most likely to have "aggregate behaviors." Under the high uncertainty of their own safety, out of protective instincts, the demonstrations and riots began.
In the history of media development, there are many similar cases. The alien farce that occurred in the capital of Ecuador in 1949, and the fake news of the "Russian invasion" broadcast by Georgian Radio and Television in March 2010, have induced panic among the public to varying degrees, and greatly contributed to social stability. Negative impact.
Affected by many factors, the social activities of the media are not a true representation of social activities. However, since this processing, selection, and structured activities are carried out within the media, people are not aware of this, and often use this "mimicry". "Environment" is perceived as a real environment, and spontaneously believes in all the information released by the media.
Combining the current reality, we will discover how important it is to have a media that dares to be a thorn in the head. Looking back at the strong public opinion reports and guidance during the SARS period in 2003, Southern Weekend took the lead in questioning the conclusions of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention and withstood tremendous pressure. When social and public events occur, the media is not only the mouthpiece of the state apparatus, but also the courage to pierce the window paper hanging in front of facts and the general public.
3. The Eye of God and the Ecological Consciousness under the Parable of the God of Disciplinary
At the beginning of the film, the witch doctor speaks of the divine metaphor of God's punishment, which explains the root cause of the plague. In addition, it has repeatedly shown the living conditions of monkeys in the natural environment, and how humans hunt for wonders and destroy natural stability. Ecological consciousness gradually emerges in the narrative.
When everyone in the film slaughtered animals for profit and propped up a dark sky net, the appearance of the little girl was the only light. Only the little girl is willing to treat her animal friends equally and give her the basic survival guarantees such as water, food and safety that she deserves.
Perhaps the little girl represents an expectation of a benign relationship between man and nature. After the plague, the community of destiny between man and nature urgently needs to find a steady-state model to move forward. The Achilles heel of modern society still needs human self-repair.
"A dust of the times, falling on everyone's head is a mountain." It is not only the people who have been eroded by the virus that are crushed by the mountains, but everyone who is trapped in this era.
The state of beings in troubled times is not only a concept, but a life with fresh flesh and blood. Just like Zhou Xingchi in the king of comedy said: "It will be beautiful after dawn."
Just like the ending of the movie. In fact, it is already lit up.
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