Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The 'Fear' formula makes for good TV



Have you been watching Containment? It's about a viral epidemic that breaks loose in Atlanta and starts sending everyone into a fear induced frenzy of looting, and not trusting one another, and surviving by any means necessary. Sound familiar? It should, because it has all the makings of you typical zombie outbreak.

The similarities between The Walking Dead and Containment might be obvious to some, but if you think they're not this is what seems similar:

  • Both take place in Atlanta
  • Both deal with some type of virus threatening mankind
  • Both have focus on how humanity can help/hurt one another during an apocalyptic epidemic.
  • Both feature a member of law enforcement in a troubled, leadership role.

That's not to say the CW show is a bad rip-off. The good part about it is that it is showing society's breakdown from the outbreak stage. It also helps to know it is only a six-part series so fans know there will be an end to it. The Zombie genre is a favorite of hours here at +The Blogboard Jungle but Containment has made us think. Maybe it's just the fear of society breaking down that makes for a good story, not the zombies.

It made us look at Zombie classics like, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and all of Romero's "Dead" films. It also made us look at Fear the Walking Dead, that looks to fill the void between what happened when the outbreak first began. Distrust, society breaking down, looters and marauders rise. All of this happens because of the fear spreading like the disease they are fighting in these stories. If the acting is done well, and the stories can relate to real life scenarios, it can make for good television.

Because the outbreak scenario uses the same playbook as any mass outbreak, the CDC made a "Zombie Preparedness" guide to use the same formula that draws so many eyes to the TV shows mentioned here. The formula works to educate people too if it gets enough attention.

Photo:Containment Official Facebook Page|Facebook.com




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