The science fiction thriller, Contagion released in 2011 has jumped from the 270th most watched Warner Brothers film to the 2nd most watched Warner Brothers film with the outbreak of the Coronavirus.  Interestingly, some people are watching this 9-year-old SF film to see if it lines up with the current outbreak.  Writer and director Barry Jenkins watched the film and remarked that “It was shocking. It felt like I was watching a documentary that has all these movie stars playing real people.” The topic that keeps coming up when parallels are drawn between this film and the current outbreak is fear.  There is a strong sense of fear and widespread fear in the population, while the film Contagion details a much more deadly virus.  Could watching this film be causing more fear within the population or is it diminishing fear since our current situation is not as extreme? The NY Times article (linked below) noted that Scott Burns, the writer of Contagion, has been receiving inquiries asking for advice about travel plans.  I was shocked that people would be turning to SF writers rather than to scientists or doctors in this situation.  But at the same time, it highlights how much impact SF and SF writers can have on the general public, especially when there is uncertainty or lack of consensus in the scientific or medical community.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/business/media/coronavirus-contagion-movie.html