Abacus | Escapism is the cure for Hong Kong’s pandemic blues – Doraemon shows how
- Neil Newman recommends staying home and watching 2014 animated film ‘Stand by Me Doraemon’ while stuck inside amid the city’s fifth Covid-19 wave
- Perhaps the cat-shaped robot’s story can cheer us up, remind us how precious everyday life is – and help us focus on the things that really matter
I think we can all agree that it feels like we’ve been living in a disaster movie lately. But unlike in the frighteningly prescient 2009 film Contagion or TV series Survivors, in which most of the world’s population is wiped out by a virus, the real-life impact of our current health crisis is limited.
Covid-19 has upended our day-to-day lives and been the cause of much tragedy, but the effects of the pandemic are diminishing rapidly around the world and, in some places, are now almost negligible – as they will be one day in Hong Kong.
Using the standard three-act structure for a movie script, I believe we have reached the peak of the second act: when the storyline reaches a crescendo. We are now heading into the final act and the story’s resolution, at the end of which we will all get on with our lives again.
So, what should we all do with ourselves while we wait?
I would start by watching the 2014 movie Stand by Me Doraemon, a quirky, lighthearted Japanese animation that will not only lift your mood but perhaps also offer some food for thought – and instructions on how to snap out of the criticism and pain of the pandemic.
