The outbreak of coronavirus, or COVID-19, is all that anyone can talk about right now. Even when you need a break from worrying about work, ironically enough, you still can’t switch off from thinking about pandemics. You might just as well give in and watch a movie or TV show about pandemics, especially since many of them have… a happy ending!
If you’re dithering about what to watch, we’ve got some suggestions for you. Who knows, you might even pick up some business tips or tricks for how to survive COVID-19 in the process.
1. Contagion
In the last few weeks, Contagion has led the Top Ten charts of Most Popular Netflix Shows, probably because everyone feels that it’s such a close mirror of our own times. Contagion is about the spread of a virus into a pandemic and the rush to find a vaccine. The movie has a stellar cast, including Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Kate Winslet, and an all-too-believable storyline. Watch in terror as false reports cause panic buying, vaccine supplies run short, and social order falls apart.
Why watch it?
Apart from anything else, Contagion can serve as a useful lesson on what you should and should not do during a pandemic. If you’re scared about Corona, take notes while you watch Contagion; it was developed with advice from the World Health Organisation to ensure that it stayed accurate.
2. Outbreak
The 1995 pandemic movie Outbreak was the most popular movie when it was released, and corona has pushed it back up into the top billing.
Outbreak is a tense action adventure that follows the appearance of a fatal disease in California, and the race to contain the spread and develop a vaccine before it’s too late. It might be a little too close to the reality that we’re living in for comfort.
Why watch it?
Outbreak depicts a tense race against time where the hard work and careful research of the fictional team of scientists is what ends up saving the day. Plus, Rene Russo’s character gets infected by a moment of distraction. It’s a valuable lesson for everyone; even on a team of Hollywood hotshots, there’s no replacement for classic attention to detail.
3. Zombieland 1 & 2
Zombieland, and the sequel Zombieland: Double Tap show that you can combine humor and pandemics in the same movie. In Zombieland, a strange virus makes most of the population of the US into zombies. Four unaffected strangers run into each other on a bizarre road trip to an amusement park, where they end up having a classic all-out battle with the zombies to get to a happy ending.
Why watch it?
Hidden among all the zombie jokes and goofy humor is an important message about love. In the movie, there are so few remaining non-zombies that they’re too scared to enter a relationship, just in case the person they learn to care for also becomes a zombie. The main characters have to learn that if you live without love, you might just as well be a zombie.
4. Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak
Pandemic is a Netflix-made docu-series that discusses the emergence of new virus strains, research into a universal vaccine, the rise of the anti-vax movement, and the Ebola outbreak in Africa. The timing is eerie: Pandemic was made throughout 2019 and released at the beginning of 2020, at about the same time as the coronavirus emerged in China.
Why watch it?
Pandemic does an excellent job of combining information and strong storytelling into a compelling miniseries. Watch Pandemic to learn more about virology, public health, and scientific research, and to make sure that you’ll sound wise when you share your opinion of COVID-19 on social media.
5. Twelve Monkeys
Twelve Monkeys is a chilling time-travel movie in which Bruce Willis plays Cole, a convict who’s sent back in time from the year 2035 to discover the source of a virus that’s destroyed most of mankind. As he tries to unravel the mystery, he starts to doubt his own sanity and lose track of reality.
At the same time, Dr. Railly, who initially dismisses Cole as insane because of his warnings that everyone is going to die, slowly comes to believe in his sanity and realizes that the terrible future is inevitable…
Why watch it?
Apart from the amazing performances by Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis, Twelve Monkeys carries an important lesson about first impressions and learning to look more deeply. Who is the real cause of the outbreak? How do you decide who to trust and when someone is telling the truth in the movie, the business world, and real life? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out.
6. I Am Legend
I Am Legend is such a good novel that it’s been made into a movie no fewer than 3 times. Will Smith stars in the 2007 version as U.S. Army virologist Robert Neville, the only man left in New York City after humanity is wiped out by a virus that was meant to cure cancer. Neville spends his days grappling with loneliness, and his nights keeping out infected zombies called Darkseekers. He thinks he’s the only non-infected human left, until he meets a young couple and starts to hope that he’ll succeed in finding a cure for the virus.
Why watch it?
I Am Legend reminds you how important it is to have hope for the future. Things might seem difficult now, but the current outbreak will end and your business can recover. In the movie, Neville has all but given up, until his meeting with Anna and Ethan inspires him to try again. Does he succeed? We couldn’t possibly give that away.
7. Cargo
Sometimes referred to as “the zombie movie for people who don’t like zombie movies,” Cargo is about one father’s quest to protect his daughter in a world that’s been ravaged by a virus that turns people into zombies within 48 hours. Martin Freeman stars as the father trying to find someone to keep his daughter safe, and his performance alone makes the movie worth watching.
Why watch it?
Cargo falls into the category of post-apocalyptic movies, but it’s really about love, loyalty, and sacrifice. It’s worth watching to learn about holding on to your values even when things seem bleak; something that everyone of us, business owner or not, could do with remembering.
8. Quarantine
Quarantine is a scary, atmospheric zombie-horror movie that’s shot as found footage. Two TV reporters accompany firefighters on what should be a routine call to an apartment building, only to discover a group of people infected with a zombie-like illness by a rabid dog. The building is sealed off, no information makes it out, and there are no witnesses — except the footage shot by the reporters.
Why watch it?
Well, after seeing a movie about an illness that turns people into cannibalistic zombies, you might feel less scared about COVID-19. Seriously, there’s not much of a message in this horror flick, except to remind you not to take it lightly if the first person who dies is an elderly lady.
9. Z Nation
Z Nation is a five-seasons zombie series that’s dripping with satire and black humor as well as blood. In Z Nation, it’s 3 years after a virus turned most of humanity into zombies. A mismatched group of survivors have to get Murphy, a half-zombie, half-human survivor of an experiment by the US Army, from New York City to the CDC lab in California. Murphy’s blood holds the only hope of creating a cure for the zombie virus, but do they make it? You have plenty of episodes to binge watch before you find out.
Why watch it?
Although it’s a post-apocalypse zombie series, Z Nation has more depth than your average zombie shows. Alongside the black humor and satire, you’ll see that every character carries their own fears and mistakes, and has to make their own moral choices. Watch it to get some motivation to make the right choices about your business.
10. The 100
Finally, The 100 is a sci-fi post-apocalyptic drama series that follows 100 people who’ve returned to Earth from space, where they sheltered in a space station during a nuclear apocalypse. Led by Bellamy and Clarke, The 100’s task is to find out if the planet is still habitable before the rest of the inhabitants of the space station follow them back. But first they have to spend 7 series dodging the dangers of the post-apocalypse Earth, and the many groups of survivors still on the planet.
Why watch it?
Leadership, communication, and decision-making under stress are all qualities on display in The 100. Whether you’re heading a small business or leading a group of humans after a nuclear apocalypse, you need to learn how to inspire trust and make quick decisions.
Whether you’re looking for humor, escapism, or to scare yourself hard enough that Corona will look like a walk in the park, there’s a pandemic TV show or movie waiting for you. At least now you can claim that you’ve learned something valuable while watching TV.