Two men running frantically through the woods. Cops, dogs and a helicopter pursue them into the night. What was their crime?
A 2-minute film by Kevin James…
If I had seen this film a year ago, I would have said it was a comical dystopian fantasy. Today, it seems only three steps away from our spooky reality.
The foreshadowing in this film is terrific. Marcus asks Ted: “Out for a little run?” Ted replies: “I just did 7, may do another 7.” You sure will, Ted.
In my forthcoming novel, a similar situation happens to the protagonist. His crime? Sitting by the bedside of his dying grandfather in a quarantined nursing home.
In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 a man is hunted down by a police helicopter and shot for jogging at night. As Bradbury said: “I was not predicting the future, I was trying to prevent it.”
So by sharing this film by Kevin James with friends and family may we prevent such a future where a friendly handshake between neighbours would be considered a crime. A crime of the new normal.
About the Author: John C. A. Manley is the author of the full-length novel, Much Ado About Corona: Dystopian Love Story. He is currently working on the sequel, Brave New Normal, while living in Stratford Ontario, with his wife Nicole and son Jonah. You can 