Minutes into SABC3 airing Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, South Africa'sTwitter was doing the most on Sunday night.
The 2011 movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon, tells the story of healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people who find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.
Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, many people have been drawing parallels between the movie and the pandemic. And on Sunday night, tweeps delved into everything from conspiracy theories to coronavirus being a man-made bio weapon. Things got so heated that the #Contagion was trending hours after the movie had ended.
What most users found interesting was the fact that the fictional virus was first traced to KwaZulu-Natal once it hit South Africa. Eagle-eyed users managed to pick up other ironic twists as well. Some even made reference to a previous news story of two French scientists wanting to test a vaccine in Africa – a statement which one of the scientists has now apologised for.
See some of the comments below.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Contagion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Contagion pic.twitter.com/4vJ8mvCSwI
— Lulu (@Luciatshilane)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Contagion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Contagion pic.twitter.com/aOzE2Fo6kN
— Khotso Thelingoane (@JoshTheddy)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Contagion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Contagion pic.twitter.com/d7xmQ0MluD
— Ayabonga Kobese (@ayabonga_kobese)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Contagion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Contagion pic.twitter.com/CyGDkycvoQ
— SneakerHead (@Kennysneaker)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Contagion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Contagion pic.twitter.com/WtnudOaoLo
— My name is ndivhuho ... (@MyNdivhuho)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Contagion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ContagionThis novel was published in 1981 by Dean Koontz...coincidence? pic.twitter.com/nR7jlrL7gT
— DJ 501 SA (@DJ_501SA)