I Am Legend
The COVID-19 ( also known as ' coronavirus ' ) pandemic has n’t turned into a zombie apocalypse , but there are still some surprising parallels between it and 2007’sI Am Legend .
Starring Will Smith , I Am Legendadapts the 1954 floor of the same name from source Richard Matheson . In the film , Robert Neville ( Smith ) is one of the last man standing after a viral outbreak starts turning human being into strange , mutated brute screw as Darkseekers . Neville , a virologist , works to study the outbreak and seek to see if there are any other homo left alive , as roughly 12 million citizenry were left standing after the virus killed off the intact domain ’s universe , about 90 % , and turn a small destiny into Darkseekers .
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In some ways , I Am Legendpresents an interesting crossover between pic likeCast Awayand duo it withelements ofContagionandThe Walking Dead . Financially speaking , the film was a success , gross just about $ 585 million on a budget of $ 150 million . review article were mixed , but generally favorable , with most critic giving the nod toSmith ’s performanceas the standout of what could have well been just another lackluster , zombi apocalypse movie , despite the fact that Darkseekers are n’t really zombies . Over ten twelvemonth later , I Am Legendhas become even more harrowing for audiences as it shine the troubling time of 2020 ’s own global pandemic , COVID-19 .
I Am Legend’s Surprising Coronavirus Parallels Explained
As many are confined in societal isolation due to stay at home orders from the United States government and foreign politics as well , there is an overarching tone of desolation that permeate the social climate of 2020 that is powerfully reflect inI Am Legend . Neville is friendless , isolated from everything he once check dear about the normalcies of day - to - day life with only hisGerman Shepherd , Sam , and some mannequins to maintain the bonds that do from human interaction . This was seen with Tom Hanks inCast Awayas well , when his type in that moving-picture show befriended a volleyball whom he distinguish " Wilson " . While this particular element does n’t scratch the surface of the parallel of latitude betweenI Am Legendand the coronavirus outbreak , it is still remarkable , as the psychological aspect of containment are conjure , just like the more physical danger to a population during a pandemic .
As of March 2020 , New York City is one of the United States ' highest impact area for coronavirus . InI Am Legend , the entire island of Manhattan was evacuated and quarantined ; it is present in the moving picture that this was where Neville was break up from his family and lost his married woman and girl . While most quarantine zone in the United States are considered voluntary , with government issuing ' stay at home ' orders except for jobs and personnel that have been deemed crucial - hospital staff , pitch driver , factory workers , grocery stores , and restaurants that can supply bringing services to their customer - none of this has been enforce through the military or constabulary , as was done in the movie .
While the majority ofI Am Legendtakes place class after the outbreak , the flashback that are bear witness during the early stages dally out likewise to what is being check around the world with the tension of a slow - creeping threat that is unidentified as far as how far it will propagate and its overall timeline . Though the film is certainly a more scientific discipline - fiction free-base look at spectacular upshot of an irruption , and thevirus ' origins are incredibly different , the basics of reality are ever - present , arrive at it an even more terrifying sentinel in 2020 .
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