Psychological explanation: why pandemic movies seem so appealing to you during this time

Pandemic movies, such as Contagion, have become extremely popular during this time, but what, in fact, makes us look at them now?

It is true, we are in full pandemic, so that means to divert attention from the crisis we are currently facing, globally. Many of us focus on entertainment, so movies, series or documentaries are a good solution.

However, during this time, many choose to watch movies about pandemics, which does not necessarily seem like an effective way to divert attention from the real situation.

However, things are more complex than that. Psychologists have a few explanations to help us understand why Contagion has become one of the most watched movies in recent times.

Why we watch movies about pandemics, when we go through one in real life

First of all, it would be a sense of control that we are looking for. Video games, movies and series allow us to extract a minimum of control over a situation that, at least for the moment, seems out of control. Julie Norem, a professor of psychology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, talks about this.

Thus, because in most productions, the virus, bacteria or invasion of extraterrestrials are much more serious than the coronavirus that is affecting us today.

Also, humanity helps to succeed in almost all cases, which gives you a sense of security, that we will be able to overcome the crisis created by the coronavirus, as long as the characters in the film have succeeded in a much more dangerous situation.

Dr. Pamela B. Rutledge is a media psychologist, a branch of psychology that focuses on the relationships between media and human behavior. This explains in Psychology Today why you chose to watch movies about a pandemic during this period.

This says that, in fact, it is about the feeling of comfort you get from increasing the feeling that you have things under control. One of the ways that make you think you can gain more control is information.

Because scientists do not have enough information about coronavirus at the moment, people are turning to fiction as an alternative source of information.