Contagion: a worthy entrant in the outbreak film genre

摘要

In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) realized that zombies’cultural popularity could be leveraged for teaching the practical aspects of emergency preparedness. It began with what the CDC describes as a “tongue-in-cheek” engagement campaign, but grew into an effective platform now in its fourth year, with educational resources, social media campaigns and a graphic novella all aimed at encouraging people to think through their emergency planning – do they have water? A first-aid kid? An escape route? A family communication plan? The success of CDC’s zombie preparedness campaign raises an intriguing possibility – could pop culture, such as cinema, be used as a teaching tool to raise public awareness of more realistic threats? Could a good Outbreak film inspire society to pay more attention to pandemic planning activities, help them understand how an outbreak response unfolds around the world, and demonstrate the realities of developing and trialling new vaccines and therapeutics?.