Sick Stories

How relevance helps and hurts

by Zachary Lee

Disclaimer: There are minor spoilers for Contagion, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The plot of Director Steven Soderburgh’s 2011 film Contagion depicts a virus called MEV-1 that throws the world into chaos as medical researchers and public health officials vainly attempt to learn its origins and prevent its spread. Due to MEV-1’s global scale, the virus quickly becomes a pandemic, and social order collapses as people let fear and grievance take precedence over sound judgment. By the time the film ends, global deaths tally 26 million.

To say Contagion hits close to home at present would be an understatement. As of this writing, Contagion is the second-most-watched film in 2020 distributed by Warner Bros. and has resurfaced in the Top 10 on the iTunes movie rentals chart. [1] Many have been using the film as a template for what could happen to the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing xenophobia and fears to take over. Rebecca Onion, in her recent Slate piece, commented that these are the wrong messages and applications to take. Simply put, Contagion cannot be seen as a blueprint. She writes, “[the film] was not supposed to be a horror story about the perils of global air travel...it is as much about the way disease gets amplified by people’s relationships to the truth, as it is about viral transmission.” [2]

Additionally, Contagion is not the only film to receive a boost in popularity. Released in 2011 and 2014 respectively, Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes both feature scenes where the spread of the Simian Flu collapses civilization and reduces the human population. A brief glance at YouTube comments on various clips from these movies explains where life in 2020 mirrors the Apes series. “Who’s here after watching the coronavirus start going global?” someone commented under a month ago for the opening clip for Dawn. “Coronavirus, human race is going to go extinct soon,” chimes in another.

Today, these movies seem like an ironic and horrific form of escapism. Yet, there is something oddly cathartic about indulging in media that reflects the brokenness of our present moment. In a time of uncertainty, we crave clarity, finding solace in the fact that others—fictitious or not—have lived the lives we are living now. Perhaps watching these films allow us to think or hope that humanity has already “prototyped” how we can best handle crises. This desire for stable ground—coupled with an abundance of free time—allows us to consume media that, at the very least, speak to our cultural moment.

However, consuming only relevant media provides its own dangers. Even the best media that speaks to our situation can only regurgitate—with varying degrees of success—what people already experience. In Comment magazine, Jedd Medefind writes that relevance only echos that which is “currently valued, enjoyed, or admired” in society. He further describes relevance as a neutral term, one that “carries no requirement that one be just, true, or good—only well-versed in what others have decided matters.” [3]

Indeed, the stories we read or watch become our present-day narratives. They become the gospels and authorities to which we listen. In times of crisis, we swap challenge for comfort. And, even though Contagion is far from comforting, it serves a purpose: it acts as a horrifying mirror at which we can’t keep ourselves from looking.

However, relevance doesn’t always reflect hope and solace. Addressing Christians, Medefind writes: “What the world needs most from us, however, is not mere relevance. Nor has it in any age. The most vibrant moments of Christian history are those in which believers chose a prophetic role—even to the loss of perceived relevance.”

The Bible, in many ways, seems like the opposite type of comfort to run to. There is, of course, a greater hope in the Gospel—yet, Jesus never made relevancy his goal. Even as He spoke in parables to contextualize and make his message accessible to those around him, He spoke of an upside-down kingdom, where the poor in spirit gain the kingdom of heaven, the pure in heart see God, and those who mourn are comforted. For Jesus’ followers, the message He shared most likely made no sense to them in their crisis and for those in power who had grown comfortable with the status quo and way of life (namely the Romans and Pharisees). He did little to allay their fears. Rather, He confirmed them. Through His presentation of a radically different Kingdom, Jesus asked if the “normal” that people were accustomed to was worth saving and preserving. For today’s readers, as much as we may find comfort in the past, Jesus’ message asks us if the normal we were accustomed to is worth going back to.

Thus, the Bible is not aiming to give surface-level reflections that are relevant to us. It gives wisdom and points us toward something deeper and more fulfilling. The paradox is that the Bible has and always will speak to our time... regardless of the context. Its messages, though they may appear outdated, are not out of touch. Jesus preaches that hope can be found in that He is the same yesterday and today and forever [4] and calls His followers to consider it pure joy when trials of any kind are faced. [5] In 1 Corinthians 1:25, Paul writes of God “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” As Reeves’, Soderburgh’s, and Wyatt’s films demonstrate, it is hard to make work that is prophetic; artists must contend with the fact that as history repeats itself, one’s work crafted now may have a resurgence in the future.

But Christians believe that if we spend time in the Word, we get to meet God. We believe that this is a God who created the world and that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground nor does a lily of the field decay unless He says it. As Matt Smethurst shares in C. S. Lewis on the Coronavirus,

“Let’s keep living and laughing and serving and enjoying those we love (yes, even if from a necessary distance!). Because a good King is on the throne, we need not be slaves to fear.” [6]

The presence of doubt is no absence of faith, but faith can cast out doubt. I am praying that in this calamitous time, I press into that which may not immediately comfort. I pray for faith to truly believe that God is working harder when it seems circumstances only get worse.

Sources:

Blog, ReflectionsCornell ClaritasApril 5, 2020Zachary Lee, blog, COVID-19, ReflectionComment