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EVALUATING PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE, VULNERABILITIES, AND
GOVERNANCE IN “28 DAYS LATER” MOVIE CRISIS
Arizona State University
Summer 2024
Introduction and Film Overview
28 Days Later is a British horror film released in 2002 and directed by Danny Boyle this
set the standard for all subsequent apocalyptic films. Jim is a man who becomes conscious again
after a long time and realizes the world is full of virus that makes people go mad, sick and
infected. It leads to the quick collapse of order and the collapse of the public health system. In
order to live, the society so described has to follow certain principles and they are not just the
principles of the survival mode but the principles of a society that has to be moral as well.
Concerning the topic of governance and the breakdown of social structures, 28 Days Later
resembles the previous epidemics films, which are always concerned with the ability (or
inability) of social paradigms in the context of a catastrophe (Wade, 2022; Shaer, 2022). The
escalation of the crisis coupled with the lack of an organized public health response is a
reflection of the politicization of the ready as a consequence of a pandemic (Echeverría, 2023).
Also relevant to this case is the dystopian view of humanity, which raises such questions about
the ethical acceptability of the life threatened. In the case where civilization is overpowered by
barbarism and the only way to survive is to eliminate such barbarism, what is the price of the
level of decadence necessary for this, knowing that the social contract, a foundation of our
society is violated? (March-Russell & Can, 2020).
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28 Days Later is part of the new so called epidemic cinema, a genre that has undoubtedly
changed in the light of the twenty first century sicknesses. Such films which may encompass the
themes of an outbreak and existence have presented to the audience fictions that represent the
concerns of the society of their time (Wade, 2022). More specifically, the grounds of public
health susceptibility and government irresponsiveness that are so oppressive in 28 Days Later
easily make sense of such global disasters as COVID-19 pandemic (Shaer, 2022). Moving from
the more elevated level of the reasonably plausible to the lowly level of the real, it is possible to
see that many of the events that happen in 28 Days Later are disturbingly similar to how societies
behave in the face of health scares. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, epidemic cinema is relevant
because it contributes to the discussion not only of public fears but also of the response
(Echeverría, 2023). For this reason, 28 Days Later, presents a future bleak world in which the
role of governance, policy and health management can be analyzed in relation to the effects of a
world pandemic. As to this, the film brings a question of why state and government disaster
management programs and frameworks fail and why there should be proper planning and
effective communication in case of disaster.
Core Emergency Management Concepts
Crisis Management Frameworks-28 Days Later
In the movie 28 Days Later it is evident on how the emergency management has failed as
a crisis in an uncontrolled pandemic that results to the total collapse of order in society. For this
reason, from the start of the film, none of the depicted organizations has presented any plan or
effort to contain or control the viral outbreak. It is still possible today to see the lack of early
warning system, unprepared quarantine zones and poor cooperation between the government and
other health organizations as the infection rate continues to rise. This is not unusual in disaster
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films where the systems do not activate and many a time leads to the failure of the socio-
organizational systems (Alpert, Eisenberg, & Mordechai, 2023). Lack of proper emergency
management plan in the film shows that lack of a good plan in calamities worsens the effects of
an epidemic. The film 28 Days Later also depicts many real-life mismanagement of disasters
where delayed action or delayed response in health issues worsens the diseases than they were in
the first place (Troon, 2024). There are no preventive measures in place such as pre-emptive
measures like administering medicine or the common health promotion campaigns in the society;
the surviving population is endangered twice; by the virus and the anarchy that follows.
However, the film is an account of what could have been done in as far as the emergency
preparedness is concerned. Alpert, Eisenberg and Mordechai (2023) state that the performance
shows how quick action and stop of the community, clear and effective communication and right
policies may prevent the spread of the virus and protect the communities. The government’s
reaction is normally weak or erratic, and the military’s reaction is also fragmented; In this case,
the crisis management is quite poor and uncoordinated. Weak governance structures are a
detriment in these situations as the military, when the rates of infection turn to force in enforcing
restrictions, results in more devastation. All these aspects have been presented in the film in a
manner that best captures the real life scenario of crisis in governance whereby crisis specifically
in the health sector are likely to expose leadership, governance structures. Pause and Walkowski
(2021) assert that the function of emergency management relies on cooperation between different
sectors and this movie captures this through a lack of or poor coordination in the course of
disruptive events. Bearing the above in mind, sustainable measures of pandemic readiness relate
to the integration of scientific knowledge with material arrangements, which is missing in the
fictional world of the movie.
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Organizational Public Health Crisis Management in the 28 Days Later
The virus outbreak is genuine to the setting of 28 Days Later in demonstrating how a
society’s health calamity rapidly shuts the healthcare facilities and leaves the community to fend
for itself. Hospital in this area is in a very bad condition, there is lack of medical facility, or even
total absence of medical facility, there is also no proper way of preventing the disease which are
all due to poor health sector management. On the other hand, in real life, the health care systems
are the first line of defense against the pandemics and the diseases, the film shows how these
civilizational structures, public health systems, can be reduced to their shadows when put
through a test (Alpert et al., 2023). Here, however, the victim of the rage virus in 28 Days Later
never turns to a hospital for help, as there is no place in the world for the survivors or the
physical structures have broken down. This narrative is a real life disaster response situation, a
disaster preparedness may be compromised by a weak health care system (Testoni et al., 2021).
The movie makes sure that the community is in a position of having a sound and prepared health
system which is able to act at early stage when one thing may happen to lead to the outbreak of
the disease in a way that the community cannot contain.
In reaction to crisis, 28 Days Later has provided social critique of health policy and
emergency health management. A particular area of weakness exposed by global health crises is
depicted by the hospitals in the film at the beginning of the movie. The struggling healthcare
centers; This paper finds that the military is very much involved in the response to this crisis, but
without what appears to be a clear public health logic, but rather with the intention of containing
the disease through military concepts. This focus on security instead of the health intervention
appears to mirror real life pandemic management where political and militaristic aims reign over
actual health administration (Mayer, Lavie, & Banks, 2024). However, there are no public health
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officials, or people from government organizations in the film and this is quite understandable
given that governmental planning in a public health crisis is inadequate. Still, contemporary
reactions to public health emergencies are far from being effective, yet, they are more focused on
early diagnosis, post-mobility and prophylactic measures that are not depicted in the film
(Paszkiewicz, 2023). It also shows that if a health crisis is not well managed then not only does it
lead to the current disaster but it also ensures that there is no way of being able to start the
process of recovery.
Defects shown in the specific crisis in the movie 28 Days Later
Vulnerability in 28 days Later can also be seen in the plot where the virus spreads
rapidly, government is ineffective and there is no structure of society. More attention should
have been given to the depot of the elderly, children, and people in the regions that are already
labeled as the third class in the mentioned film (Testoni et al., 2021). This vulnerability is
depicted as the total opposite of what people with survival instincts do when they manage to
evade the worst of the virus. It is this state of being neither fully part of the survivors nor fully
outside of them that makes social inclusion and fair share agenda in disaster preparedness and
response such a critical issue. For instance, the movie 28 Days Later captures real-life issues
whereby during disasters the vulnerable groups in the society are victims since emergency
response systems always prioritize on some groups of society while totally neglecting others.
Centralization is absent, and therefore chaos reigns, with the bottom tier of opportunities being
eliminated (Alpert et al., 2023).
The other form of vulnerability depicted in the film is the psychological aspect of coping
with a disease outbreak on which social and economic vulnerabilities are based. Fear, trauma,
and moral conflict are not something the survivors of the film get, and these three factors have a
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negative impact on decision making and relations with threats. The dread of getting infected, and
new norms erode the mental health of the individuals; therefore, such anxieties impact the
survivors’ mental health (Pause & Walkowski, 2021). This psychological vulnerability which is
exacerbated by the current conditions should therefore call for an expansion of the disaster
management support to include psychological support, an area that has not been well embraced
in the traditional disaster management models. As the reality shows, such aspects of vulnerability
are as important in the aspect of managing the mental health of populations in crisis, such as
pandemics, as the other one and this issue is not well elaborated on (Troon, 2024). Taking into
account such psychological issues, the movie shows that mental health care should be included
in the list of measures to avoid and combat the effects similar to the ones depicted in the movie
28 Days Later.
Public Health Response in 28 Days Later
The collapse of health care systems
In the movie 28 Days Later the breakdown of the health care system is depicted as one of
the main reasons for the progression of the crisis. When the virus spreads, the hospitals are
overwhelmed and the medical facilities are left in a mess shortly afterwards. The few remaining
candidates will have to face a far more unforgiving situation and it is not hard to imagine why
when health care is a luxury and when health care delivery is a mess. This is not only the
background of the action but rather the background that helps to show how disasters amplify or
at least do not diminish social injustice. In a real world pandemic, the failure of health care
system has ripple effects which are depicted in the movies where hospitals are flooded and there
is scarcity of essentials that are vital in today’s world as experienced during the COVID-19
outbreak (Deng & Peng, 2020). In addition, the failure of health infrastructure results in
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psychological pressure for the survivors and the caregivers as well as complicating the adverse
effects of the disaster. When people are denied the basic needs and services, they die, and as
evidenced by the movie and at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic (Flaxman et al., 2021).
The portrayal of the total collapse of the healthcare system in the movie, 28 Days Later,
provides a clear picture of how the collapse of the system directly impacts the public health
intervention and comes in the way of the survivors getting the right medical care in order to
recover from the virus. It is for this reason that people are left alone with their own means and it
is also important to note that even in the case of the SUV situation there are no basic medical
supplies available. This is worsened by the absence of a clear government lead and no strategies
being set for a form of emergency health care. In the early phase of COVID-19, the countries
with better healthcare system like South Korea also faced the problem of uneven distribution of
health care The nations with reasonable health care systems such as South Korea managed the
misdistribution of healthcare centers but they were under strain in the beginning of COVID-19
pandemic (Deng & Peng, 2020). In 28 Days Later the crash is depicted to show other ailing
health sectors and the lack of proper systems to design adequate health systems to deal with
disasters. Health services are also not depicted in the movie, which is rather surprising
considering that there is a need for a health care system that can quickly transform from a slow
growing one to a full-fledged one in order to respond to a health crisis that was almost
unrecognizable at the onset of COVID 19 (Echeverria, 2023). Even though the social and
economic consequences of the failure of the health care system are viewed as the creating of the
further levels of inequality because the people on the periphery of society will be affected more
by the absence of health care amenities and services.
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As evident from the film, failure of health care system is not only physical but also
political or governance failure. As for possible solutions for those survivors who desperately
need a medical help, neither the public nor the private sectors can provide a proper and
integrated approach and services. There is no effort to organize a right healthcare response in 28
Days Later, which is common in real-life catastrophes where different groups come in and do
their part with the result of making the problem worse (Troon, 2024). For instance, the extent of
realization of a harmonized national health plan, which could involve the incorporation of the
primary health care with other systems for example in the fight against COVID 19, the infections
and death rates in the nations without such a system were generally high as opposed to the
nations that had well defined systems in the health sector as pointed out by Flaxman et al.
(2021). The military in the film that takes power over the quarantine zones also depicts the
hospitals and the heath care systems as they degrade as mastery is used instead of combating the
disease. This is the prime example of how the focus has shifted from security to health response
at the cost of some sectors affecting broad disaster and emergency management thus causing a
lot of destruction. The movie brings more concern through inadequate disaster management that
should protect health institutions before security.
Isolation and Segregation Activities
Out of the movie “28 Days Later”, three different attempts of controlling the viral
outbreak and the efforts that were made in order to contain the disease are depicted. In the initial
part of the work government and the army establish certain quarantine areas through which they
intend to isolate the affected population and prevent further spread of the virus. Nevertheless,
these containment efforts are said to be ineffective because the spread is rapid, there is little
communication between different organizations, and there seems to be no clear strategy for
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public health. According to Flaxman et al. (2021), this failure shows how important it is to be
very careful when handling diseases whose infection rate is on the rise. In the movie 28 Days
Later a proper means of controlling the infected is not established and this leads to a lot of chaos
and enhancing the breakdown of the society. In the same manner, the quarantine failure in the
movie can be roughly compared to the early times of COVID-19 management where fast
transmission and ineffective containment measures produced chaos and delay in halting the virus
spread (Deng & Peng, 2020). This comparison underlines the necessity to be ready for certain
versatile yet rather flexible measures in a context of a pandemic which is inherently
characterized by its dynamics (Flaxman et al., 2021).
The measures taken at the beginning of the movie to contain the virus show that the usual
measures of containment through quarantine are ineffective in the film 28 Days Later. In the film
military is to contain cities and give infected people a chance to run but they do this at a
reasonable rate and are unable to transform into airborne containment units at a moment’s notice.
It parallels what public health authorities went through in the early phase of COVID-19
pandemic when governments national and local had to deal with issues of lock down, borders
and testing (Flaxman et al., 2021). Specifically, the countries that first imposed the general
lockdowns that were not backed up with sufficient hygiene measures or clear instructions on the
need for these measures faced challenges in enforcing the measures even though this led to
confusion and annoyance among the population (Wei et al., 2021). Thus, the depicted in the film
ineffective containment strategies show that it is necessary to take into account the approach
used in quarantine besides security questions. Real Pandemic control as was seen in Taiwan was
based on evidence based precautionary measures that included testing and tracking which were
scarce in the quarantined area depicted in 28 Days Later.
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More criticism of the containment measures presented in the film can be related to
militarization of the problem. It turns from being a health concern into a military matter where
power triumphs reason and disregards the effort to tackle health concerns of the crisis. This is in
the same way as the reactions to the COVID-19 management measures in some countries that
opted for the military style instead of relying on the health care measures which negatively
affected the population (Echeverria, nd). Health promotion strategies are not well coordinated
and hence people are not well informed and do not believe in the information they receive as
seen in the movie where the survivors are left in an environment that only require them to
survive a deadly disease. All decisions in regard to public health should always be
comprehensible, scientifically grounded, and involve the society in order to avoid the scenes
depicted in the movie. The movie also captures a lot of ills that the military and the government
did not come up with a proper and workable scientific way of curbing the spread that culminated
to the social breakdown depicted in the movie (Deng & Peng, 2020). Considering organizational
security-priority, the absence of a health motivated response in the movie 28 Days Later is a
clear insight of the importance of having a fully integrated and harmonized co-operation in the
critical management regimes.
Ethical Issues in the Management of Public Health Crises
The story toys with the ethical question that the characters are left to grapple with the
kinds of life and death choices after the outbreak of the virus (Barrett, 2022). One of the most
ethically difficult questions is probably the question of whether to leave behind some of the
infected people who are still alive but who can be dangerous for the others. Grieco et al. (2021)
assert that one of the key issues, explored in the movie is the conflict of the interests of an
individual and the common good, which is reflected in the characters’ actions to exclude or kill
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the infected people, including their close ones. An example of such a decision is a challenging
ethical issue in a pandemic when life and death are in doubt. This is precisely the type of
dilemma public health officials often have to deal with in the real world during health
emergencies (Flaxman et al., 2021). When there are scarce things like ventilators or life-saving
drugs. This kind of situations calls for ethical decision making tools like triage where we have to
determine in what order people should be attended to and given attention and is an issue of
debate (Troon, 2024). The real world dilemmas that the characters of 28 Days Later faced and
that continue to face in ethical decisions are those that have the potential to directly impact
public health.
As the characters in 28 Days Later face these ethical dilemmas they start to know and
realize more and more the ethical issues of survival. Of course, there is guilt, guilt and emotional
trauma that follows after these decisions to leave the infected or take extreme measures to save
their own lives. As in the real world, there is an unpopular decision to be made, and not everyone
can get the care that they need when the resources are scarce. When doctors and nurses were left
to decide, in the first months of COVID-19 outbreak, who gets a ventilator and who gets access
to intensive care unit (Barrett, 2022). And often based upon ethical principles such as
utilitarianism, which is believed that it is right to decide on what is good for the majority of
people and what is least beneficial to them. But these decisions are also telling of the emotional
and psychological burdens that the people who get to make these decisions have to bear the
consequences of making them under such pressure, and 28 Days Later is in many ways a
commentary on this system, on how these decisions erode trust within the institution, and what
toll is taken on the individuals.
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The ethical questions raised by the film extend therefore to how societies in particular
and the world in general should act in a public health crisis of this kind. In 28 Days Later, the
breakdown of society’s rules lets looking moral be more open to moral flexibility since at times
you are forced to do away with the principles in order to live. These moral dilemmas can be
mapped on to issues that are present in today’s society including governments and public health
organizations and issues to do with the balance between individual rights and freedoms during
the COVID-19 pandemic. The questions like lockdowns and vaccination mandates raised
questions on the conflict of interest between self-rule and communal welfare (Dale et al., 2023).
These ethical conflicts in 28 Days Later and other real world crises allow society to come to
terms with a society in which some lives are considered more valuable than others and which has
a limit to how much it is willing to do for others. These moral issues in the film are employed to
examine further the ethical principles which in theory should inform the decision making
processes of a global health organization, not only in the second or third world countries but also
during a global disaster (Echeverria, 2023). Starting from the ethical lack of choices, the film
criticizes moral decline which might occur in societies with weak ethical paradigms and puts the
question of how the policies regarding public health might be developed without compromising
ethical values.
Public Health Response and its Psychological Consequences
It is argued in this research that one of the key reasons why survivors behaved as they did
in 28 Days Later is because of the psychological effects of the outbreak. The major aspects of the
characters’ behaviors and decisions in the whole film are fear, trauma, and anxiety and this
makes the characters unable to coordinate and solve problems rationally. Between a lack of all
the known social norms and values that can cause insanity and a risk of getting infected that may
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not be that benign, people’s instincts kick in. Dale et al. (2023) contrast that the pressure on the
survivors of this psychological strain is also exerted on those who still want to remain human and
ethical. Real world pandemics have severe effects to the mental health of the populations and this
poses a big challenge to the controllers and responders of the pandemics as people will refuse to
be tested and vaccinated, or even be put under quarantine due to fear or wrong information
(Deng & Peng, 2020). Through 28 Days later, it is clear how the psychological susceptibility can
make it difficult for people to adhere to the recommended measures in a bid to contain the spread
of diseases.
The breakdown of the societal norms of course makes the survivors even more vulnerable
psychologically in 28 Days Later. The characters are not protected by the automated social codes
and systems of trust and order, and they are thrown back to their animal nature and to
relationships between them that are often very much a mess. This psychologic disintegration, this
disintegration of the very society, rules out the possibility of actions being taken on behalf of the
community as cooperation and unity give way to fear and suspicion. This being the case,
working in such a stressful environment also affects the psychological health of an individual
making characters to make wrong choices and at times make hasty actions that put their lives or
those of others at risk. A global health menace like COVID-19 also brought to the foreground of
mental health effects, stress, loss, and trauma which made it challenging to enforce proper health
interventions (Flaxman et al., 2021). The characters of 28 Days Later struggle with the same
problems that are characteristic of mental health issues if they are not treated properly and only
add to the general disaster. The mentioned psychological factors hinder the efforts to restore
public health and social order in real world and in the film disasters. This also raises a question
as to whether drivers and response from emergency guards are not immune to the psychological
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effects of the crisis. In the movie 28 Days Later the only healthcare workers and the soldiers are
depicted as being emotionally and mentally defeated by the events of the film. The psychological
burden that accrues in their psyche makes them unmute to their responsibilities, they err and
make wrong decisions. In the real-life health situations, the frontline workers are experiencing
high psychological workload, burnout, deteriorated quality of care, and moral distress (Barrett,
2022). From the COVID-19 pandemic, it was realized that the mental health of the healthcare
workers is important in disaster management and therefore mental health should form part of the
public health disaster response plan.
Vulnerabilities and Systemic Failures in 28 Days Later
Social and Economic Accessibility
The movie 28 Days Later shows that collapse of the social systems makes previous social
and economic divides even worse, focusing on the elderly, the children, and the lower classes.
When the virus spreads and society is collapsing, such groups can become even more
endangered and are at the risk of the crisis. This film also shows that the public health
management systems and public health management let down such vulnerable people. Troon
(2024) asserted that the elderly patients with other comorbidities would likely die if such health
care systems are not sensitive enough. The children are also portrayed as very vulnerable in this
post-apocalyptic world where families and communities have crumbled; children are easy targets
for the infected and the chaos that emerge there from (Troon, 2024). The people with social risks
are not always considered in the conditions of disaster; and the film is indicative of the fact that
people who are on the periphery of disaster planning and response are also subjects of social risk.
Besides those direct physical consequences, there is also a high level of economic loss of
the disaster, particularly affecting vulnerable groups. That is the situation when the economy
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falls and the resources are scarce, and the people who are already struggling have no access to
the limited services that are available. The movie shows how after disaster social disparities are
likely to increase and the rich will not be able to escape or survive as easily. In the same way,
actual crises such as the COVID 19 pandemic has affected the marginalized groups in the society
in terms of economic loss yet they are not afforded healthcare and protective measures
(Christensen & Lægreid, 2020). The film also shows how people with disabilities are at high risk
during disasters and that disaster planning should include the needs of those who are most at risk
in both the short and long terms (Carel & Kidd, 2023).
Crisis Management and Psychological Dependencies
To an extent the film does well to depict the effects of the outbreak on the people as well
as the public especially the survivors. Throughout the collapse of society and the characters
struggling with traumatic, fear, and grief; these things can really change the way they act and the
decisions they make. It depicts bereavement, constant threat of infection and the feeling that
there is nothing you can do about it. It becomes a burden of the psyche, and therefore there are
decisions made not by the mind, but by the panic, there are actions that aggravate the situation.
For instance, fear is a motor force in numerous characters of the film, which makes the
characters learn to accept others and unite to struggle for their lives in the course of the fight.
This is a psychological vulnerability that makes public health response even more difficult
because fear induced behavior may lead to non-adherence to containment measures and social
unrest (McMullin & Raggo, 2020). Due to such massive trauma, the survivors cannot be in a
position to take a collective decision, which is a big set back to the efforts being made in order to
tackle the crisis.
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The film’s psychological impact is portrayed in the movie for the deaths are as real as
those from the virus, thus underlining the plight of mental health in disaster management. Some
of the psychological effects include anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder which
limits a person’s ability to work and has a lot to do with the state of society today. Streetlights,
another film from the National Park Service and MentalK Productions, explains the importance
of mental health in public health measures. It means that in real world crises for instance the
current coronavirus pandemic, the aspects of social isolation, anxiety and fear that come with
matters such as quarantine and sickness compounded the rates of mental health disorders (Lee et
al., 2020). Nonetheless, mental health support systems were often underfunded and were
developed to address only the increasing need for services. Carel & Kidd (2023) posit that the
portrayal of this psychological burden suggests that to incorporate stress with psychological
components into crisis management, public health interventions or the disaster must survive the
psychological pressure, and the crises will be prolonged if there are omissions to address the
psychological effects of the disaster, and the psychological pressure will remain unaddressed.
Global risks and institutional weaknesses
In one respect 28 Days Later is effective in portraying the structural susceptibility and
political paralysis that are vital for the worsening of the disaster. It is argued in this research that
the criticism of the film lies in the portrayal of the governmental and military responses as
chaotic, and ineffective, and marked by lack of communication. In the chaos, the virus spreads
and the government cannot provide a set of policies to follow and the military cannot contain the
sick population. Basic governance structures collapse and the survivors are forced to seek for
themselves in an environment where government response is often haphazard and uncoordinated
in the first place the film depicts. As with real world governance problems in crises, governments
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are usually slow, fail to communicate well, or do not spend enough time to synchronize their
efforts to provide the best for the populace (He, Shi, & Liu, 2020). The best example of this lack
of coordination is the military in 28 Days Later; they switch from containment to martial law and
therefore society remains unstable and any attempts at a health intervention are further
complicated.
28 Days Later show that the failure of polity will result to disastrous outcomes in the
management of disease outbreaks. Lack of communication and understanding in the film leads to
much confusion for the public health response as well as the society breakdown. This means that
these failures sit on top of a backdrop of weak public health and preparedness capacity that is
required for managing large and sudden onset health crises. Similar problems with
misunderstanding and different reactions were described in real life situations as well, for
instance, at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic when various countries had to face the
same challenges. This led to uncoordinated measures like irregular and confusing lock down
procedures or health information from the public, which caused chaos, panic and high infection
rates (Christensen & Lægreid, 2020). This portrayal of these systemic failures points to the need
to ensure that there are well governed clear, coordinated and well-resourced governance
frameworks that can be quickly and easily activated in the face of health emergencies. It means
that to manage crisis whether it is a calamity or an epidemic from virus like Covid-19 it is not
only the power of king that plays a role but also the unity of all the sectors included public
health, government and military to control and to provide required resources.
Comparison of the Real World Vulnerabilities
The weaknesses of the society portrayed in 28 Days Later are identical to the weaknesses
observed in actual disasters in which the social, psychological and systematic factors enhance the
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destruction of disasters. But the movie also shows that people in the word are still struggling
with social and economic issues and the COVID-19 has affected the poor to the greatest extent.
The vulnerable (elderly, low-income earners, and ethnic minorities) suffered the worst from the
combined effects of the crisis in both the movie 28 Days Later and the real-life COVID-19
pandemic, (Carel & Kidd, 2020). These groups are more vulnerable to the virus because they are
living in the crowded places, cannot access health facilities and also do not have any source of
income. Similarly, in the movie 28 Days Later social systems failure is depicted, COVID 19
pandemic exposed the vulnerability of global health systems and there was inequality in access
to care and amenities (Lee et al., 2020). The movie provides a commentary on the class struggle
in the course of a disaster which is relevant to the conditions of the bottom class in the course of
the COVID 19 pandemic where the disaster exposes poor health and increased deaths among the
vulnerable because of social injustice.
In real world crises, 28 Days Later also demonstrates that it also depicts the
psychological and organizational susceptibilities. The emotion that the film has in common with
the emotion of being in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic is fear, trauma and loss (Troon,
2024). The concern of losing dear ones and not being able to meet them or the concern of future
developed global mental health problems that are similar to anxiety and panic that were
portrayed in the movie characters. The real world issues that has been seen during COVID-19
pandemic, where several countries’ governance failures have even exacerbated the spread of the
virus (He, Shi, & Liu, 2020) are the same as the system failures like delayed government
response, lack of communication and poor public health measures. By presenting the
vulnerabilities in this way, and identifying the immediate health needs, as well as social,
psychological and governance factors that could compound the disaster, the film should be a
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clear warning to modern day real world policy makers that these are issues that cannot be
ignored once the immediate crisis has been dealt with. Thus, 28 Days Later depict the
importance of having a more than a mere plan to manage crisis given all possible weaknesses in
a certain disaster.
Governance, Policy, and Leadership in Crisis Management
Police and Military in 28 Days Later
In the movie 28 Days Later the actions of the government and the military are portrayed
as very chaotic and as such completely ineffective in their efforts to address the ever
deteriorating conditions. First presented as a means of control and order, the military is revealed
as chaotic, the film becomes one of chaos, the military moving from controlling the infected to
the population. What is not effective and adaptive is the approach they take to public health
issues and subsequently become more hostile with. This is because the poor relationship between
the army and other authorities and the absence of clear public health policies makes life a
struggle for life not by design (Wade, 2022). Of course, the military employs force, no attempt to
contain as well as comprises medical solutions that only worsen the situation, dragging society
into chaos. This is similar to real-life response to managing a pandemic, where security -oriented
approaches take precedence over the public health agenda thus leading to more chaos (Nicola et
al., 2020). This is evident in that some governments at the start of COVID-19, deployed military
force to enforce compliance with the lock-downs than to the scientific measures like wearing of
face masks, social distancing as a way of discouraging compliance thus creating confusion and
mistrust.
The fact that has been highlighted in the research is the lack of a proper government and
coherent plan response in the movie “28 Days Later” can also be seen in many countries during
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the global disasters. It is extremely unprofessional and there is no plan in how this public health
threat should be managed; the military is left to fend for the suffering population on its own. This
is one of the biggest reasons why societal frameworks fail and the social contract is weakened
and broken. The use of the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, Christensen and Lægreid (2020)
demonstrated that the governments that cannot provide integrated actions during severe events
end up in the crises where social anomie and low public confidence prevail. According to Lee et
al. (2020), the government's failure to prioritize public health or collaborate with the military on
containment reflects a systemic governance issue. There is a lacuna in the preparations for
widespread disasters. There are actions of successful governments’ actions that were observed at
the beginning of COVID-19 in South Korea which show the importance of information and
collaboration between the military and public health for the right disaster response (Lee et al.,
2020). The arguments of the failure of a single leadership model in managing crisis and the need
to avoid viewing the pandemic threats as a movie’s crazy zombie apocalypse while having to
prepare for it through collaboration between different levels of government
Decision Making and Leadership
The movie 28 Days Later is par excellence when it comes to describing the element of
emergency leadership as a useful frame within which to operate in an event that is more than
standard. This movie highlights more often over and over again what leadership, both formal and
informal entails making decisions with limited knowledge. Military functions on autocratic
control that is they work hard to produce an assault on a dilemma without attempting to
understand the essence of the problem. This is a passive leadership that does not take into
account such a constantly evolving fact as the situation, which in turn, has a negative impact on
organization and people’s confidence. On the other hand, impression of civil leadership shown
21
through character like Jim who mobilizes his people in to a group in order to counter balance the
officers under this condition is really a strong sign of flexibility. In technical aspect, Jim is
recognizing that which is a decision of no effect or official status; however, his decision making
structure has got more of humanistic type. The contrast between authoritarian military leadership
and situation more sensitive and sympathetic type of leadership shows, that there is the
difference of the regulators as well as the actions during the constant dynamics during the
emergencies (Shaer, 2022). Shaer (2022) indicate that the contract sees the military chiefs as
autocrats and proposes the introduction of flexibility into the command.
Since there is no information on the scale of the infection the military and the citizens of
the country make decisions based on their own instinct, which only increases panic. This
uncertainty make leadership difficult because most decisions have less to do with management
and more to do with the fact that people are trying to survive, and therefore end up taking risks
that only serve to harm the population even more. Stress related leaders’ actions and decisions
which are made based on some information are indicators of the psychological and social issues
of people and organizations during a crisis period. These are real life situations for instance when
leaders are expected to make decisions at very short notice during events like the COVID-19
pandemic whereby little was known about the disease and how it spreads. Nicola et al. (2020)
state that the measure that were employed to curb the virus outbreak in the initial stages of the
pandemic, hardly got adequate concerns on the direct and indirect adverse effects on the mental,
social and economic well-being of the people. The leadership strategies that are more likely to
address such uncertainty include procedural flexibility, communication and planning (Nicola et
al., 2020). Where Jim can make decisions that are adaptable to the information he receives and
where cooperation reigns, the military leadership looks rigid and bureaucratic once more.
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Therefore, 28 Days Later is a clear reminder for transformational leaders especially in the middle
of chaos to go through processes of change without forgetting the people aspect.
Coordination Across Agencies
In 28 Days Later, the size of the problem intensifies the incoherence of government,
military, and public health. The film portrays a very fragmented view of the community of the
infected and when the military takes over, it does so with no clear connection to health
organizations or CNOs. This is because interaction between the agencies is bad, and results in a
military approach that is not well coordinated to manage the disease. But once the virus gets to
the public there is no single organization with the aim of eradicating the said virus and each
organization will work with their own interest in mind and in most cases, they will work against
the other. This failure of the military and government collaboration is a failure in the sense that
the public is not directed or informed properly. The dysfunction can be seen reflecting the real-
life experience of governments or other organizations during crises such as the COVID-19
pandemic where lack of clear and effective communication as well as disjointed approach often
resulted in confusion and early action (Christensen & Lægreid, 2020). Hence, divide the entire
incidence into various parts and make each section of the organization deal with it under their
expertise and coordination.
In 28 Days Later lack of coordination across agencies highlights the importance of good
governance during the crisis. The lack of a strategic plan in the relations between the military
forces, government prosecution, and health organizations is dangerous to the population and only
creates confusion. This is evident when the military in a country starts to enforce discipline by
beating people into compliance without ensuring that they are taken through for medical
checkup. However, the lack of cooperation during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic
23
led to an unclear structure of measures, their chaotic implementation, and many hours of delay in
the provision of necessary medical equipment. This is evidenced by societies that pursued a
symbiotic strategy like the east Asian country that south Korea in particularly offered input
policies and joined authoritarian guarantees from the health sector, military and government to
overcome the disaster (Lee et al., 2020). This is a classic example of why health, military and
governments departments do not have their ducks in a row and need to know where the resources
are being put to and also to ensure that the message is being delivered coherently and in one
voice, as seen in 28 Days Later. When these elements are absent, the response is not only
unhelpful, but counterproductive and leads to further destabilization and pain.
Ways of Dividing the Government
The ineffectiveness of large scale health crises management due to repressive
authoritative control systems in the movie 28 Days Later, as a political commentary on strength
of centralized governments is also discussed in detail. The answers given by the military time
and again revolve around power and force and dismantle social structures, which is even more
effective in dismantling society than any other health issue. Another governance framework that
should have involved local decision making and communities to solve the problem should have
been the one that was more effective. On writing on the cap advantages Schumacher pointed out
that decentralized decision making which would entail that local authorities as well as public
health officials will make decision that are relevant to their situation would be more effective in
dealing with the pandemic. This would prevent the erratic change of strategy for the worst in an
effort to replicate an ineffective strategy across the whole network. The effectiveness of the
management, which is described in the paper, is also supported by the COVID-19 experience of
New Zealand at the early stage of the pandemic when the challenge of a health crisis was
24
effectively managed at the local level. Thus, the New Zealand success can be attributed to its
ability to capture opportunities for change and, also, to engage stakeholders in the local
communities in decision making (Nicola et al., 2020). Hence, the approach using national
standards and local practices can be even more successful in the light of achieving the health and
social standards of people.
Decentralized leadership is also another factor if the movie had offered a correct and
scientific manner of running organizations, 28 Days Later could have been more efficient. It also
captures how the government and military fail in conveying the facts to the people in power,
which means that order has to be enforcing during a crisis, and the information has to be shared
with the public (Troon, 2024). If there was a proper and honest way of communicating with the
population and the implementation of regimes that would guarantee that the population adheres
to the measures that are necessary to protect communities, then the population would adhere to
the measures that have been authorized. Actual behavior demonstrates things like clear and
specific scientific measures in South Korea to manage the disasters, and those that require more
discussion and public health understanding (Lee et al., 2020). If such a framework had been used
in the movie 28 Days Later, the government, and the military could have led the nation through
the disaster without force. Also, the inclusion of the public health professionals in the
government would also be useful in a way that not only health measures such as quarantine and
isolation will be employed and applied appropriately, but they will also not be much resisted by
the population.
25
Reimagining the Response-Alternative Approaches and Reflection
The Change in the Public Health Response
28 Days Later also describes how the best measures for public health only exacerbate the
problem, at the very least, and accelerate the collapse of civilization at the worst. Public health
and medical management could have been improved if there was increased and early isolation
with the view of preventing rather than punishing. Quarantine areas should have been highly
organized; explaining how the measures should be taken to different levels in order to prevent
the virus spread and ensuring that there is appropriate treatment for the infected people. Another
area that the public health could have focused on faster isolation, contact and mass testing to
ensure that it got hold of the infected and isolate him or her. Had there been enough resources
particularly in the provision of health care services, the burden on such establishments would
have been more reasonable. Also, there was lack of proper guidelines from the health officials
which would have helped in preventing the society from being alarmed on how to go through
with measures such as wearing of face masks. The fact that such measures were not in the film is
a clear indication on the efficiency of professional and science based planning together with
timely and appropriate measures to be taken in the face of a public health emergency (Nicola et
al., 2020).
Recent Approaches in Governance and Policies
The activities that the leaders and the policies that were tackled in the movie 28 Days
Later are fragmented and even intensify the outbreak of the crisis. All the problems depicted in
the movie may have been minimized if there was a proper and well developed governance
structure put in place. In this case, the crisis management is centralized because its leadership is
given to national authorities; however, the local authorities can implement the crisis management
26
since they understand the situation on the ground through the national agencies. When the
military comes in to help solve the issue then force is used to fight the spread of the virus instead
of using hygiene measures to fight it this shows the over emphasis of power over health during a
crisis. A more appropriate approach would have been to ensure that there was a balance between
health, academic than security so as to ensure that all the efforts that are being made in trying to
fight the outbreak are well contained. However, as for the movie, it is necessary to mention that
having a higher ethical standpoint that was aimed at the suffering of patients and willing to work
for the needy population groups, could have minimized the ethical dilemmas and ambiguity
described in the movie by Lee et al. (2020).
Crisis Response and the Use of Technology
The tools like the predictive analysis and the artificial intelligence could have played a
big role in directing the response towards the outbreak as depicted in the movie 28 days later.
Machine learning models should have been able to predict the rate of transmission of the virus in
question so that the resources which are scarce could be moved to the affected regions to contain
the virus. Among these are infection rates, mobility patterns and demographic factors which
could have been of much help in decision making as far as combating the scourge is concerned.
In addition, issues to do with information dissemination and the use of mass communication and
social media could have been used to educate the public on the right measures to take early
enough in order to avert panic and misleading information. Troon (2024) assert that they say that
the diagnostics of the disease with the help of AI and automation of tests could have helped to
find more sick people and, consequently, make contributions to the improvement of quarantine
measures. If these technologies have been employed in the management of the crisis they would
27
have facilitated the coordination of the effort, enhanced decision making and even containment
of the disease (Deng & Peng, 2020).
Personal Reflection on Crisis Management
The topic of 28 Days Later helped to reveal many aspects of the organization of
emergency situations and the improvement of policy recommendations in the sphere of public
health. The film shows what is usually wrong in the society if wrong decisions are made, there is
chaos, and lastly, lack of preparation for the vices that are likely to make societies’ systems
collapse. As the military approach is opposed to the more natural, caring and open-ended one
embodied by such characters as Jim, the movie shows that crisis leaderships need both precision
and practical compassion and flexibility. This theme relates to the topics we discussed in the
course, speaking more about openness, ethical decision making, and interpectoral approach to a
public health emergency. Furthermore, 28 Days Later is the fine example of such aspects of
sociopolitical concern as the need for the more effective and efficient public health
communication, and the inadequacy of resource management, especially the lack of which can
lead to disastrous consequences. From the course of this process, I have learned some possible
changes that may be made to the issues related to the development of emergency response
scenarios based on the real and imaginary disasters (Wade, 2022).
28
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