Infectious inequalities : : epidemics, trust, and social vulnerabilities in cinema / / Qijun Han and Daniel R. Curtis.

• VerfasserIn: Han, Qijun,; Curtis, Daniel R.,
• TeilnehmendeR: Curtis, Daniel R.,
• Place / Publishing House: Abingdon, Oxon : : Routledge,, [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (166 pages) :; illustrations

"This book explores societal vulnerabilities highlighted within cinema and develops an interpretive framework for understanding the depiction of societal responses to epidemic disease outbreaks across cinematic history. Drawing on a large database of twentieth- and twenty-first-century films depicting epidemics, the study looks into issues including trust, distrust, and mistrust; different epidemic experiences down the lines of expertise, gender, and wealth; and the difficulties in visualizing the invisible pathogen on screen. The authors argue that epidemics have long been presented in cinema as forming a point of cohesion for the communities portrayed, as individuals and groups "from below" represented as characters in these films find solidarity in a common enemy comprising of elite institutions and authority figures. Throughout the book, a central question is also posed: "cohesion for whom?", which sheds light on the inequality and contingency of the depicted subjects and embodiment of the characters. This book is a valuable reference for scholars and students of film studies and visual studies as well as academic and general readers interested in topics of films and history, and disease and society"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Understanding epidemics through the cinematic lens -- Societal responses to epidemics: immorality and resistance -- Suspicious minds: cinematic depiction of distrust during epidemics -- Bridging the gap: epidemics, public health workers, and "heroism" in cinematic perspective -- From spreaders to sacrifice: cinematic representation of women during epidemics -- Between urban depravity and rural backwardness: cinematic depiction of poverty during epidemics -- Conclusion: epidemics and cinema in an age of COVID-19 -- Appendix: filmography of films depicting epidemics.