'Contagion:' Wash Your Hands

"Blogging is not writing. It's graffiti with punctuation." -Dr. Ian Sussman (Contagion)

For a rare night out, C and I went to see 'Contagion' this weekend. The film is frightening because of the subject matter, and jarring in its realism. It's straight-forward almost to the point of dryness, but for most people, uncontrollable viral epidemics are anything but. I loved it. 'Contagion' presents a situation in which a global epidemic occurs due to a series of random and completely plausible events. An unknown virus spreads rapidly through simple contact: touching surfaces on the bus, or sharing a bowl of peanuts at the bar. It's amazing how many things we touch that are in turn touched by millions of people. And then, as Kate Winslet's character points out, we go on to touch our faces some 2,000 times a day(!). Kate's character, as an aside, is sexy because a) she's Kate Winslet and b) because she has an awesome job at the CDC.

What I liked most about the film was its frankness, the reality of it all. There was no ridiculous drama, only understandable reactions of hungry, scared people who were left to fend for themselves due to lack of resources and a shut-down society. Government agencies, like the CDC, are portrayed as practical and even heroic (for once!). The reality of over-worked scientists and the fallible nature of even the most imposing leaders (Fishburne) were highlights in this aspect.


The characters are varied and excellent as well. Jude Law, for instance, plays the conspiracy-theorist, armed with a blog and millions of followers. He is not paranoid. He's smart, but distrustful of science and the government (as many are). His arguments are understandable and shared by many. Unfortunately, with the power of the Internet, he is able to convince people of an effective, alternative treatment for the virus (that's eventually disproved by science), and likely dissuades thousands of people from getting the vaccine. This character exists in real life. They truly believe in what they are saying and doing, and they reach A LOT of people who trust them. Look at what happened with the one misconducted study linking Autism to vaccines (data was forged, sample size was incredibly small, etc.) became popularized. Thankfully, it appears that Jenny McCarthy has since removed her epithets condemning vaccines and the government for requiring them.

For fellow lab rats, 'Contagion' hits all the right spots in its portrayal of lab science. Science is not magic. A vaccine to an unknown entity takes time to be developed. When they first try to make a vaccine in the movie, the virus kills every type of cell they put it in. Trial and error doesn't even begin to describe it. But, the look on the scientist's face when she realizes she does it-- she created a vaccine-- is priceless. It was that remarkable moment when the base-pairs align and your body fills with triumph. She quickly realizes that she needs to test it in humans immediately and, even in emergency situations, some clinical trials would have to be done before approval for mass use. Putting science first (in true devotee fashion) she injects herself with the vaccine. I wanted to cheer for her.

From the origins of the virus to its capacity to spread, the moral of the story was a true testament to the Public Health field: please, remember to wash your hands.