This pandemic is undoubtedly fantastic. It makes me think of The Memory Police. In comparison, the current situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) is temporary (hopefully), whereas in the novel, they were permanent, and we retain our memories of the things we have lost. Our freedom has been limited. We must practice social distancing and for those that have visited high-risk areas, self-isolation. Travel restrictions and school closings have become both mandatory and necessary. The disappearance of goods such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and soap are a reality.
There is pain associated with the losses, perhaps because we do have our memories possibly because it is so new to live life with these restrictions.
There is fear in our present circumstances. Fear of sickness and death. Fear that our government is not fully disclosing information or that this is a ploy to destroy democracy. Fear of the unknown and fear that this will become a way of life that becomes the new norm.
Some will not comply with what the government mandates and suggest because they see this as an opportunity. Cheap flights and other means of travel compel some to live life to the fullest regardless of whom they may hurt. Some intend to make a profit by hoarding and reselling items that are in high demand, like toilet paper.
The definition of fantastic is “so extreme as to challenge belief; odd and remarkable; bizarre.” (merriam-webster.com) It is much fantastic in our world as the pandemic that looms over humankind. To what degree, then, might we consider the fantastic an elastic or mutable designation? Very much in every degree! We can go from 500 cats to 5000 in the blink of an eye! After all, we are all just drops of water with limited control in this bucket we call our universe.
Works Cited
“Fantastic.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fantastic.
P.S. I told my daughter on Thursday that this was straight outta JGB’s class!
Wendy: Looking at all of the category tags you applied to this post, I’m reminded of the ways in which our encounter with the fantastic in literature is often cathartic, a manageable means of confronting and processing what is most terrifying, alienating, and uncertain about our lives.
P.S. Notice that in your last two posts I’ve placed the novels you discuss italics. Shorter works — stories, poems, essays — are placed in quotation marks.
I was very happy you gave us this opportunity. I needed to allow myself to feel and express and hopefully, it will also mean something to someone else. I have surprised myself in the way that I feel about the situation we are all currently living in. I thought age would make me stronger but this is all new to me so age does not count. I am emotional and vulnerable as I assume many people are too. The fantastic is not as much fun when it aims itself at me and mine!
P.S. Sorry for my errors and thanks for fixing them.
I was also interested in your tags for this post, especially “fragility.” This seems to be a staple of fantastic fiction–we are all so finite, making the threat of the fantastic feel even greater because of the limited ways in which we can fight back.
I completely agree that this virus is fantastic! It goes into that genre as no one really knows how it started and the measures we are having to take to help try and stop it is like nothing that has been seen in several years!
Bringing up 500 cats to 5000 cats resonated with me in the sense that right now we believe COVID-19 to be those 500 cats but can very quickly turn into those 5000 cats. The terrifying this about this pandemic is not the virus itself but the fact that there are so many that are not heeding the warning.