Educational Media Reviews Online

Although Avian Influenza, or “Bird Flu,” has fallen out of the worldwide headlines lately, this Canadian Broadcasting Corporation “fact-based docu-drama” aims to educate viewers now, in advance of an Avian Flu pandemic. While the characters are fictional—a Toronto Emergency Room nurse and her two children, ages 16 and 4—the story is based on scientific facts. Film events and its timeline are based on what leading experts expect to occur if the Avian Flu becomes pandemic. Interviews with various public health officials, infectious disease experts, and historians are embedded in the film.

In this fictional account, which lapses in real time over 150 days, the H5N1 influenza virus begins in Thailand, then spreads to Laos, China and Cambodia, and eventually to Canada and the rest of the world. While portraying worldwide events, the story focuses on Canada and its response to the pandemic.

Medicine is initially unavailable, as the current strain of the illness must be used to create a response vaccine. Viewers get an up-close view of how the Canadian government responds to the virus’ appearance in Canada. As it spreads across the nation, the government starts a television PR campaign, encouraging “common sense” solutions such as washing hands, using face masks, and staying inside. Conditions deteriorate. Within a matter of weeks, individuals flee cities for smaller towns, and gas rationing, food shortages, and rolling blackouts become commonplace. Due to employee sickness, basic services such as garbage collection, hospitals, and IT infrastructure suffer. Stores and schools close. Civil disobedience occurs, with the military stepping in to restore order.

In addition to using medical facts, Black Dawn cites historical precedent in its dramatic representation of the Avian Flu pandemic. In particular, the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic, which killed 2.5 – 5% of the worldwide population at the time, is broadly cited.

Black Dawn’s web site contains excellent companion materials. Full interviews with all individuals in the film are available, as are additional resources, including links to Canadian and United States government pandemic influenza plans. There is also a companion blog to the film.

While a fictional documentary, Black Dawn sheds light on real issues predicted to occur during a pandemic illness. The dramatization might seem unnecessarily alarmist and unpleasant to some, it does, however, contain useful information and serves as a good educational vehicle.