ALERT: Spoilers

Contagion, written by Scott Z. Burns and directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a wonderful example of subtle government propaganda. The film expertly taps in to that heightened sense of fear that has already been put in place by those who call themselves our “authorities.” 

Indeed, the protagonists in the film Contagion are all government authorities, living comfortably and traveling the world on our stolen money, and administering preferential treatment to themselves and their families. The villain (besides the virus, of course), is that scourge on the earth hell bent on distributing misinformation: the Blogger.

The movie begins in Hong Kong following Beth, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, who is presumably ground-zero for a deadly, highly contagious virus which has the ability to mutate and adapt to its host. The virus spreads across the globe rapidly as health authorities from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the WHO (World Health Organization) attempt to contain the spread of the virus by mandatory quarantines enforced by armed military personnel. Ostensibly, the same government that was was outdone many times over by Wal-Mart in response to a hurricane in New Orleans is the same government that organizes quarantines, sets up care facilities, and performs complicated research on a constantly-mutating virus with unbelievable efficiency. In the end, a top government health official researching the virus heroically cuts through all the red tape of getting a new drug approved by injecting herself with an experimental vaccination, which eventually is mass-produced and distributed to the public via lottery.

The idea of government coming up with a solution to a problem of this magnitude with such speed is, of course, pure fiction. But interwoven into this plot is a even more important element of propaganda, which is the demonization of viewpoints that are contrary to the official government statements. Alan, a popular fictional internet blogger played by Jude Law, is the conspiracy theorist. He questions the official genesis of the virus, and questions the motives behind the government and the pharmaceutical companies making money off the virus, similar to our real-world swine flu racket. He also offers a homeopathic solution in a substance” called “Forsythia,” which we later find he is being paid to promote. He is eventually set up and arrested by government officials seeking to end his contrarian viewpoints.

This portrayal of an internet blogger as the villain is interesting, not because it could never be true (I’m sure there are evil bloggers out there somewhere!), but because its use in the film is included for a very specific purpose: to undermine alternative viewpoints, to invalidate any information found on the internet, and to shine a holy light on the absolutism of government authorities. This inception is especially interesting in today’s world, where print media is dying, and people are seeking truth in other places, namely the internet. The idea that Contagion presents, that anything not in print or spoken by a politician is automatically false, is an assault against competing viewpoints. It is a condemnation of free speech, and promotes a fascist approach to information.

The internet today is, admittedly, a battleground of information. Misinformation and lies exist on the net, but it’s becoming easier to sift through that misinformation and get to wonderful ideas that you would never head from a mainstream media outlet. Search engines make is easier to cross-reference information from multiple sources. User ratings make it easier for people to decide if a site or service is worth their time or money. Also, a website or a blogger’s reputation is becoming more important in the search for truth.

So, if you like thriller movies and are fascinated by viruses, as some people are, then you may like Contagion. But as someone who is constantly questioning the motives and capabilities of a government which steals my money and holds me to its laws at gunpoint, Contagion is revealed as another tool for the global controllers. Sympathy to tyranny, in all its forms, is a far deadlier infection.

Thanks and peace,

Nick Foley
The Basic Liberty Letter
http://www.basicliberty.com
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