YABORA, Roman Anthony P.

BSM III
2018-08256

Reflection Paper on Contagion 2011

The movie was very much relatable to the situation our country is facing right now. It was an
eye-opener and would highly grab the attention of people. At the start of the movie, people were getting
sick one after another because of an unknown virus. The symptoms were very much common: cold,
cough, fever, and dizziness. It could be seen that the infected were sweating and of course having
difficulties in focusing—the Asian man even died from getting hit by a truck due to crossing a busy
street. The blonde woman, Beth Emhoff, arrived home from a factory-ground-breaking ceremony in
Hong Kong having a high temperature and pounding headache. Moments later she collapsed and
started having a seizure. She was taken to the hospital by her husband Mitch. Unfortunately, she didn’t
make it and that made the story take a turning point as reports of similar case around the world started
popping up. The beginning of the movie, from my point of view, is similar with the COVID-19 virus
running rampant in our country. It was an unknown virus where the symptoms were common but the
effects were escalated to another degree. It was a deadly virus which, even the scientists, did not know.
The reproduction rate of the virus was unimaginably fast because its mode of transmission was through
air and touch.

As the movie progressed, the effects of the virus was not just on the health of the people. There
were effects on the economy and the state of the nation. Establishments were getting destroyed due to
panic buying, looting was present wherever you go, rallies were happening because people were afraid
and they wanted answers from the government, and also violence. It was seen in the movie that
supermarkets were abandoned and that people were getting violent. The laws implemented were
nowhere to be found. If I were to relate it to our country, there was no looting reported on air, but there
was panic buying as we all know. People from different corners of the country were at the supermarket
trying to buy as many as possible because the lockdown had no definite time frame. Thus, resulting to
panic buying.
In relation to the policies implemented in the movie, the wearing of face mask, PPE, and social
distancing was visible. It could be seen in the movie that health protocols were implemented and being
followed by the citizens. Although the majority were following the said protocols, there were still some
who did not follow. It is somewhat similar to our country because there are also policies and health
protocols implemented due to COVID-19. People are actually following them, but there are still some
who think that these policies and protocols are just nuisances.

With regards to the module provided, the importance of science policy and governance in
development is something that we should take note of. The vaccine in the movie, MEV-1 or
Monovalent Vaccine Intranasal, took months before it was made. It was visible in the movie that trials
were being made on monkeys to see the effects of the vaccines being made. As the movie went on, it
could be seen that vaccination was made mandatory and that some really wanted to get vaccinated. In
relation to the topic in the module, I believe that for this policy to be implemented, alternatives
alongside assessments and evaluations were taken to the government so that they would see the proof
of how vaccines can help mitigate the spread of the virus. I assume that the government was convinced
and that could have been how the policy was set. After that is the second phase according to the module,
where analysis of experiments and existing policies and what kind of leverage they have had, whether
it be positive of negative. Through this, science policy and governance can go hand in hand where
science will provide back up for policies, and policies will provide back up for science.

Another thing, with regards to science and advice policy, one thing I took note of was how
science had little to no authority in governance or the government. I believe that: 1) Due to the
scientific infrastructure where it is not visible to the public thus not everyone knowing what actually
happens behind closed doors; 2) Scientific institutions can makes mistakes and that is normal. To be
fair, everything is a trial and error, and through this a viable result can be yielded. Although the
downside of this is that people tend to not trust because of these mistakes, and; 3) Time. Trust takes
time to develop. Gaining the trust of the people is difficult. No matter what progress or development
science presents, there will always be people who are doubtful. One example I can think of are the
people against vaccine. These anti-vaccine people believe that getting vaccinated would only get you
killed. They are also prone to spreading fake information to misinform people on how vaccine works.

By the end of the movie, the beginning of the virus was shown. It started from a bat that was
eating a banana in a pig farm where a portion of the banana it was eating fell on the floor and was
eaten by a piglet. The piglet was then transported because it was purchased by a famous restaurant.
The pig was going to be cooked in that restaurant and it could be seen that the chef was doing
something with its mouth. He was called outside and there we could see that the chef and the blonde
woman, Beth Emhoff, took a picture together and that was where the spread of the virus started.

The movie was timely and relevant to the situation of the country. I have read that when the
pandemic started, all eyes were on this movie. I believe that this movie deserves the recognition it has
right now and that all of us can learn a lot from this. From an unknown virus spreading fast, scientists
trying to discover what kind of virus it was, and what the government did in this crisis.