Coronavirus on Screen: The Portrayal of the Pandemic in Songbird and Locked Down
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51480/compress.2022.5-1.398Keywords:
COVID-19, love story, films about pandemics, dystopia, lockdownAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on changes in the film industry around the world. With the closing of the cinemas, many film productions were put on hold and the highly anticipated premieres were postponed. Like many other important events, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a source of inspiration for film directors. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ways in which the pandemic has been represented in two films with a coronavirus theme: Songbird (Adam Mason, 2020) and Locked Down (Doug Liman, 2021). Differences and similarities were discussed, as well as the relationship between the fictional representation of the pandemic and the real situation. The results of the analysis show significant differences between the films in terms of their portrayal of the pandemic stage, the restrictions put in place, the risk of infection, and the course of the disease. The common feature of these films, on the other hand, was their use of the love story formula. The paper also employs the analysis of individual film scenes.
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Skazani na siebie (2021) reż. Doug Liman. UK/USA: Storyteller Productions, AGC Studios, Hypnotic, Nebulastar.
Songbird. Rozdzieleni (2020) reż. Adam Mason. USA: STXfilms, Invisible Narratives, Platinum Dunes, Catchlight Studios.
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