(Also, Legend was, and this cannot be stressed enough, a Will Smith action vehicle, and not real life.) Baseless posts and memes which cite the film as a reason not to get vaccinated against Covid have appeared on social media platforms for months, with some being labelled by Facebook as containing misinformation. Donate State Editions California Florida Illinois Iowa Stream It or Skip It: 'The Wedding Cottage' on Hallmark Casts Erin Krakow and Brendan Penny as Unlikely Wedding Planners, Stream It Or Skip It: 'It's All Right!' But there are three big problems with that assertion. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. You cant develop a cure using the blood of someone whos naturally immune to that disease because of a genetic mutation. And there, fluttering delicately on the slide, was a germ. The film has been a vessel for anti-vaccine sentiment since the first Covid-19 vaccines were authorized in 2020. Read about our approach to external linking. The disease was initially hyped as a cure for cancer (by Emma Thompson in an unbilled cameo) but it mutated and became a killer. It followed a Twitter thread from British newspaper The Telegraph that said vegans would be exempt from compulsory COVID-19 vaccines in the workplace after a tribunal ruled last year that ethical veganism was a protected belief. Add zombies into the mix, and were completely in the realm of science fiction here. The COVID-19 pandemic has been bad enough as it, but according to a conspiracy theory gaining ground on social media, the vaccines have the same effects as the mystery agent that created all. This material may not be reproduced without permission. In 2009 Dr Alice Krippin, a British scientist played by Emma Thompson, genetically re-engineers the measles virus to cure cancer. In a few months the Krippin Virus has killed 90% of humanity, about 5.4 billion people, and turned another 9.8% of the population, circa 558 million, into killing machines called Darkseekers. "Fact check: a vaccine did not turn characters in the movie I Am Legend into zombies," went the Reuters headline in December 2020, proving that this hokum has been popping off in certain . Akiva Goldsman (@AkivaGoldsman) August 9, 2021. God. The post-apocalyptic thriller I Am Legend is bubbling up in conversation among the vaccine-hesitant crowd, prompting the films screenwriter to emphasize that the plot is entirely fictional. appreciated. The 2007 film, starring Will Smith, is. The main character Robert Neville was. Initially it seems that the virus is a success, with more than 10,000 cancer patients cured. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Although the vaccines used in the UK contain no ingredients derived from animals, the use of animal testing in the development stage could provide vegans a legal way of refusing the jab, according to legal professionals quoted by The Telegraph. Real. The movie "I Am Legend" is based on a book of the same name by Richard Matheson that was published in 1954. His tweet came after the New York Times reported that an employee of an eyewear store in the Bronx said she would rather lose her job than get the jab, because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film I Am Legend to turn into zombies. It's a movie. The plot of I Am Legend details the shocking aftermath of a failed attempt to genetically re-engineer measles to cure cancer. Interestingly, this is at least the second rumor to circulate on social media claiming that some apocalyptic movie was set in the year 2021. "Oh. I Am Legend? "One employee said she was concerned because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film I Am Legend to turn into zombies," the report said. In a New York Times report on an optical business thats struggling to encourage its employees to get vaccinated, one of the workers reportedly cited a social media post on the vaccine in I Am Legend as a reason to abstain from the shot: One employee said she was concerned because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film I Am Legend to turn into zombies. My. WHEN WILL THESE LIARS PAY ? My. Once again, it ultimately exists as proof that medicine does its job. But the plague that turned people into zombies in the movie was caused by a genetically reprogrammed virus, not by a vaccine. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. I Am Legend is a 2007 American post-apocalyptic action thriller film [4] [5] loosely based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. In reality, if Neville wants to create a cure for Krippin Virus he should start with Darkseeker blood and work to develop a weakened form of the virus that could be used as an immunological trigger. There was an error submitting the form. 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Oh, and by the way, I am Legend was trending on Twitter today: So here we are folks in 2021. Initially the virus is considered a miracle cure when all 10,009 patients survive clinical trials and are deemed free of the disease. God. Click herefor more. Its also not preventing others from listening to such claims. Our science problem rests with the cure itself, which nullifies the whole basis of Neville working on a vaccine. The body reacts as if this was a real infection, producing antibodies to fight. In case youre still on the fence about whether Reuters and other major media outlets are using I Am Legend as some sort of Deep State conspiracy double blind, and them saying its just fiction is in fact proving that its all real, take it from Akiva Goldsman, the guy who wrote the screenplay: Oh. 'I Am Legend' vaccine guidance is just the beginning of bad fictional advice! A COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theory involving the Will Smith sci-fi movie "I Am Legend" was firmly shut down by one of the 2007 film's screenwriters on Monday. However, there is one glaring mistake when it comes to the vaccine solution offered in the film. Interestingly, Darkseekers terrifying features are rooted in basic biology. In other words, it was a virus, not a vaccine. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Still, the vampires weren't actually caused by a vaccine. 1,050, This story has been shared 938 times. As of this writing, 166.7 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Exposure therapy: why we're obsessed with watching virus movies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Will Smith in I Am Legend. My. Coming towards the tail end of his turn as the worlds biggest movie star, the film saw a lone Smith struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic New York that had been ravaged by mutant vampires (that look more like zombies). When a globally respected news organisation has to use its precious resources to explain the plot of a disappointing Christmas movie from a decade and a half ago, you sense the battle has already been lost. The post was shared more than 300 times. It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Despite the militarys best efforts to contain the virus, it breaks out of the Manhattan-based laboratory and mutates into a lethal, airborne strain that spreads across the planet. Fact check: a vaccine did not turn characters in the movie I Am Legend into zombies, went the Reuters headline in December 2020, proving that this hokum has been popping off in certain corners of social media for quite awhile now, and further suggesting that some folks are far more interested in concocting convenient alternative facts from utterly fictional content than they are in helping to ensure the health and safety of their families, friends, and communities. Online rumors debunked, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. Krippin says during this interview scene: In this case the measles virus which has been engineered at a genetic level to be helpful rather than harmful. Krippin compares the process of creating her virus to replacing a dangerous driver behind the wheel of a powerful car with a cop. 5,266, This story has been shared 4,828 times. This extreme adrenalin rush not only explains Darkseekers enhanced strength and agility but also explains their increased metabolism, heart rate, blood flow and body temperature. Apparently, though, the fact that the movie was fictional is not preventing people on social media from claiming that I Am Legend is a reason to not to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Social media users have been sharing content online that claims characters in the movie I Am Legend starring actor Will Smith turned into zombies because of a vaccine. Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the screenplay for the 2007 film starring Will Smith, clarified that I Am Legend is pure fantasy after an unnamed source in a recent New York Times report said they feared vaccination because of the events of the film. Akiva Goldsman responded to anti-vaccine misinformation that cites the fictional feature starring Smith as evidence for not receiving the shots. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Neville talks to mannequins on the regular. God. Claims that something similar would happen to people receiving Covid jabs have been circulating on social media. 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Health care workers assist a patient in the ICU inside Little Company of Mary Medical Center Friday, July 30, 2021 in Torrance, CA. The claim that "I Am Legend" was set in 2021 and a vaccine caused a zombie outbreak is FALSE, based on our research. "I Am Legend," Francis Lawrence's post-apocalyptic thriller in which a virus genetically re-engineered to cure cancer instead destroys mankind, is famously not a documentary. Other films such as Children of Men and The Matrix have appeared in similar memes and posts. Maybe that diarrhea that you suffered from pounding raw cake batter made you miss all the apocalyptic chaos that was going on outside. This article was amended on 12 August 2021. 'Love Is Blind' Season 4 Reunion Delayed Again: When Will the Reunion Be Available on Netflix? 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The movie is about vampires not zombies and the outbreak was not caused by a vaccine. First, the vaccine in the film is designed to deny mutants their truest versions of themselves, and not even the most frothing anti-vaxxer would claim that the coronavirus was an integral part of their personality. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. As a result, anti-vaxxers are stating on social media that they are vegan to avoid vaccination should certain workplaces make them compulsory. God. I Am Legend is a fictional movie, meaning it didnt freaking happen. 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