 Production still from a university project titled "Quarantine". You read it correct. Exactly 10 years ago, I was walking the uninfected streets of South London and attending class about a block from where I lived. Around this time, my classmates and I received our brief on our new spring term module. The objective of the module was to discover the art behind sound design; having most of my background in photography or illustration, sound design seemed extremely foreign. As the weeks progressed and things didn’t go to plan (as tends to happen in production), we finished our short film and were assessed on our project in the shark tank, as I so affectionately named our review room. I thought shark tank was an appropriate name, as within this room our films would be reviewed, assessed, and then we had to defend our projects from being ripped to shreds; it built character. Despite how awful we thought the project might have been we finished our assessment unusually unscathed, to which we later celebrated at our local pub, as was the norm after an assessment. We thought nothing further of the film. Ithought nothing further of the film…until now. With the current pandemic and the state of the world, I was reminded of the short film that was long ago archived in my brain. After trying to find a copy of the short to no avail, I managed to find copies of our production stills instead. The title of the production, you ask? Quarantine. Who would have thought 10 years ago this short would be so relevant today. Moreover, who would have thought we would have used a name that precisely expresses the worlds current situation. Ten years ago, zombie apocalyptic themes were rampant in the film production industry. Everywhere you turned there seemed to be a new apocalyptic movie or TV series coming out. In fact, if I remember correctly, 2010 is when the first season of Walking Dead aired. I have always said art mimics life when it comes to what gets released to the general public for entertainment purposes, but it has never hit me as much as it has now as I think back throughout the years. As a result, I bring to you the top five films that were way ahead of their time and also gave us some know-how on what to do during a contagious global health crisis. TOP FIVE QUARANTINE PREDICTION FILMS Contagion (2011) : Number one for a reason. This is art imitating life for a reason, because this is our current reality at present. Who knew that something created 9 years ago could be used as our basis of knowledge for today’s pandemic. Weird how things always start with bats…  World War Z (2013) : Although taking place in the aftermath of contracting a virus, i.e. zombie status, there are a few gems of information that are beautifully expressed in the film, if you’re paying attention. For example, throughout the film Brad Pitt’s character, Gerry Lane, is exposed to a variety of external fluids on his skin which include, zombie blood on his face. In the film Gerry counts 5 seconds to see if he will have an immediate response from the virus. After realizing that the virus is not transferred through glands Gerry continues running. A minor, yet, highly informative scene that is helpful in today’s environment.  The Andromeda Strain (1971) : I have to admit I haven’t thoroughly watched this film as I would love to claim. However, from what I have watched there are some informative scenes that have carried out in almost every epidemic movies I have seen. Although a bit extraterrestrial, it is very much deserving of being mentioned.  Resident Evil : Since I could remember, this has been the source of all my zombie nightmares. I’m talking about the video game, as I vowed never to watch the films. Until I watched the first Resident Evil and remembered why I didn’t want to watch the film in the first place. This film will always be a cult classic. Although massively apocalyptic, what we’ve learned is that you should never work near a test lab.  28 Days Later : Some would argue both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later are to be mentioned in this list; however, I have only thoroughly watched 28 Days Later to offer an opion. Although, it has been a while. Brief synopsis, highly-contagious rage-inducing virus is accidentally released to the general public in Great Britain after animal liberation activists release infected chimpanzees into the populace. The film then follows four survivors who have to find a way through a societal collapse to live another day. Moral of the story? Don’t take virus tested animals out of a test laboratory. Ever. BONUS!! Survivors (1975 & 2008) : Although this is more of a TV show, the similarities to current day life qualified this BBC show onto the list as an added bonus. The show was originally written by Terry Nation with the 2008 version based on Terry Nation’s novel, Survivors. I never had a chance to watch the 2008 version, however, from what I noticed on the 1975 trailer, the TV show is as accurate as Contagion. There you have it folks, a little reminder that we’ve thought ahead of this pandemic and have left each other hidden gems throughout our entertainment media. Hopefully, this list also provides a new list of things to watch that is, if you haven’t re-watched them already.
Stay safe out there everyone and wash your hands ya filthy animal. #Qarantine2010 #CoronaVirus #SundayReads #WildIsadora #Isadoraland This article is not sponsored by any of the aforemention productions, nor does it reflect the views of the companies attached to such productions or represents the productions in anyway. All effort has been made by the writer of this blog for the authenticity of the information herein about the productions herein listed. For current information on each production, please visit their perspective links.
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 Moon Party by Leonardo Katz “Easter is the only time when it’s perfectly safe to put all your eggs in one basket.” For some, this weekend is a bank holiday.
For the majority, it’s also a lockdown. Around this time of year, I usually don my Easter bunny ears and attempt to get a bag of chocolate eggs, to distribute to anyone who is lucky to be around me (minus a couple for taste tests). I believe Easter is one of those few times of year, were it is perfectly acceptable to take candy from a stranger, besides Halloween. If I happen to be instructing during this time of year, I have the privilege to participate in an Easter egg hunt, which lets be honest is the highlight of any person’s day. I may not meet the age restrictions, but the child inside of me is so excited when I get to join in the in the hunt for those elusive treats. Today we have to celebrate Easter in a different way. Instead of physically going out to a community Easter egg hunt or attend a church service, we will say hello to our loved ones via some form of video chat. Maybe we thought ahead and ordered the Easter baskets before the lockdown. Families with little tots will have become creative and hatched (see what I did there) their own version of an Easter egg hunt. Those who normally attend an Easter Sunday service will do so virtually in their homes. If there is anything that can be learned from this pandemic is that we, as a species, improvise, adapt, and overcome. Life will carry on. Before the pandemic it was predicted that our lives would transition into a virtual lifestyle, constantly connected to electronics, in which our daily lives would be similar to a scene in Wall-E. However, I disagree. We have learnt throughout this period that as humans, we are social animals. Social animals that find it hard to survive without the warm greeting of a hug (for those of you that do hug) or a causal meet up with a neighbor or friends. We have all learnt that although virtually connected, we still crave physical contact with our loved ones and that communal gatherings, even just in a bar, makes us feel less alone. The thread that ties our core being is our social interaction and social bonding. We can innovate our interactions and adapt our approaches, but at the end of the day there is still a yearning for human interaction. A yearning that will hopefully soon be resolved. So post those pictures of Easter baskets, made with whatever you have spare in your homes, arrange a virtual Sunday roast with the family and enjoy your chocolate eggs. No matter what life brings us, we will adapt, we will carry on, and we will thrive. We will get through this and in future we will be better humans for experiencing it. Stay safe. Stay strong. Happy Easter everyone!! #HappyEaster #SundayReads #WildIsadora #Isadoraland |
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