Whenever a large-scale event like the Coronavirus pandemic disrupts all aspects of everyday life, people usually start to panic. Stockpiling essential products in stores has brought out the worst in certain sections of our society, while many are simply refusing to self-isolate and continuing to go about their daily business as usual, which could have a huge knock-on effect to others as the virus continues to spread rapidly.
People are also starting to develop cabin fever from staying in their homes so long, and the list of movies that have been trending in recent weeks hardly makes for encouraging reading, especially now that the vast majority of theaters are closed. Furthermore, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is one of the most-watched films on the planet right now, while Will Smith’s post-apocalyptic I Am Legend has also seen a huge upturn in interest.
Obviously, the Coronavirus isn’t going to result in a plague of the undead, although somebody has already made a movie based on that very idea, but now the Bad Boys For Life star is using his role in the 2007 blockbuster to spread information about the pandemic, making an appearance on his wife’s talk show alongside several medical professionals to discuss the ongoing crisis.
“I wanted to do this because I made I Am Legend. So I feel responsible for a lot of the misinformation. While I was preparing for I Am Legend, my character was a virologist, so I had an opportunity in preparation for the role to go to the CDC. There was a basic foundational comprehension of viruses and viral pathogens that I developed, and it really changed my life and how I looked at the world. There’s basic concepts that people do not understand… So what I wanted for us to have now is the opportunity to go through the basics, and then bring in the experts.”
Misinformation is one of the biggest problems during viral outbreaks like these, and is even more prevalent today during the height of the social media age, so having one of the world’s most notable movie stars talk to medical professionals and Coronavirus patients on a widely-available show is a smart move to try and curb it. Especially when it can all be related back to something like I Am Legend, which all his fans are aware of.
