Illness In The Film 'The Host'

In our society from a young age we are taught to fear things we do not know and because of this we have developed a fear of what is different. For example as a child if I went out with my parents and I sat near somebody that was coughing or sniffling my mom would tell me to move away because I “didn’t know what they had,” ultimately scaring me into thinking if I went near them I will get sick or something bad will happen. In the film The Host doctors proclaim that the sea creature has a virus, and anyone touched by the creature or in in contact with people who have touched the creature will also develop the virus. This instills fear in the people, however, later on the film it is discovered that there is no virus and this fear was created for no …show more content…
And why do we rely completely on medical professionals? I think it relates back to us being scared of what we do not know. We seek medical attention because we are under the assumption that medical professionals know best and while most of the time they do, as they studied medicine and the body, there are also times when medical professionals are not right. In the film The Host the doctors who said those who had come in contact with the sea creature were sick and must be isolated had no solid proof of illness, and later on in the film reveal there is no virus. At times, I think doctors create this fear of the unknown because they believe it is safer. It is safe to avoid something that is unknown because there may be a potential for harm. I find this ironic because with today’s medical advancements we should not fear illness as much as before because we have so much technology and knowledge to help us understand illness, yet today, more than ever, we live in fear of it. If we constantly live in fear of what we do not know because we are scared to get sick we will miss out on opportunities to learn and expand our