The Roman Empire, the Crusades, the Black Death, WWI and WWII have all been immortalised in movies, books, television shows and video games. And now, adding itself to the list of history-making moments re-made as entertainment, comes Covid-19.
Released on 12 November, Season 17 of TV show Grey’s Anatomy was among the first media products to put the pandemic at the centre of its story line. Director Michael Bay’s new action movie Songbird also takes the pandemic as its starting point. However, since Covid-19 is bound to be adopted wholesale by the entertainment business, here are some further suggestions for how the culture industry could treat this tragic subject in a suitably entertaining way:
Romance: Jack and Anna met each other, and it was love at first sight. They were inseparable but then one day the pandemic hit, and we all went into lockdown. Now they must show their love through a video call. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in Microsoft Love Teams.
Horror: First we thought it was just a virus that would make us sick, but what we didn’t know is that the virus was evolving. Now the virus is mutating people into flesh eating zombies. They will come for you at night and this time, face masks won’t help. Starring Millie Bobby Brown in 19 Months Later.
Comedy: Max was the only guy in his group of friends who hadn’t had sex yet. He finally found a girl that would do the deed with him. Scared he might disappoint her, on the big day he took lots of Viagra, just as it was announced that the whole country had to go into lockdown. Follow Max on a crazy adventure in search of manhood. Starring Michael Cera in This Is Super Bad.
Drama: Dr. Logan has tested positive for a deadly new super-bug. He will die in two months unless his scientist son can find a cure. Hugh Jackman stars as Son of Dr. Logan.
Cult TV: Inhabitants of Helena, Montana, realise that the pandemic is on its way to their small town. Before it arrives, the mayor instigates the construction of a wall to prevent anyone entering or leaving the town. After a few weeks, their safe haven becomes a trap. A paranoid atmosphere develops along with a cult that believes the outside world has been brought to an end by the pandemic. What is to be done? Scale the wall and risk infecting the townspeople? Or stay inside the bubble and end up ‘climbing the walls’…? This is the dilemma of A Town Called Helena: a Netflix original.
Videogame: You play Cole Jackson, a father who lives in a post-apocalyptic world with his daughter Clara. The year is 2040, when Covid-19 has killed 60% of the world’s population. You must find new shelters for you and your daughter, food and supplies. You will meet people along the way, some may be friendly, others may try to kill you for your supplies. Some may be healthy, others may be infected – you must decide.
As terrible as Covid-19 is, there is no denying that great ideas will come out of our experience of it. Here’s hoping the actual pandemic will end soon, to be replaced by entertainment derived from how it happened.
I also hope that someone will hire me to write one of these scripts.