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historyhermann · 1 year

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Cleopatra in Space and the Missing "Quarantine" Episode [Part 2]

Continued from part 1

Relevance to the pandemic

The episode is extremely relevant to the present, even though the flu which is portrayed in the animated series is nothing like COVID-19. When Cleo unknowingly brings the disease back to Mayet as an asymptomatic carrier, and becomes the superspreader. A close watching of the episode shows Cleo gets close to at least five people, including fist-bumping with two, and hugging two more people while walking through an area bustling with students. Since the area was crowded with people, at least 18 students in the area nearby, by my count, she undoubtedly spread the virus to them. As such, the simple action of walking near the gathered students is a super-spreader event. When it comes to COVID-19, densely packed areas where people are talking or singing is risky as it leads to super-spreader events, [2] with the same applying here. In the same episode, Professor Jurval is shown teaching a class with at least seven students, although more are likely there and not shown on the screen. This is another presumed super-spreader event as she coughs toward the students, leading them to spread the cough between each other. Similar to the virus shown in the episode, COVID-19 has various stages and symptoms and does not affect everyone the same way.

Jurval's possible superspreader event

There are few lessons and takeaways from this episode, tempered by the current time and place we live in. The first is that you should quarantine yourself when you are sick and don't think you are above it. The latter attitude is how people have died or become seriously ill with COVID-19. In fact, Cleo spreading the virus almost caused her friends and classmates to die as their rage came to a melting point. She barely saved the day, only thanks to a medical doctor, although one that was seen as a quack, his vaccines of sorts, and her mentor, Khensu. Another takeaway from this episode is that you should listen to medical advice, not ignore it, as Cleo does at the end of the episode when she develops a cold of some type, perhaps as a side effect of the virus she spread or something else entirely.

This was originally written in October 2020, but never published for some reason. It was since named and fixed up in December 2022, so some of the information in it may be outdated. It will be published on my History Hermann WordPress blog on Feb. 23, 2022. The episode was finally released on Peacock on June 25, 2021.

The episode as a whole can be interpreted, in our current time and place, as emphasizing the importance of social distancing, coupled with mask-wearing. If Cleo had social distanced from her fellow classmates, wore a mask, and gone to quarantine, the outbreak of the flu could have been completely avoided. But, that wouldn't have made a "good" story, right? More fundamentally, the episode is about trusting others and not being as self-centered (or arrogant), especially when you don't know something or others will be harmed by your actions. This is especially relevant considering the current infection of the U.S. President with COVID-19 and those around him, [3] after not following the proper safety precautions, whether not social distancing or not wearing a mask. Clearly, no one is immune from the virus, no matter their stature in U.S. society, and no one can escape its wrath or effects.

Unlike COVID-19, where someone can feel "well in their battle against it one hour can easily take a turn the next," as noted by TIME magazine's Senior Editor, the virus shown in the episode only has two stages. Even so, there are many parallels to the current pandemic. The event last Saturday at the Rose Garden to announce Judge Amy Coney Barrett as a nominee for the Supreme Court, has been considered a superspreader event. [4] Similarly, Cleo walking through a crowded area at school, and Jurval sneezing on her class, are similarly superspreader events. At the same time, the way the virus was transmitted in the episode itself is similar to COVID-19 because it spreads in tiny aerosol droplets, something which the CDC recently admitted COVID-19 does as well, after initially denying it. [5] The agency's official website currently states that "some infections can be spread by exposure to [the] virus in small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours," making clear that social distancing and mask-wearing alone will not limit the virus, but rather that it is about the time of exposure.

The episode itself also highlights the importance of proper medical care and science. If Queed had never created the vaccine and inadvertently made Khensu into a test subject, then everyone at the academy would have killed each other. Admittedly, this vaccine did not go through all the stages that those vaccines for the flu, measles, smallpox, and many other diseases, must go through before being given to the general public. In that way, it was a big gamble to even make the vaccines for everyone because they only had one test subject (Khensu). What if the effects on the students had been different? Imagine that instead of removing the flu particles within each of them, it killed or made them sicker? This is where the show falls down. Since it is reportedly geared toward those aged 6-11, according to showrunner Doug Langdale, such serious discussions are often sidetracked. As such, shows like Futurama do a much better job of highlighting the medical issues and risks in infection than Cleopatra in Space, with critics praising it for highlighting "what happens when an epidemic breaks loose in the future." Even so, the Cleopatra in Space episode still has its merits, as it does not have flashbacks and neither is everyone put in quarantine. Similar to the Futurama episode, a vaccine is created, but the plotline is more straightforward and focuses on fewer characters, as Cleo's usual team of herself, Brian, and Akila, is not possible, as Brian and Akila have the flu.

Final thoughts

The parallels to the current COVID-19 pandemic could why the episode is still not listed on Peacock. However, the episode has aired on the DreamWorks channel, Showmax in South Africa, Viaplay in Scandinavia, and ABC Me in Australia, to give a few examples. Perhaps the executives, whether at DreamWorks, Universal Pictures (parent of DreamWorks), NBCUniversal (parent of Universal Pictures), or Comcast (parent of NBC Universal), did not want the episode to be interpreted as a commentary on COVID-19, with a protagonist who violates quarantine rules and is gleeful about it (before releasing her error). If that is the case, it is completely absurd. Since the show is relatively complex, in terms of the fact it has 26 episodes, coming in a total of over 570 minutes of animated content, it undoubtedly took a long time to produce, as compared to shorter productions. The show has been in production since at least January 2018, when the request to develop the music for the show was put out, [6] and when DreamWorks registered the trademark for Cleopatra in Space itself. Looking into those in the show's crew, depending on the person, they worked on the show any time between April 2018 and August 2019, far before COVID-19 was on anyone's mind.

Hopefully, this episode will soon be made available and that other animations in the coming year make parallels to the current COVID-19 pandemic in a way that is respectful and recognizes the gravity of the virus. In the end, there are various lessons and takeaways that viewers can glean from this episode, and the animated series as a whole, which will have relevance to this current time and place, and into the foreseeable future.

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Notes

[2] Brown, N. (2020, May 15). What is a coronavirus "super-spreading" event? Retrieved October 4, 2020, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/super-spreader-coronavirus/.

[3] Over 19 people have been infected as noted by Norah O'Donnell in the CBS News special report on late night television on October 5, 2020 about the return of the U.S. President from Walter Reed to the White House, a number that increases every day.

[4] Santucci, J. and Faulders, K. White House aides anxious as coronavirus cases rise in Trump's orbit: Sources. Retrieved October 5, 2020, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/white-house-aides-anxious-coronavirus-cases-rise-trumps/story?id=73435247; Holland, S. and Chiacu, D. Trump set to go home to a White House hard hit by coronavirus. Retrieved October 5, 2020, from https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-medical-status-unclear-doctors-040418365.html.

[5] Dillion, N. CDC admits COVID-19 can spread through tiny aerosol droplets suspended for 'minutes to hours'. Retrieved October 5, 2020, from https://www.yahoo.com/news/cdc-admits-covid-19-spread-211400081.html; Edwards, E. CDC reverses again, now says COVID-19 is 'sometimes' airborne. Retrieved October 5, 2020, from https://www.today.com/health/cdc-reverses-again-now-says-covid-19-sometimes-airborne-t193348.

[6] Lofty, C. (2019, November 25). Cleopatra comin' atcha! - the music of Cleo in Space. Retrieved October 4, 2020, from https://futurevega.com/blog/cleopatra-in-space.

#covid 19 #covid19 #covid #pandemic #coronavirus #superspreader #cleopatra in space #doug langdale #animation #cdc #doctors #pop culture #reviews #animation production #dreamworks

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bonebabbles · 9 months

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with the disclaimer that I don't know all the context since I haven't read it, how WAS he supposed to handle a contagious illness in a society that doesn't have any form of masks or sanitation? Temporarily quarantining contagiously sick cats away from healthy ones just seems like a completely different and much more reasonable thing than kicking out cats permanently for a disability because they would be a "burden".

@halogenwarrior

Ok, going with you having no context for this, he wasn't suggesting a 'temporary quarantine' for sick cats. There is already a quarantine, with only the medics approaching the sick. Following everyone having a Hearty Chuckle that Clear Sky 'cares about other people' now by saying we're "all in it together," Clear Sky shares his full plan;

He nonsensically believes that no sick prey is living in the burnt part of his woods and the fire "cleansed it", so all of the healthy cats will abandon the sick to die in their camps and come live on his territory and 'wait it out.'

His plan is that all the cats who become sick will die. It's not quarantine in the sense that they will 'help the sick but keep a distance', he is essentially suggesting a reverse leper colony where everyone who displays symptoms gets kicked out to fend for themselves.

And, in the past, illness was always part of his talking points for throwing cats out of his clan. It was why he tried to throw Frost out, where he would die alone. I went back to Thunder Rising to grab the passage,

This is after he shoves Thunder's face into it and tells him to lick it.

So, it's wholly inappropriate, imo, that Thunder essentially does a little eye roll and a cutesy sigh at this suggestion. "Ohh that's my dad and his ruthless streak." His dad has historically been a monster towards the sick and infirm when they "stop being useful" with this rhetoric. Burdens, disease, weakness. In this moment, he is proposing that they do to an unknown number of cats exactly what he commanded Thunder do to Frost.

Additionally, at this point in time, they don't know how the illness spreads. They're guessing that it's via contact with sick prey, and using leaves as rudimentary tissues/gloves. Clear Sky DOES know, though, these two things;

One Eye knows how it spreads and is not telling.

Many of his cats have been exposed.

He has no idea which cats have been exposed, or how many, or even how long it takes between infection and first symptoms. All they DO know is that symptoms are rapid onset and debilitating. By the time you know a cat is sick, they're covered in sores, have a bloated stomach, and are unable to hunt for themselves. The only thing that is for sure is that turning them out is a death sentence.

And yet he is confused at the idea that Thunder has an objection about leaving Morning Whisker, Wind Runner's kitten who isn't older than a month or two, alone to die.

The solution that the groups eventually come up with is that the clans will remain isolated from each other as to not spread illness, though it doesn't seem to work because infected prey still moves around freely.

Also note that the first time Clear Sky actually gives a damn about an infected person is when Jagged Peak's pregnant wife catches it (After Jagged Peak 'proves' he's useful now by leading a medicine-seeking patrol thanks to Gray Wing). Wind Runner's an "ex-rogue," a group Clear Sky has disdain for, and he doesn't think to have compassion about her baby.

So to answer your question directly, he was 'supposed' to handle it the way the Moor cats did and were, with some basic safety precautions. Not regress to trying to use the illness to get all the cats into a single Clan in his own territory where he could continue to throw "useless/dangerously ill/disabled" out into the wilderness "where the maggots will find them".

#tw medical gore #It's worse than I mentioned but I was trying to be brief about it #Because if I dove into every little thing that is SHOCKINGLY bad about Clear Sky I wouldn't be able to get through the book #I swear im trying to be charitable about the fact his first suggestion was just...#''Kill your sick friends and children and join a brand new camp in MY territory''#''I totally won't assert myself as your leader and make you throw out your friends and family For The Greater Good this time''#''I've been thinking it's a great idea to gather all of the cats in one spot as a contagious illness ravages the forest''#''Don't worry we won't get sick because we'll leave all the weak people behind''#You can think about this for more than 30 seconds and see it fall apart #So isn't it very very convenient that his ''i've been Thinking'' idea involves consolidating power under HIMSELF??? AGAIN?????#At *best* he is so stupid he is inventing a superspreader event #At minimum his plan involves killing a LOT of people via abandonment #And at worst it's actually just another ploy to gain power. But I have to rule that out even though it's the most interesting idea #Because it's Clear Sky Redemption Arc Time and the writers are dead set on not letting him be an interesting character

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