132 RüdigerKunow
Rothman and Salovey 3). This is as true of earlier times as it is true
todaywhen"disasterchic"canbetracedallovertheplace.^85
Meanwhile, the processes that made diseases and especially
infectiousdiseasesrigorouslyculturalhaveengenderedamotleyvariety
ofresults.TheserangefromBroadwayproductionssuchasYellowJack
(1934), starring James Steward and celebrating Walter Reed's
discoveries all the way, to the current bio-thriller format: examples
include Robin Cook's bestsellingVector(1999) about a disgruntled ex-
Soviet scientist planning to release anthrax in New York City or trashy
formats such as Scott Sigler'sInfectious(2008), a SciFi tale about an
alien invasion made possible because a strange pathogen has infected
humanbeingsandturnedthemintokillermachines.
AveryrecentexampleusingsmartphonetechnologyisPlagueInc.,
a follow-up on first-person shooter games and adding a characteristic
new twist. The premium placed in previous formats on strategy is here
used not to rescue the world but to destroy it, namely by bringing upon
the most devastating global epidemic possible. Success in this game is
measured by how many million people have succumbed to an epidemic
in the shortest possible period before a cure is found. It may not be
totally coincidental that such a game should surface at this particular
moment in time.^86 After all, it pits "private initiative" against public
precaution in a scenario that is in many ways reminiscent of anti-"Big
Government" initiatives mounted by the political Right in the U.S.
especially in the health care sector ("Obama Care"). I will return to this
aspectattheendofthesepages.
Furthermore,theculturalizationofmassdiseaseanditsinsertioninto
massculturalformatshasdevelopedthebasisalsoforarankingofsorts
concerning the relative importance of all diseases, infectious or not.
DavidMorris,NancyTomes,KarlaHollowayandahostofothercritics
have pointed to the fact that while cardiovascular diseases and cancer
(^85) Oneoftherecentmanifestationsof"disasterchic"isinhomedesign.Builders
are developing houses for the upscale market which look deliberately like
temporary shelters or make-shift repairs. For more cf. O'Malley, Sharon.
"DisasterChic:Builders,ManufacturersGobeyondCodewithAnti-Devastation
Designs."ConstructionDive.IndustryDive,8July2015.Web.9Apr.2017.
(^86) My thanks to Ariane Schröder (Potsdam) for alerting me to this fascinating
butalsosomewhatmorbidversionofamassdiseaseMonopoly.