ABSTRACT
In Chapter 6, the authors reflect upon the conflicted cinematic representation of the poor during epidemics. Films from the early twentieth century showed a blurred line between sympathetic and patronizing images, and a blurred line between victimhood, and a moralizing view on their actions and decisions as the cause. Poverty and epidemics are often visualized through specific use of the physical environment. Rural settings tend to orientate around conservatism—on the one hand idyllic and unspoiled with “poor but content” inhabitants acting as an isolated sanctuary from the evils of disease, and on the other hand backwardness and squalor acting not only as vectors for disease spread, but ignorance and reactionary characteristics leading to rejection of outside intervention. The authors also reflect upon a contrast between the conservative rural epidemic-poor image, and the image of the depraved and degenerate urban environment, where the epidemic often reflects the degrading pressures of urban life or capitalistic exchange. Finally, not all poor people in epidemic scenarios are represented in identical ways. In some films, poor characters are “included” and “deserving” recipients of attention and sympathy, whereas other poor characters are presented as “undeserving"—remaining on the margins and periphery of the film narrative.
