Introduction
The film Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, first appeared in movie theaters on September 9, 2011. It attracted the viewers’ and critics’ attention not only due to the realistic display of possible pandemic outbreaks but also due to its impressive cast that included many famous actors and actresses. As such, the screen time was shared by multiple principal characters played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, and Jennifer Ehle (IMDb, n.d.). Additionally, Sanaa Lathan, Bryan Cranston, China Han, and Elliott Gould appeared as supporting actors.
Although the film’s premiere was over a decade ago, the resemblance of the fiction virus MEV-1 spread to the COVID-19 pandemic has revived public interest in the work since 2020. The plot starts with introducing patient zero – Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) – who is returning to the United States from her business trip to Hong Kong. The new virus is shortly found to be exceedingly contagious and leads to instantaneous death.
Thus, such organizations as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) start their investigation as soon as the first lethal cases are registered. In particular, the film portrays how various specialists cooperate to determine the zero patient and the clusters of potentially infected people, study the nature of the new virus, isolate exposed people, and develop the vaccine. Additionally, the movie shows that the pandemic requires strong management from the medical society and governmental officials to successfully overcome the crisis. In this regard, the current essay intends to analyze some of the leadership aspects that were covered in the Contagion film.
Diversity
Nowadays, good leadership is associated with the decision-makers ability to recognize and listen to the diversity of opinions. However, in Contagion, Soderbergh argues that in the case of huge social crises, the latter may have both positive and negative impacts on the results and productivity. On the one hand, the movie shows how specialists from various medical facilities and government officials work together to study the virus and develop policies. For instance, when Dr. Ally Hextall could not understand the pathogen’s structure, she immediately contacted Dr. Sussman to ask for help recognizing the latter’s experience and professionalism. On the other hand, diversity can also be dangerous when the source of knowledge does not originate from reliable sources. For example, Alan Krumwiede presented his own opinion concerning the virus and how it should be cured, resulting in the spread of wrongful and harmful information among the public. Therefore, the movie shows that although diversity is positively associated with better leadership, it should be handled carefully.
Ethics
The story also extensively covers the topic of ethics as part of leadership behavior. In this respect, Dr. Erin Mears’s decision to give one’s jacket to the patient who was feeling cold although she was sick herself is an example of a strong devotion to professional values. In a similar vein, Laurence Fishburne decided to refrain from the vaccination so that Roger’s son could receive the dose. On the contrary, Jude Law’s character, being a leader of public opinion, used people’s trust for personal financial gains lying about forsythia as a curing method for MEV-1. As a consequence, his unethical conduct led to the deaths of many people.
Resources Management
Resources management by government officials and medical associations is regarded as one of the spheres that were not handled successfully. Indeed, the U.S. leaders could not ensure the sufficient provision of various goods, including medical and food supplies. As for the latter, the inability of people to purchase the products in the stores resulted in a surge in criminality levels. In addition, the available resources were also ill-managed. For example, when Laurence Fishburne asked Lyle Haggerty to send the plane to evacuate Dr. Mears, the rear admiral responded that the transport would be used to carry the sick congressmen. Yet, it is arguable that saving the life of one medical expert is more important than the life of a congressman under the current circumstances. However, this and some other examples prove that leaders used their powers and influence primarily for personal benefits rather than for the common interest.
Policy
In contrast to resource management, the policy concerning the distribution of vaccines can be called fair and effective. As such, the politicians decided to, firstly, vaccinate all the people whose work is associated with the medical sphere and country management and, secondly, organize a lottery among other citizens for the medicine. Although the movie does not cover how the public was vaccinated, it is fair to assume that immunized doctors could provide better quality healthcare to a larger amount of people. In a similar vein, when politicians became protected from the virus, they were able to organize the work more effectively, which, in turn, potentially led to more effective vaccine production. Therefore, it can be argued that this decision would facilitate the fight against the MEV-1 virus.
Overall Leadership
Finally, the movie must portray why various elements of leadership should be balanced for a better outcome. For example, Laurence Fishburne can generally be considered an effective manager as he was able to organize the work in a manner that allowed reaching fast progress in studying the virus and developing the vaccine. Similarly, Dr. Leonora Orantes – an epidemiologist who works for WHO, could successfully organize the work in China so that she could relatively quickly determine how the virus spread and who was patient zero. Nevertheless, in contrast to effective leadership in the sphere of investigation, public communication management proved to be completely inadequate. Indeed, since CDC, WHO, and U.S. government officials were slow in constantly spreading the updated information to the citizens, the demand for the knowledge was immediately satisfied by such people as Alan Krumwiede. This, in turn, led to the sabotage of the scientific efforts by many Americans.
Conclusion
In summary, in my opinion, Contagion is a movie that is not only enjoyable due to its non-standard plot and impressive acting but also highly educational. On the one hand, it teaches viewers how to behave during pandemic and epidemic situations to reduce the chances of becoming sick. On the other hand, it raises management problems that may occur during times of crisis. As for the latter, the current essay discussed five topics that current and future leaders may find useful to contemplate to improve their performance. Firstly, the movie shows how recognizing diversity can have both positive and negative impacts on the manager’s ability to enforce one’s decisions.
Secondly, the film could portray how the ethical behavior of leaders differs from unethical conduct. Thirdly, Contagion clearly illustrates the importance of adequate resource management as a prerequisite for any successful work and people organization. Moreover, it was shown how thoughtful and effective policies can facilitate success. Finally, the story reveals the importance of combining all the leading elements for a plausible outcome. Therefore, considering all the information mentioned above, I would highly recommend this movie to other people.
Reference
IMDb. (n.d.). Contagion (2011): Full cast & crew. Web.