The Deconstruction of the Contagion Movie: The Meta-Virus or Commercialization of Virus

Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 167 - 175, 31.12.2021

Hacer Aker

https://doi.org/10.46442/intjcss.1041132

An Erratum to this article was published on December 31, 2022. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/intjcss/issue/74334/1226183

Abstract

Contagion, one of the most-watched epidemic films in the Covid-19 period, was released to the market as a wake-up call to the ethical responsibilities of government institutions and international organizations in the face of a possible pandemic. The fact that the aspects of the narrative that touch today's reality were frequently mentioned in the media also provided a meaningful basis for thinking about the film. This study outed from the claim that the mentioned trends are an illusion and aimed to present a critical analysis that reveals the inconsistencies in the movie. He did this with a metonymic approach that undermines ideological metaphors, in other words, with references of the deconstructive reading. When the findings were evaluated as a whole, it seemed possible to consider Contagion as a movie that commercialized and commodified the virus, did not think about its subject and object and lied to its audience.

Keywords

Covid-19, Epidemic, Contagion, Meta-virus, Doconstruction

Contagion Filminin Yapısökümü: Meta-Virüs ya da Virüsün Ticarileştirilmesi

An Erratum to this article was published on December 31, 2022. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/intjcss/issue/74334/1226183

Abstract

Covid-19 döneminde en fazla izlenen salgın filmlerinden olan Contagion, devlet kurumlarının ve uluslararası kuruluşların olası bir pandemi karşısında etik sorumluluklarına uyanma çağrısı olarak gösterime girdi. Anlatının günümüz gerçekliğine temas eden yanlarının medyada sıkça dile getirilmiş olması da film üzerine düşünmek için anlamlı bir zemin sundu. Bu çalışma sözü edilen eğilimlerin bir yanılsama olduğu iddiasından yola çıktı ve filmdeki tutarsızlıkları açığa çıkaran eleştirel bir analiz sunmayı amaçladı. Bunu da ideolojik metaforların altını oyan metonimik bir yaklaşımla diğer bir deyişle yapısökümcü okumanın referanslarıyla yaptı. Elde edilen bulgular değerlendirildiğinde, Contagion’ı, virüsü ticarileştirip meta haline getirmiş, kendi konusu, nesnesi üzerine düşünmemiş ve seyircisine yalan söylemiş bir film olarak değerlendirmek mümkün göründü.

Keywords

Covid-19, Salgın, Contagion, Meta-virüs, Yapısöküm

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