The Spanish Flu: How the World Recovered

The Spanish Flu: How the World Recovered

2020, Health  -   7 Comments
8.14
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Ratings: 8.14/10 from 56 users.

The COVID crisis continues to rage and alter lives across the globe. This pandemic might feel frighteningly unprecedented, but history tells a different story. In 1918, an epidemic began ravaging the world to the tune of 20 - 100 million fatalities. The Spanish Flu: How the World Recovered explores the specifics of this cataclysmic event and extrapolates the most important lessons we can learn from it.

What became known as the Spanish flu infected up to the 2/3 of the world's population, resulted in a 5% death rate, and equally impacted both young and old. This calamity occurred before many of the tools, technologies and conveniences of our modern world took shape, which made humanity even more vulnerable to the perils of the infection.

Insights into that period of time are far harder to come by than they would be today. The census was not as sophisticated and historical texts are lacking in specificity. Considering this, the film does a noble job of assembling the timelines, incidents, and other details of which we are certain.

This H1N1 pandemic first reared its head near the conclusion of the first World War, as mass numbers of servicemen returned from their travels overseas. Kansas and New York were the first U.S. cities to record infection numbers in the thousands. The disease spread rapidly between America and Europe. Though it is not believed to be the point of the origin, Spain was hit particularly hard, and was one of the few regions willing to publish consistent and frank reporting on the virus.

Much like the Spanish flu, previous plagues through history led to substantive social changes, including enhanced social mobility and cultural and artistic expressions which felt excitingly fresh. What new realities might await us in the aftermath of our current pandemic?

The Spanish Flu: How the World Recovered illustrates eerie connections between our present circumstances and the struggles faced by an unprepared population over 100 years ago. The virus ebbed and flowed, the people's diligence of defense waned, the media and government authorities stifled information in an attempt to sustain public morale. In the midst of these connections are important lessons from which we all can benefit.

Directed by: Pete Kelly

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Richard Leblanc
Richard Leblanc
1 year ago

The Spanish flu spread like wildfire do to unsanitary conditions during and after the first world war. Standard of living was very poor and malnutrition was widespread. There is no comparison and BTW just as many infected survived without masks or vaccines even with those conditions. Starving a population or combatant and forcing them to seek refuge travelling through corpses of all kinds is a war strategy. This is why the enemy cuts off supply lines. Armies have been doing this for thousands of years.

Miss Pratibha Krishnaji Khare
Miss Pratibha Krishnaji Khare
3 years ago

Very good Documentary.

Claudius Pereira
Claudius Pereira
3 years ago

Very good Documentry. The Spanish flu was uncomfortably similar to Covid 19. One would think and hope the "authorities " would be better prepared -It does not seem so. When you don't learn from history -it will repeat itself .More people will suffer from the effects of the thoughtless radical economic lockdown than will die from the disease. A medical problem needs a medical solution with realistic restrictions. What I am suspicious of is the abnormal high rates of infections in mainly WESTERN countries and abnormally low rates in COMMUNIST and third world countries --
If their figures are to be believed.

Jean-Pierre Tardif
Jean-Pierre Tardif
3 years ago

The difference here is that covid19 could not be a random event -as opposed to the spanish one. Today’s technologies in micro biology is so advanced that this time the virus might have been created by humans. The dream of the Elite is to reduce human population -they are affraid to lose control.Well I think they have made a good start here.