It's safe to say that we're all living through something that we've only ever seen in the movies. A virus has forced most of us into self quarantine in order to stay safe. When you do venture out in the world, it's a great deal quieter than it once was, as places that were once crowded with people are nearly, or entirely, empty. It's like something out of Will Smith's I Am Legend.
Of course, it's not really like that. Most of us that are stuck at home are just binge watching Tiger King or playing a lot of video games. But Will Smith himself knows that the way this time really was, and the way we might all remember it, are likely to be very different. The actor shared a popular meme that's been going around social media that implies that in a few years we'll likely be treating this period like we were all survivors of a real apocalypse.
The coronavirus outbreak is, to be sure, a serious issue, but that's all the more reason that sometimes you just need something that's going to make you smile. This image certainly does that.
And if nothing else Will Smith at least has something of an idea of what this level of self-isolation is like. While there were certainly a lot of people behind the camera making I Am Legend, he was the only person on camera for large portions of the film, which has to feel a little like quarantine.
I Am Legend sees Will Smith as a lone survivor wandering a New York City that has been left empty after a virus outbreak ravages the population. He wanders the roads, which have been taken back by nature. Of course, in the movie Will Smith's character keeps himself busy by trying to rid the city of the vampire population that has taken hold, and that's really not what's happening here, but for those of us that have ever wondered how we would handle the end of the world, this is (hopefully) as close as we'll ever get.
The real results of a massive virus outbreak, for those of us lucky enough to avoid actual infection, is that we're all stuck at home, dealing with kids who aren't in school, catching up on television or movies that we haven't seen, or trying to find a way to get our normal jobs done in less than ideal circumstances. It's far less sexier than being Mad Max.
Honestly, the question of what we will actually tell our grandchildren about this whole experience is a pretty good question. Will we remember this as an event akin to I Am Legend? It will certainly be a unique experience in life, and something that the entire world will have gone through to one degree or another. Perhaps we'll look at movies like I Am Legend in a very different way in the future.
