Everyone is Watching ‘Contagion’ Right Now. A Psychologist Explains Why It’s Healthier to Watch That Than the News.

One of the most puzzling phenomenons to happen during the coronavirus is the sudden popularity of Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion.” The 2011 thriller mirrors with uncanny realistic scenarios what’s going on right now as it depicts a world that is struck by a global pandemic.

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“It makes us feel we’re not alone, and there’s a resolution to these stories so we can express our anxiety that way,” Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, told Insider. “Whether it’s zombie movies or ‘Contagion,’ any thriller ramps up a lot of anxiety and fear that then gets resolved by the end.”

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“Movies are now that steady presence for us,” she said. “There’s closure.”

Rutledge said movies are just one aspect of coping with this unprecedented situation we are living through, which can lead to depression.

“There’s research on the impact of quarantine, there’s research on the impact of a society-wide crisis, but there’s no research on a pandemic outside of the Spanish flu,” she said. “We don’t understand what all these factors mean together but the intersection makes it pretty clear what we are facing is a level of trauma.”

Rutledge feels watching movies, TV shows, and especially meeting with friends over Zoom are great ways to deal with what’s going on because “for the human brain, seeing eyes and expressions allow us to experience interaction as if they were face to face.”

But the one thing Rutledge feels you shouldn’t spend a lot of time doing is watching the news.

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