I am Legend vaccine hysteria. Should movies be censored?

The movie I am Legend has been cited as a reason not to take the Covid vaccine. Is this just a silly news story or a reason to censor movies?

Tip of the iceberg; an employee at an eye-wear store cited the movie I am Legend as a reason not to take the Covid vaccine. And it is a silly story, but the Techopian wonders is there something more subliminal at play.

The movie got something of a slating from critics, perhaps unfairly so. In the movie, a character played by Emma Thompson develops a cure (or maybe vaccine) for cancer. Fast forward, and the world is falling apart as people are turned into monsters.

Critics said it was a pale copy of the Omega Man,  (although to let you into a secret, this writer thought I am Legend was a much better film.)

Up until recently, the biggest controversy with I am Legend was the ending. And indeed, there is an alternative ending which many prefer.

In the movie with the original ending, Will Smith hears the voice of God and — well, let’s not reveal too many spoilers.

But was the movie, in fact, a secret warning about Covid?  Maybe the moviemakers teamed up with the lab in Wuhan to release Covid onto the world. Maybe the virus is fake, just an excuse to get us all to take a vaccine so that Bill Gates can spy on us and listen to juicy information about what you are going to wear when you go out tonight and whether so and so across the road really fancies what’s her name who lives next door. This is clearly information that Gates would love to have.

So far, there is just one example of an individual citing the movie as a reason not to take the vaccine. In any case, the employee got it wrong: she said the vaccine turned people into zombies, when in fact, they were more like vampires. Please, if you are going to adopt a conspiracy theory, learn the difference between zombies and vampires.

The BBC said the virus in the movie I am Legend caused by a measles vaccine — when in fact, it was a cure for cancer. Akiva Goldsman, co-writer of the screenplay, tweeted: “Oh. My. God. It’s a movie. I made that up. It’s. Not. Real.”

But then he would say that wouldn’t he; could be part of the conspiracy.

Maybe the real problem is movies that portray vaccines in a good light. The Guardian tried to be all adult about it and talk about movies in which vaccines save us. Indeed, in the Omega Man, Charlton Heston manages to avoid being turned into a vampire because he took a vaccine.

But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Covid is real, the Delta Virus is more serious, Long Covid is very worrying, and the vaccines were rolled out thanks to advances in technology and really could save us. So let’s say those things are true. (Accuse of us lacking critical thinking skills if you must.)

If there are movies in which vaccines lead to some kind of apocalypse, might they influence us subconsciously? Might they encourage vaccine cynicism? Should such movies be censored?

After all, before the 1960s TV series Batman went on air, the two main actors, Adam West, who played Batman and Burt Ward, who played Robin, used to announce to the eager viewing public, “we cannot fly.” They were apparently concerned that viewers might copy the masked crusader and start trying to jump off tall buildings — going splat. So, West and Ward did the only responsible thing. Kapow to that!

Perhaps, Will Smith should have appeared before I am Legend saying ‘this film didn’t really happen — it is just make-believe.”

I mean if you want a much more 'viable' story about vaccines and sneaky governments you should watch the series Utopia. It's set in the UK and there is practically zero hero activity at all. It's also based on a group of relative misfits/conspiracy theorists who gain their insights from a comic book. Perfect for a fertile imagination.

Or maybe, just maybe, people can work things like this out for themselves; those who can’t are on a tiny minority and we shouldn’t pander to conspiracy theorists, instead try and get schools to provide better education. Maybe the I am Legend/covid vaccine story is a no story, and people who spread it should be subjected to a severe talking to and then stop.

Why do people believe conspiracy theories?

A new study finds that people who believe in conspiracy theories have low critical thinking skills.

Techopian - The conversation and voice for ethical technologyMichael Baxter