COVID-19 and the Chinese Outbreak Narrative: Representations of Heroes, Victims and Minor Characters in Chinese Epidemic Films

This chapter introduces key elements of the Chinese epidemic narrative on film, with particular reference to feature films that dramatize China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These feature films are set in a longer tradition of Chinese documentaries and features that use the medium to deliver clear health messages and so influence public attitudes and responses to disease outbreaks. The chapter surveys recurrent aspects of the characterization of key agents in the epidemic narrative as it appears in feature films: the wise and caring government, the heroic medical and military professionals, and the vulnerable sufferers, as well as minor characters who embody virtues such as benevolence and self-restraint. The chapter considers the necessary simplifications that the Chinese epidemic narrative demands, and identifies some of the complexities absent in such narratives to date.