Social Responses to Epidemics Depicted by Cinema

Han, Qijun; Curtis, Daniel R.

doi:10.3201/eid2602.181022

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Nevertheless, it has been suggested that a movie, as well as a TV series, can potentially become a dimension that leads people to stop and reflect upon this matter, sometimes even to a strategy to interpret reality ( 27 ). Giving images of either realistic or completely fictitious worlds that constitute a mirror of the spectators' present reality can help them focus on certain essential traits and aspects of life itself, being this particularly true for movies concerning epidemics ( 28 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catharsis Through Cinema: An Italian Qualitative Study on Watching Tragedies to Mitigate the Fear of COVID-19

et al. 2021

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Background: Among different ways of coping with the unsettling situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a very peculiar one has been identified: a more frequent request, by the general population, of movies or TV series related to the very theme of viruses, contagions, and epidemics.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to explore this peculiar phenomenon, in order to identify people's emotions and cognitions during and after the process, and to better understand the possible psychological function cinema can have during moments of intense and generalized crisis like the present COVID-19 pandemic.Participants: Fifteen Italian adults took part in the study – eight women and seven men (average age = 30 years, SD = 10.54). Participants were recruited through social media via a specific announcement, and subsequently, through a “snowball sampling.”Method: For the present study a qualitative approach was adopted, and more specifically, the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) have been followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone or through online meeting platforms (Zoom or Skype). The written texts obtained from the transcription of each interview were analyzed using thematic analysis with the support of the software Atlas.ti, in order to highlight their fundamental contents.Results: From the data analysis, four main areas of thematic prevalence emerged, which reflected the participants' condition during the pandemic that actually led them to watch epidemic-themed movies or TV series: the need to document themselves concerning the theme of epidemics, the need to exorcize contagion anxiety, the desire to find a character with which they could identify, and the casual condition of finding a peculiar movie related to the theme of pandemics and being interested in it because of the striking resemblance with real life.Conclusions: The findings suggest that cinema could indeed represent a powerful tool to help people face the intense uncertainty of the new COVID-19 epidemic, since it allows spectators to both obtain more insight into the current situation, and to project their fears and uncertainties into the movie or TV series, thus reaching a sort of cathartic liberation that offers them hope toward the future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catharsis Through Cinema: An Italian Qualitative Study on Watching Tragedies to Mitigate the Fear of COVID-19

et al. 2021

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“…First, regardless of whether we conceive of linking public health workers and heroic attributes as a 'good' or bad', 'positive' or 'negative' aspect, it has been shown that films -and visual culture more generally -affect how we think and feel: stories are how we make sense of the world. Accordingly, it has been suggested that by using emotive narratives or relatable characters, films can become effective mediums for delivering messages or reinforcing values -and in the public health context, have implications for how viewers might think about how to act and behave (Wald 2008;Ostherr 2005;Kendal 2021;Han and Curtis 2020a;Brown et al 2015;Nasiruddin et al 2013;Vidal 2018;also, in comics: McNicol 2017). These have been described in psychology as 'symbolic sense-making processes' (Wagner, Kronberger, and Seifert 2002).…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was some departure from the situation in the 1930s, which was more deferential (Jones 2001(Jones , 1997, where trained doctors often had distinctive personalities and were partially integrated members of local communities themselves (Lederer andRogers [2000] 2003, 492-3). Thus, in films such as Panic on the Streets (Elia Kazan, 1950), The Killer That Stalked New York (Earl McEvoy, 1950), 80,000 Suspects (Val Guest, 1963), and Morte a Venezia (Luchino Visconti, 1971), public health officials -sometimes working in conjunction with political authorities -are often found holding back certain amounts of information from the general public to maintain 'social cohesion' and avoid panicked or extreme responses (Han and Curtis 2020a).…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemics, public health workers, and ‘heroism’ in cinematic perspective

Han¹,

Curtis²

2021

Visual Studies

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“…However, there is a seemingly significant gap between the public interest in pandemic films and the scholarly attention to them. Conventionally, artworks such as films are seldom the subject of research for behavioral and social science scholars, with exceptions in history, literature, and communication studies (Han and Curtis 2020a, 2020b; Pappas et al 2003; Pernick 2002; Tomes 2000, 2002). Fictional films are considered unrealistic and bear little significance to reveal true courses of events or guide best practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Pandemic Films Help Us Understand Outbreaks: Implications for Futures and Foresight

Song

Fergnani

2022

World Futures Review

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We analyzed 30 pandemic films and developed a processual model to explain the social-level coping mechanisms to confront pandemics as portrayed in films. The model describes the underlying collective understanding of disease outbreaks. The model suggests that pandemic films divide the disease outbreak into three phases: emergence, transmission, and termination. Concurrently, three social processes tend to be activated to cope with the pandemic: healthcare, political, and public awareness. This model is used to compare the social imaginary reflected in films with the current COVID-19 outbreak. The resemblance of the model and the current outbreak suggests that fictional pandemic films may still follow our collective understanding of the pandemic dynamics. Four scenarios are suggested as road maps for futures and foresight practice concerned with future pandemic outbreaks.

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Social Responses to Epidemics Depicted by Cinema

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Catharsis Through Cinema: An Italian Qualitative Study on Watching Tragedies to Mitigate the Fear of COVID-19

Catharsis Through Cinema: An Italian Qualitative Study on Watching Tragedies to Mitigate the Fear of COVID-19

Epidemics, public health workers, and ‘heroism’ in cinematic perspective

How Pandemic Films Help Us Understand Outbreaks: Implications for Futures and Foresight

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