Thats not how vaccine development works and, as a virologist, Neville should know this. Warner Brothers. 'I Am Legend' vaccine guidance is just the beginning of bad fictional advice! The entire film focuses on Robert Neville trying to find a cure, or at least a vaccine. Reuters declared the idea as 'false', noting: 'The virus in "I am Legend" was a genetically engineered measles virus created to cure cancer, not a vaccination.'. The idea that I Am Legend kicked off with a vaccine turning people into zombieswhen it was actually the measles virus reengineered in an attempt to cure cancerwas prevalent enough last year . In other news, Is Emilia Clarke really the new Captain Marvel? You cant develop a cure using the blood of someone whos naturally immune to that disease because of a genetic mutation. When a globally respected news organisation has to use its precious resources to explain the plot of a disappointing Christmas movie from a decade and a half ago, you sense the battle has already been lost. Please try again. The body reacts as if this was a real infection, producing antibodies to fight the disease and cells that will remember how to fight that disease in the future. If anti-vaxxers can convince themselves that some half-remembered Will Smith film from 2007 can act as a watertight scientific explanation for not wanting to get jabbed, then they can basically use that rationale on any film. Oh. I Am Legend is not the only film used by activists to spread misinformation about Covid and vaccines. I Am Legend is a fictional movie, meaning it didn't freaking happen. My. 2023 BBC. Real," Goldsman . Or did they? I Am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Goldsman and Mark Protosevich, starred Will Smith as Robert Neville, a former U.S. Army virologist who believes he is the last survivor. Fact check: a vaccine did not turn characters in the movie I Am Legend into zombies, went the Reuters headline in December 2020, proving that this hokum has been popping off in certain corners of social media for quite awhile now, and further suggesting that some folks are far more interested in concocting convenient alternative facts from utterly fictional content than they are in helping to ensure the health and safety of their families, friends, and communities. Therefore, you, assuming that you follow what fictional movies may tell you, should not get the Covid-19 vaccine. Real.". On Disney+, A Brazilian Romantic Comedy About A Man Whose Life Ambitions Change After Meeting A Fascinating Singer, Stream It or Skip It: 'The Professional Bridesmaid' on Hallmark Casts Hunter King as a Bridal Party Problem Solver, Rye Lane Set Out To Uplift the Diverse, Working-Class Community of South London Not Gentrify It, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Louis C.K. More importantly, at absolutely no point in I Am Legend is a vaccine the cause of the zombie apocalypse, and yet, that is one of the reasons why people on social media are advising others against getting the COVID shot. Its. God. However, there is one glaring mistake when it comes to the vaccine solution offered in the film. In the movie version, humanity has a little more responsibility for causing the plague. Its a movie. A transcript of the movie is visible here . It was not a documentary. The assertion is that in the movie, again a fictional movie, a vaccine started the zombie apocalypse that subsequently wiped out a lot of humanity. Countless reports conducted in the last year show that vaccination against Covid-19 is the best defense against severe illness or death from the disease. In actuality, a genetically modified measles virus kills most humans and turns some people into mutant creatures. The main character Robert Neville was. What do I Am Legend, JFKs nephew and pretending to be vegan have in common? 2,244, This story has been shared 1,274 times. Snopes also dismissed . I find the best way to describe it is if you can imagine your body as a highway, and you picture the virus as a very fast car being driven by a very bad man. And the rumours based on the film were spreading so quickly in December thatReuters had to publish a fact check to refute them. The 2007 film, starring Will Smith, is about a failed attempt to genetically re-engineer measles to cure cancer, killing 99% of the world's population. The 2007 film, starring Will Smith, is. 'The Mandalorian' Set up the Season 3 Finale And the Future of Star Wars, 'Breaking Bad's Skinny Pete Makes Surprise 'The Mandalorian' Appearance, Fans Praise Drew Barrymore's Intimate Interview Style: "F*** Therapy, I Wanna Be a Guest on 'The Drew Barrymore Show'", Jennifer Garner Left Speechless After Drew Barrymore's Multiple Surprises: "I'm So Freaked out About What You're Gonna Do to Me Next", Drew Barrymore Says Its Possible Her Scream Character Survived Ghostfaces Brutal Murder: Im Pretty Sure a C-Section is Comparable. 1,072, This story has been shared 1,050 times. "Fact check: a vaccine did not turn characters in the movie I Am Legend into zombies," went the Reuters headline in December 2020, proving that this hokum has been popping off in certain . Another meme claims the film was set in 2021, which would correspond to the pandemic and the global vaccination rollout - despite the fact the plot was actually set in 2012. 10:06 AM EDT, Tue August 10, 2021, Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, pictured in 2016, reacted to vaccine misinformation inspired by "I Am Legend.". Responding to the article, Akiva Goldsman, 59, who co-wrote the screenplay based on a 1954 novel of the same name, tweeted: "Oh. They were designed to turn Dirk Benedict into a snake all along. False. For example, the virus causes a defection in the adrenal gland, meaning the body constantly produces excessive adrenalin. 741, This story has been shared 713 times. The 1980 Japanese movie Virus ends with the protagonist embracing some vaccinated strangers and declaring: Life is wonderful. True, there is the 1973 horror movie Sssssss, where Dirk Benedict is put on a course of injections that tragically turn him into a snake, but unfortunately those injections are not vaccinations. The figure came from a report published in March by the not-for-profit Centre for Countering Digital Hate. Its a movie. It's a movie. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Working to find a cure may keep Neville busy enough to remain sane in his post-apocalyptic world. Take our quiz, The two generals fighting over Sudan's future, Australian footy faces same racism storm 30 years on, Why Gen Z workers are starting on the back foot. God. Its always infrastructure week for Will Smiths solitary US Army virologist Robert Neville in the 2007 film I Am Legend, as he struggles to stay sane, safe, and sufficiently provisioned in a post-apocalyptic lower Manhattan ravaged by a genetically-engineered virus that killed most of the world. Online rumors debunked, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. Initially it seems that the virus is a success, with more than 10,000 cancer patients cured. Actually, there are two big problem with the assertion. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images). At this point, the host is considered a Darkseeker. Not that any of this matters, of course. In both the book and movie, there was an outbreak that turns people into "darkseekers." Posts are circulating online claiming that the 2007 post-apocalyptic movie I Am Legend was set in 2021. Kennedy Jr, a lawyer and environmentalist, regularly posts on social media about the vaccine and has linked COVID-19 jabs to 5G phone technology and untimely deaths, including baseball legend Hank Aaron. The remaining 0.2% of the human population are said to have a genetic mutation that prevents the virus affecting their body. The theory, which has circulated at least since the beginning of this year, says that the fictional thriller is set in 2021, and that Covid-19 vaccines created its mutant epidemic. When two survivors show up on his doorstep, Neville has to choose whether to doom them to certain death in the outside world or give them sanctuary but risk monsters finding his home. The film centers on scientist Robert Neville, played by Will Smith, who is the last survivor in New York City after a deadly virus spreads. Here's how Screenrant described the origins of the Krippin Virus in "I Am Legend": A news interview with Dr. Krippin in I Am Legend's opening lays out the origins of the Krippin virus. I made that up. (The CDC did, though, use a fictional zombie apocalypse to teach disaster preparedness in 2011.). With a solid post-apocalyptic storyline, a fantastic performance by everyones favourite Will Smith and some terrifying monsters, I Am Legend is a classic sci-fi/horror movie loved by millions. One meme claims in the film vaccinations cause humans to turn into zombies, both misrepresenting the plot and the fictional nature of the film. Still, though, the I Am Legend theory regained momentum this week when the New York Times ran a story about anti-vaxxers, claiming that an employee at an eyewear store had refused the vaccine because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film I Am Legend to turn into zombies. One post reads: Remember, in I Am Legend, the sickness didnt make the zombies. And the zombies come from a failed vaccine, a Facebook user wrote. 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In that film, based on the 1954 novel of the same name, an attempt to engineer the measles virus into a cancer cure goes awry, infecting most of humanity and turning people into zombie-vampire hybrids. Its a movie. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Did you encounter any technical issues? Their arguments are unforgivable for any number of reasons, not least that it sort of makes me want to watch I Am Legend again. And second, you will remember that X-Men: The Last Stand climaxed with an out of control unvaccinated mutant threatening to tear apart the entire fabric of the universe as we know it, so maybe the idea of a vaccination isnt that silly after all. Neville talks to mannequins on the regular. Make public your data! I made that up. My. Its. The post-apocalyptic thriller I Am Legend is bubbling up in conversation among the vaccine-hesitant crowd, prompting the films screenwriter to emphasize that the plot is entirely fictional. The premise is simple a man-made disease has wiped out most of humanity and turned many remaining into vampire-like monsters. You may want to read Twitters cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. In the book, the origin of the disease is unknown, and Robert Neville, the protagonist, spends much of the story searching for a cure. Its. In case youre still on the fence about whether Reuters and other major media outlets are using I Am Legend as some sort of Deep State conspiracy double blind, and them saying its just fiction is in fact proving that its all real, take it from Akiva Goldsman, the guy who wrote the screenplay: Oh. As of this writing, 166.7 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. To produce a vaccine from someones blood a person needs to have the correct antibodies in their system, which know how to fight the infection. Krippin says during this interview scene: In this case the measles virus which has been engineered at a genetic level to be helpful rather than harmful. Woman shot dead after pulling into wrong driveway, India begins historic debate into same sex marriage, Man charged with shooting boy who knocked wrong door, Horror as Chinese acrobat falls to her death, Award-winning photo turns out to be AI creation, FBI makes arrests over US Chinese 'police stations', US diplomatic convoy attacked in Sudan - Blinken. You will remember I Am Legend. The movie may have not had a disclaimer at the beginning of it, just like the movie Shrek didnt warn people that Shrek was not real. But the plague that turned people into zombies in the movie was caused by a genetically reprogrammed virus, not by a vaccine. They didnt become a bunch of mindless creatures that relentlessly pursue nothing but flesh. However, it is later discovered that the virus is lethal. Contagion was one of them, for contextualising the scale of the virus and teaching everybody what an R number was. In World War Z, for example, the zombies are created with a virus and the hero has to find a vaccine. Once the virus infects someone the disease overwhelms their body in 48 hours, during which time the host suffers extreme high fever and bleeding from the eyes, while also vomiting blood. 18 Apr 2023 05:21:28 Read about our approach to external linking. A group of skeptics has been using the 2007 Smith action flick "I Am Legend" in which a failed attempt to cure cancer starts a zombie apocalypse as their latest excuse for them to not get. The 2007 film "I Am Legend" is a sci-fi action movie where scientist Robert Neville (played by Smith) believes he may be the sole survivor in a plague that kills most people and transforms. And yet, here we are. In 2009 Dr Alice Krippin, a British scientist played by Emma Thompson, genetically re-engineers the measles virus to cure cancer. Read about our approach to external linking. The 2007 movie that sees Will Smith fend off mutant vampires has been used as a justification not to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Kudos to the special effects wizards for using computers to so effectively depopulate the city. Animals that can regenerate just like The Doctor! White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last month that Robert F Kennedy Jr, the nephew of former US president John F Kennedy, was one of 12 people responsible for 65 per cent of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. Instead, the experiment goes horribly wrong and large swaths of the Earths population are turned into sunlight-allergic mutant cannibals who almost wipe out all of humanity until Neville successfully finds a cure in the films climactic ending. Oh. 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