COVID-19 pandemic in popular culture

The COVID-19 pandemic swept the world in the early months of 2020, causing massive economic and social disruption. In addition to the disease itself, populations have often dealt with lockdowns, shortages and pandemic fatigue, political and cultural turmoil. This has made the pandemic era a time of exceptional stress.^[1] The pandemic has driven some people to seek peaceful escapism in media, but others towards fictional pandemics (i.e., zombie apocalypses) as an alternate form of escapism.^[2]

Themes include contagion, isolation and loss of control.^[3]

^ Newman, Kira M. (11 August 2020). "Seven Ways the Pandemic Is Affecting Our Mental Health". greatergood.berkeley.edu. Greater Good. Retrieved 19 December 2020. In late March, nearly 3,500 people were surveyed in Spain, when the country ranked second in the world in COVID-19 deaths. Many people met the criteria for clinical mental health problems: 19 percent for depression, almost a quarter for anxiety, and 16 percent for PTSD. Within a week after Slovenia declared an epidemic, over half of the thousands of people surveyed had high stress levels. In April, 14 percent of Americans were experiencing serious psychological distress, more than triple the rate in 2018.
^ Nobel, Emma (13 April 2020). "COVID-19 will shape pop culture for years to come, but for now we love pandemic stories". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 December 2020. Fictitious stories about pandemics give us a way to experience the horror in a controlled way, with the pacing we've grown to expect, where resolution is always possible, and where we can always turn off the TV if it gets a bit too much.
^ McCluskey, Megan (7 October 2020). "Horror Films Have Always Tapped Into Pop Culture's Most Urgent Fears. COVID-19 Will Be Their Next Inspiration". Time. Retrieved 19 December 2020.

[1] Newman, Kira M. (11 August 2020). "Seven Ways the Pandemic Is Affecting Our Mental Health". greatergood.berkeley.edu. Greater Good. Retrieved 19 December 2020. In late March, nearly 3,500 people were surveyed in Spain, when the country ranked second in the world in COVID-19 deaths. Many people met the criteria for clinical mental health problems: 19 percent for depression, almost a quarter for anxiety, and 16 percent for PTSD. Within a week after Slovenia declared an epidemic, over half of the thousands of people surveyed had high stress levels. In April, 14 percent of Americans were experiencing serious psychological distress, more than triple the rate in 2018.

[2] Nobel, Emma (13 April 2020). "COVID-19 will shape pop culture for years to come, but for now we love pandemic stories". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 December 2020. Fictitious stories about pandemics give us a way to experience the horror in a controlled way, with the pacing we've grown to expect, where resolution is always possible, and where we can always turn off the TV if it gets a bit too much.

[3] McCluskey, Megan (7 October 2020). "Horror Films Have Always Tapped Into Pop Culture's Most Urgent Fears. COVID-19 Will Be Their Next Inspiration". Time. Retrieved 19 December 2020.

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