Bioterror: Worth the Hype?
The aim of this essay is to discuss the history of bioterrorism and how it is portrayed in and by the media. After 9/11, America was introduced to, probably; the most well known weapon of bioterror anthrax. As dangerous as anthrax is, it is not the only dangerous weapon of bioterror, not by a long shot. Most of America fears bioterrorism because of how it is portrayed by the media, in movies, TV shows, books and video games; However, the question we must ask is how accurate is the media’s portrayal of bioterror. Through exploring what it takes to arm and deploy a weapon of bioterror, and how much damage they can actually do, it will be shown what the media have portrayed correctly and what is factually wrong. This essay will also discuss the preparations and dealing with the aftermath of a terror attack, and how those are portrayed in the media.
Bibliography:
http://smq.sagepub.com/content/13/4/47.full.pdf+html – This website is that of a published paper that outlines what would happen, in major cities, in case of a bioterror attack. It will help me analyze the medias depiction of how big cities would react to and handle a bioterror attack
https://www.dcmsonline.org/jaxmedicine/2005journals/bioterrorism/bioterrorism_history.pdf – This webpage just offers a very simple, brief history of bioterror. It will be used in explaining how bioterror is used, in order to analyze the medias depiction.
Beyond Anthrax: The Weaponization of Infectious Diseases / Larry I. Lutwick, Suzanne M. Lutwick. – In order to understand how the movies use bioterror, we need to understand the nature of bioterrorism. Lutwick’s book goes through how weapons are weaponized and deployed, and will be able to confirm that weapons were being portrayed correctly or if the movies use a completely fictitious account.
Various Movie scripts and books – The scripts and books will be used to discuss the portrayal of bioterror, the effects and how they are dealt with.
Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War by Judith Miller, Stephen, Engelberg, William Broad – This book also depicts the steps taken by America to develop bioterror weapons. It will help me gain a more complete understanding of the medias depiction
