‘Pluribus’ Smiles Through the Pain of the COVID Era

Pop culture can be a lens through which we view the world, but what if we’d rather avert our eyes? Taking stock of the past five years, you wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to leave things in the rearview—least of all living through a pandemic. To me, it feels like the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic happened a lifetime ago, yet it’s been only five years since mask mandates and social distancing were an inextricable part of everyone’s lives. The financial impact of COVID is in the literal trillions, but we may never understand the true cost of the pandemic on our collective psyches: the prolonged isolation, the constant sound of sirens blaring, the mass graves, and so on. Ironically, many folks found themselves gravitating toward postapocalyptic programming during the lockdowns—shout-out Station Eleven—but whenever Hollywood attempted to explore the actual experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, it rarely resonated. (The less said about Songbird, the better.)