Vanity Fea: Contagio (De virus y rumores)

La película Contagio (dir. Steven Soderbergh, 2011) pertenece al género 'catástrofe – multiprotagonista', aquí potenciado por varias circunstancias. La catástrofe es mundial y creíble, una epidemia de una gripe mortífera, como la Peste Negra, o como la Peste Escarlata de Jack London. Y la catástrofe se difunde por las relaciones sociales entre los personajes, cosa que no sucede con terremotos o incendios de rascacielos, o trasatlánticos vueltos del revés. De este modo la temática de la película y su estructura narrativa alcanzan una cohesión especial, y se retroalimentan mutuamente, en un ritmo consistente y acelerado. El lema de la película es "Nada se difunde como el miedo", y la película usa de modo inteligente y efectivo la analogía, y retroalimentación, entre la propagación del virus, y la propagación de información (o desinformación) sobre el mismo a traves de redes de contactos sociales.

Texto completo:

Contagio (De virus y rumores)

https://doi.org/10.17613/c393-7317

Author(s):: José Angel GARCÍA LANDA (see profile)
Date:: 2011
Group(s):: American Literature, Anthropology, Environmental Humanities, Film Studies
Subject(s):: Epidemiology, Film studies, Film criticism, Epidemics
Item Type:: Blog Post
Tag(s):: Soderbergh, Pandemics, Contagion
Permanent URL:: https://doi.org/10.17613/c393-7317
Abstract:: Contagion (dir. Steven Soderbergh, 2011) is a film belonging to the 'multiprotagonist/catastrophe' genre, empowered here by a number of circumstances. The catastrophe is both global and credible, an epidemic of a deadly strain of influenza, similar to the Black Death, or to Jack London's Scarlet Plague. And the catastrophe spreads though the social contact between the characters, something that is not the case in films about earthquakes or highrise fires or upturned liners. In this way, the film's subject matter and its narrative structure establish a feedback loop and achieve a remarkable coherence and a consistent rhythmical acceleration. The film's motto is "Nothing spreads like fear", and the film uses in a remarkably effective and intellingent way the analogy and the feedback between the spread of the viral infection, and the spread of information (or disinformation) about the same, through networks of social contacts.

SSRN eJournal Classifications
Cultural Anthropology eJournals Cultural Anthropology eJournal - CMBO AARN: Visual Anthropology, Media Studies, & Performance (Topic) - CMBO AARN: Visual Anthropology & Media Studies (Sub-Topic) - CMBO
CommRN Subject Matter eJournals Communication & Technology eJournal - CMBO CommRN: Film & Television Studies (Topic) - CMBO

CommRN Subject Matter eJournals Health Communication eJournal - CMBO CommRN: Other Health Communication (Topic) - CMBO
EduRN Subject Matter eJournals Technology & Resources in Education eJournal - CMBO EduRN: Media in Education (Topic) - CMBO
ISN Subject Matter eJournals Information Systems & eBusiness Negative Results eJournal - CMBO

Medical Specialties eJournals Coronavirus & Infectious Disease Research eJournal
Medical Specialties eJournals Coronavirus & Infectious Disease Research eJournal - CMBO MedRN: Interdisciplinary Coronavirus & Infectious Disease Related Research (Topic) - CMBO
PsychRN Subject Matter eJournals Social & Personality Psychology eJournal - CMBO PsychRN: Attitudes & Social Cognition (Topic) - CMBO
SociologyRN Subject Matter eJournals Medical Sociology eJournal - CMBO SociologyRN: Sociology of Infectious Diseases (Topic) - CMBO
ArtsRN Subject Matter eJournals Film, Media & TV Studies eJournal - CMBO ArtsRN: Film Criticism & Theory (Topic) - CMBO