President Donald Trump insists that no one could have foreseen the COVID-19 pandemic. But the fact is, since 1995, there has been a slew of blockbusters covering various aspects of a pandemic. These movies fit the broader genre of disaster movies.
Had Trump been an avid watcher of disaster movies, he would have seen that the risk of a pandemic striking the world had been identified at least two decades ago. Moreover, several movies have dealt with the consequence of poor leadership in such a crisis. Perhaps it is time for Trump to arrange some private screenings?
Hollywood is obsessed with disaster. For generations, disaster movies have been a staple of the industry. I’m using the term Hollywood loosely here. The UK has produced some spectacular apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movies like Children of Men and 28 Days Later. Australia produced the unforgettable Mad Max.
These movies have all reflected the anxieties of their times.
The sixties were the era of nuclear armageddon anxiety. Dr Strangelove reflected the possibility of an unhinged leader causing a nuclear war. All the early James Bond films featured dangerous escalations of the cold war. Most of the villains in the early James Bond films wanted to upset the delicate balance of the Cold War. Bond always averted apocalypse in the nick of time. The anxiety of an apocalypse created by a nuclear war lasted through most of the eighties.
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