We are in a week that total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has risen above 4 million and the world fears second wave of infections.
Berlin based film historian and director Brigitta Wagner attended my three question investigation on the effect of coronavirus. She is also the writer of Berlin Replayed that tells how film has helped Berlin reinvent itself by creating nostalgia for its better pasts.
How are you affected?
Well, a lot of my work takes place in two kinds of spaces—educational and cinematic—that are highly problematic for the spread of the virus. And simply replacing real-time interactions in shared physical space with digital interactions via screen does not quite work.
I worry a bit about the existing notion of productivity and the efforts of so many people to continue to seem productive. I feel that it is important to take this historic moment in, to take some time to process what it feels like for the world to stop, for global routes and practices and lifestyles to come to a halt.
Another aspect that I think about a lot is travel and what this means for global family structures. The global freeze on travel is difficult for people who have families in more than one country or more than one region. Technology can bridge this distance somewhat, but not all needed help can be given electronically. I can’t help thinking of a time before Internet, telephone, and telegraph technology, when ocean crossings were big, prolonged events via ship. How long will we be able to make do with our technological bridge of Skype, Whatsapp and ZoomI wonder the same things about cinemas and other places of public gathering.
What will change in your country or the world?
I hope that the U.S., where I was born, will learn from this virus: 1) that it is a good thing to guarantee health care coverage to everyone; 2) that the inequalities that the virus exposes need to be addressed during and after the pandemic; 3) that the world is connected; 4) that the people who kept the country afloat during the pandemic should be earning enough money to live on; 5) that science and knowledge and expertise have value; 6) that sometimes it’s important to privilege the greater good over personal productivity.
As for Germany, where I live, I have been impressed, for the most part, with how the crisis has been handled—particularly with regards to science and medical preparation. Obviously, there are larger questions at the European level—the economics of it all.
I’m not sure how any of this will feel in the coming months. Will we ever look back at this moment with the certainty that the threat has passed, or will it remain with us in living memory, become a part of our horizon of expectation, our fears?
On the positive side, this experience will hopefully humble Americans and Europeans with a new awareness of global fragility and strengthen us with new stores of resilience.
What do you hope to change?
One of the greatest revelations of this pandemic is the way in which we are all connected to each other. Suddenly we are all forced to think about the causal chains that make our own lives possible. On the other hand, the Earth is having a little holiday from our pollution, and maybe these weeks or months will increase awareness of our impact on the climate.
Maybe, despite all our digital tools and the current sharpening of our digital culture, we’ll become conscious of what is so important about real contact and shared physical environments.
