The Novel The Stand-Stephen King and The Movie Outbreak - Essay Example

21 January The Stand vs. Outbreak Introduction The world lives in fear. Movies and TV programs makepeople change their lifestyles in order to protect themselves from potential health problems. Infectious diseases that kill millions have already become a popular topic in movies and literature. Steven King’s The Stand and the movie Outbreak use infections to reflect the drawbacks of government control and the opposition between good and evil; in both novels, fear is a common factor in the situations, through which characters are being put through, but if Outbreak creates a cure (the good wins), The Stand does not seek any cure but shows how chaos and mutual hatred make the situation even more serious. The topic of government control is the first similarity between The Stand and Outbreak. During the first phases of the outbreak, both the novel and movie establish a government security function to keep the citizens locked inside their homes. In The Stand, when the first carrier of the flu known as Campion lands upon Arnette, Texas, the government securities take a fast approach by tracking him. After knowing where Campion died at, the security force closes down the town from anyone leaving or entering. They use the physical force for security purposes, and the same idea applies to Outbreak where the guards force the residence of Cedar Creek to remain in their homes: “Has the news been managed? I am sorry to say this is the case. I have been given copy and forced to read it, almost literally with gun to my head. The copy I have been reading has to do with the so-called ‘superflu epidemic’ and all of it is patently false.”(King, 202-203). The government does not simply impose strict control on everyone but it also withholds and distorts this information – the victims are lied about the flu not being dangerous and about the vaccine to be developed for everyone. “If you think Im lying, drop the bomb. If you think Im crazy, drop the bomb. But dont drop the bomb just because youre following orders!”(Outbreak, 1995). The bombing of Cedar Creek is something the government authorities are not willing but have to do, and this government control is the first but not the last similarity between the novel and the movie. The existence and the fight between good and evil is the second similarity between The Stand and Outbreak. In the flu’s aftermath, the remaining survivors choose between an elderly kind black woman named Mother Abigail and the dark man, Randall Flagg, who has set up his command post in Las Vegas. However, the good people of the novel hardly imagine who the dark man is: “I know what he’s about but not who he is. He’s the purest evil left in the world... He’s started already. He`s getting them together a lot faster than we are” (King, 503). The similarity of good and evil relates to the movie Outbreak because when the flu epidemic worsens, General McClintok orders to drop a nuclear bomb to eliminate the people of Cedar Creek along with the virus. Col. Sam Daniels and his team represent the good side of the movie, because they are the ones to find a cure and the host animal of the disease. General McClintok personalizes evil – he believes that only by killing everyone in Cedar Creek they will be able to solve the disease problem. This continuous opposition between good and evil is the second similarity between the movie and the novel, but there is also fear, which makes The Stand and Outbreak very similar, if not identical. Fear is actually the third similarity between The Stand and Outbreak, and fear is one of the main factors within the similar situations the characters are put through. It is natural that during an epidemic, people fear for their lives. However, they also fear that the government authorities are not willing to respond to their questions and to find a solution to the infectious problem. In Outbreak, the team of Col. Daniels and Robby comes to Cedar Creek to examine the disease but all they can see in the residents’ eyes are questions. These questions are left without answers and only aggravate the sense of fear. In The Stand, the survivors who are on the side of good with Mother Abigail fear the Dark Man, because he appears in their dreams and in the daylight in the form of an illusion. “There’s bitter days ahead. Death and terror, betrayal and tears. And not all of us will be alive to see how it ends”(King, 504). Mother Abigail warns everyone about the day when the Dark Man will come to defeat them, and these warnings do not leave room for anything but fear. The ways in which fear is portrayed in the movie and in the novel are much similar – the fear comprises numerous common elements like the fear of losing the loved ones, the fear of indefiniteness, and the fear of being alone. As a result, the third similarity of both the novel and the movie is fear, but there is also a difference between the two. The difference between the novel and the movie is in that Outbreak seeks for a cure, while The Stand simply depicts chaos and mutual hatred, which make the epidemic even more serious. In The Stand, the only thing survivors do is trying to eliminate each other. The virus is no longer relevant, for it naturally disappears as soon as the entire population is dead. “Ain’t we got enough problems, with no doctors or electricity or nothing?” (King, 504) With no doctor left alive, no one will help them fight the flu, and their only goal is to find their leaders. Outbreak, on the contrary, shows the doctors who seek to find a solution to the disease by catching the host animal that is the centre of the cause. “Don’t threaten me, don’t threaten my crew, please, leave us to do our work” (Outbreak). The team of Col. Daniels works to dispel the epidemic but the team members lack government support. Eventually, they go against the General’s order to save the lives of those who are still alive. Therefore, the theme of seeking for cure is the major difference between the movie and the novel. Conclusion The movie Outbreak and Steven King’s The Stand look very similar. They both use the topic of government control. They both show human fear. They also reflect on the opposition between good and evil. However, there is a significant difference between the two, and this difference is about seeking for a cure. While Outbreak shows doctors who want to find a cure by any means possible, people in The Stand do not search for any cure. The novel simply shows how chaos and mutual hatred make the whole situation with the epidemic even worse. Works Cited King, S. The Stand. Outbreak. Read More