Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, and American Horror Story alum 26 million viewers and ed for over 70 percent of the total streaming time on Netflix. This means that, despite not having a traditional theatrical release, Bird Box ranks as one of the most successful horror films from the past few years.
In Bird Box, a nameless presence sweeps across the world. Anyone who sees it is driven insane and commits suicide, similar to M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. Because of this, a group of survivors, including a woman named Malorie, lock themselves in a house and cover all of the windows so that they can avoid seeing the entity. Whenever they have to leave the house to go to the grocery store for food, for example, they wear blindfolds over their eyes to protect themselves. Oddly, there are some real parallels between the events that take place in Bird Box and the coronavirus pandemic currently spreading across the United States.
Bird Box: How The Nameless Entities Are Like Coronavirus
In Bird Box, much like the coronavirus pandemic, people are forced to quarantine in their homes to avoid a deadly wear blindfolds because the threat gets them through their eyes, while real people wear masks over their noses and mouths to guard against an infection that spreads through talking and coughing.
Another interesting parallel is how people react to the threat in Bird Box. Some, from the very beginning, refusing to believe the threat is real, and ignore the protective measures put in place. This is similar to some who believe the coronavirus is not a big problem and call it a hoax, despite evidence to the contrary. When Bird Box came out, some told the author of the book, Josh Malerman, that his characters were acting unrealistically when they recklessly paraded outside even though people were dying all around them.
Recently, the Bird Box author has engaged in discourse regarding coronavirus on social media. In many ways, his vision of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by an unseen danger was a warning to the world of things to come, and Malorie, the sequel to Bird Box, hits shelves later this year.
