When I think about it, all of this that is playing out around the world right now seems like something straight out of a movie. In fact, someone told me a couple of weeks ago that they think a movie will be made about this coronavirus pandemic when it’s over. I would say that is more than likely true.
Many people love movies that are dystopian in nature, such as “The Hunger Games” or “WALL-E.” These are movies that take some of the absolute worst situations that the mind can imagine and put them in a form that seems so distant from reality that no one would ever think that it could actually happen.
I believe that these movies have influenced how we see what is going on around us. In fact, to some, this pandemic may not seem like anything other than a movie. They may say, “If everything came out all right in this movie, then I’m sure it’ll come out all right with the coronavirus.”
We aren’t living in a time when children are chosen to fight to the death in a televised “game” as in “The Hunger Games,” and we aren’t living in a time when the earth seems virtually uninhabitable as in “WALL-E.” However, the coronavirus is truly unprecedented. We really don’t have anything to compare it to other than movies we’ve seen.
Many people buy into the dystopian fantasies created in movies. They see Katniss Everdeen as a hero. They imagine themselves in her place, taking on her courage and determination. Many see WALL-E as a cute little robot, and they laugh as he tries to make his way around the spaceship that humans are now living on.
I see a couple of similarities between these movies and reality. In dystopian movies, many times people distrust their government. In “The Hunger Games,” the government puts on the Hunger Games and subtly tries to manipulate the outcome at times. When Katniss becomes a competitor and finds an unorthodox method of winning, she helps expose the government’s flaws and inspires the people to rise up in rebellion.
Today, it seems like there is distrust everywhere. Some think the government is overreacting to the present crisis to gain more control. Others may not be convinced that the drugs being prescribed to infected patients are reliable enough to be using.
Additionally, dystopian movies usually portray people from different walks of life coming together to help each other. In “The Hunger Games,” people from the different districts begin to rise up together in rebellion. They may not have the same jobs or status, but they have the same goal. In “WALL-E,” the titular robot from earth finds an ally in EVE, a robot from a spaceship. They work together to bring humanity back to earth.
In the present time, we see people from all different backgrounds and countries trying to overcome the coronavirus. There are stories of stores giving the elderly their own time to shop. Some people are making face masks for doctors and nurses. This is a time that brotherly love can be shown even in the midst of a worldwide crisis.
However, one thing about these movies that differs strongly from reality is that we can see the whole storyline play out. We watch from beginning to end as spectators. We have no personal stake in the outcome other than our love for the characters or our desire to be like them. The bad situations may make our stomachs churn or make us think, “Thank goodness, we don’t live there,” but for the most part, we are just onlookers. If the outcome is bad, we may be upset about it for a little while, but eventually, we will move on because our world is untouched.
Today, we don’t know what the outcome will be when this virus passes. In this dystopian reality, we are not spectators; we are actually living inside it. This time, our entire lives and the lives of those closest to us are being affected. We can’t just turn the TV off and walk away as if nothing ever happened.
However, for those of us who are Christians, we cannot let the times we live in bring us down. We may not know what the final outcome of this global pandemic will be, but we know Jesus Christ, the One who does.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
This is a great truth to remember in the midst of uncertain times. Christians have an opportunity to be a light in the midst of a dark world, a world that has no hope apart from Christ. We need to take advantage of this opportunity each and every day, not relying on what we’ve seen in fiction but on an all knowing and all-powerful Creator.
