By: Phalantinea Bazile
The Utopia series is a twisted 8 episode thriller that consists of mystery and violence that also contains a comic book; people believe that the book holds the truth that leads to humanity, which the character Jessica Hyde plays a huge part in. There is a secret organization (Christie's Labs), which tries to control the human population by providing people with false vaccines that actually sterilize them to stop human reproduction within three generations.
Even though the timing of the Utopia series was unintentional, I personally think that it came for a reason during this real-life situation of COVID-19. The series not only holds differences but also similarities to current times. The series is almost a representation of today’s times because there are questions about how the pandemics began, those in power kept the pandemic going, and people’s mental health was hurt by the pandemics. Even though the series was left unresolved about what was going to occur after the group of people were able to destroy the vaccines, viewers can still rely on this show by researching more information about the canceled season of the series.
Introducing the two Viruses
This source by an unknown author who writes for the World health organization and tells the viewers that the coronavirus is an infectious disease that originated from Wuhan china. Its symptoms are fever, dried cough, and tiredness. Serious symptoms include difficulty breathing/shortness of breath, loss of speech movement, and chest pressure. Most people who contract this type of disease, don’t recover and die from it. The unknown author states, On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone is infected with the virus for symptoms to show, however it can take up to 14 days. People who would contract the coronavirus can’t necessarily tell that they have it until those two weeks are up.
This source from an unknown author talks about how the Spanish flu was caused by an H1A1 virus with genes that originated from the avian area. The unknown author who writes for the CDC explains that The virus was contracted and spread between the years of 1918-1919 Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919 and also confirmed that states that About 500 million people got infected with the virus with 50 million deaths in the US. This pandemic was one of the most deadly ones. The most devastating factor about this pandemic was that there were no treatments or vaccines for it at the time.
Those in power kept the pandemic going
One of The ways that viewers can still rely on the show with their similarities between the Spanish Flu and the coronavirus pandemic is that, during these two pandemics, there was a lack of administrative control. During the series, there was a secret organization trying to wipe out as many people as they could due to overpopulation by providing people with false vaccines. According to AUTHOR Oulette, “When the conspiracy in the elusive comic Utopia is real, a group of young fans come together to embark on a high-stakes twisted adventure to use what they uncover to save themselves, each other, and ultimately humanity." A lot of people in the series weren't aware of the secret plan but it was known by a few. There was no administrative control because all of the power was given to Christie's Lab, the company making the vaccines. Without anyone in power checking the lab, the sterilization process was allowed to continue.
During this real-life situation of COVID, there was also little administrative power, and this political silence led to the pandemic continuing. Maxman and Tollefson, authors of the article “Two decades of pandemic war games failed to account for Donald Trump,” explain that our former President Trump did not take full accountability of the whole pandemic and he was not handling the situation well when it came to the pandemic. There were interviews where Trump would lie that his cabinet would make things better and stop the spread of COVID but never proved it with his poor actions. Tollifson writes, “The president of the United States has lied about the dangers posed by the coronavirus and undermined efforts to contain it; he even admitted in an interview to purposefully misrepresenting the viral threat early in the pandemic”. The lack of support with him being president made people think that he was trying to control the population as well by allowing others to die. He misled citizens and downplayed the severity of the virus, which let the pandemic grow. In this way, viewers can see that real life and the series had the same issue with those that hold power in society: that they can stop tragedies but usually don’t.
Society’s Mental Distraught
Another similarity between coronavirus and the series that viewers can rely on is that there are mental health consequences to such devastating pandemics. During the series, the character Alice suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and she is left devastated when an insane character, Arby, kills her orphaned mother. AUTHOR Matadeen writes about Alice’s character and states, “And when the sadistic Arby comes, Alice eventually watches him shoot her mother down in cold blood.” After her devastating tragedy, she started to not act like herself. Alice’s tragic life happens because people are trying to keep the sterilization truth a secret.
During the coronavirus pandemic, researchers Kumar and Nayar studied mental health during the pandemic and tell us that COVID-19 has caused many people, especially younger kids, poor mental health due to isolation and losing loved ones during this time. Authors Kumar and Nayar found that “new measures such as self-isolation and quarantine have affected usual activities, routines, and livelihoods of people that may lead to an increase in loneliness, anxiety, depression, insomnia, harmful alcohol, and drug use, and self-harm or suicidal behavior. ” Drastic changes in everyday life, which are caused by the pandemic, turn people into something that they are not. Therefore, the series shows the mental health consequences of its fake Spanish Flu and our real COVID-19 pandemic.
Causes Of The Pandemics
One of The differences between these two pandemics that viewers can still rely on is how they were both started. The Utopia Spanish Flu virus started out by a crazy scientist who made the virus and released it on purpose. Author Jesudason explains the beginning of the flu: “It depicts a scientist who created a flu-like disease designed to thin out an overpopulated Earth.” That's when school kids and others started to contract the virus. In this case, there is a conspiracy theory, found in the comic book, that turns out to be true.
The plot of Utopia is what some people feel is the beginning of COVID-19. Some conspiracy theorists believe that the virus was created in a Chinese lab. However, studies show that the Covid-19 pandemic started with someone having a bat meal and then became infected with the virus. People who were not even in close contact with the animals still contracted the virus by others purposely or involuntarily spreading it. A WebMD article with an unknown author who wrote on coronaviruses, of which COVID-19 is just one train, states, “it’s now spreading in the U.S. and around the globe, meaning that people are unwittingly catching and passing on the coronavirus.” Even though some people might want to believe that real life is like the television show, scientists can track how the virus began and spread.
Is This a Good Time to Release Utopia?
To many viewers, Utopia can now give them a better understanding of the overall topic when it comes to comparing between the two global pandemics and what comes because of them. Personally, I feel it was a smart move to release the series during this time of COVID because it allows viewers to see how pandemics can affect people. It can also teach viewers something valuable when this pandemic does come to an end. However, some critics think that this was not a good time to air the series because it does not have a real impact on viewers who are living through the same kind of event. AUTHOR explains that the violence and death in the series can be compelling and force viewers to think about how people respond to pandemics, but because people are too preoccupied with their everyday lives and emotional wellbeing. The similarities between real life and the show end up making the show less impactful. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, people hold a lot of conspiracy theories against the show caused by suspensions of the timing that the series aired which is understandable but also teachable in some way.
About Phalantinea Bazile:
Phalantinea Bazile is currently a freshman student enrolled at Bloomfield College. Her current major is Music Technology. Her fields of interest are singing, dancing, cooking, and many more. After graduating college she would love to pursue her music career and become a well-acclaimed artist.
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