Ever since Leave the World Behind premiered, there has been discourse about how some of the events in the movie seem to parallel real life. However, what started as a discussion of interesting coincidences has morphed into full-on conspiracy theories in the aftermath of the Baltimore Bridge collapse.
Leave the World Behind is a disaster thriller based on the book of the same name by Rumaan Alam. It follows the Sanford family, who are on vacation when a global crisis breaks out. The film explores the dangers of society’s reliance on technology, as it shows the disastrous impact technological failures or cyberattacks could have on a country.
Since the movie premiered, social media users have occasionally joked about it predicting the future due to a few coincidences arising. For example, when nearly every Tesla in the nation was recalled due to an autopilot safety concern, it echoed the film’s depiction of every self-driving Tesla being hacked to cause devastating car crashes and back-up traffic. Similarly, when a blackout began affecting residents across multiple states, users compared it to the nationwide blackout in Leave the World Behind.
However, these comparisons weren’t taken seriously because both incidents differed from what happened in the movie. Additionally, neither incident significantly impacted or endangered human life, so it was harmless to joke about Leave the World Behind supposedly coming to life. Now that a real-life tragedy has occurred, though, users don’t seem to understand that this isn’t the time to be reaching for comparisons to a movie.
What happened in Baltimore?
In the early hours of March 26, news broke of a terrible accident in Baltimore after a cargo ship collided with a bridge. The bridge is the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is part of Maryland Route 695. As a result, there were cars traveling across the bridge at the time of the collision. Meanwhile, the severity of the crash led to the entire bridge collapsing. According to reports, multiple vehicles, as well as some crew members of the ship, fell into the river upon impact. So far, two individuals have been rescued from the water, one of whom is in critical condition.
Rescue missions are still underway, and there is no word on how many casualties may have occurred, but the disaster has been labeled a “developing mass casualty event.” Rescuers have identified at least seven vehicles underwater via sonar technology. The water under the bridge is about 50 feet deep, complicating the rescue process. The incident is still being investigated, but authorities have seen no evidence of terrorism or nefarious intention. It is still unclear how the crew lost control of the vessel, but, understandably, the rescue mission is the priority right now, and answers on what happened may not be imminent.
What does the Baltimore crash have to do with Leave the World Behind?
The tragic accident has left much of the nation shocked and heartbroken. While many are waiting to learn how to support those impacted by the disaster and offering thoughts and prayers to the city, others have responded quite callously to the incident. Leave the World Behind quickly began trending after the news broke. The reason social media is discussing the movie is because there is one scene in which an oil tanker crashes onto a beachfront. Many argue that the Baltimore incident is eerily similar to the boat crash in Leave the World Behind.
Some users don’t mean harm and are merely pointing out that the incident reminds them of the movie. However, others have taken the coincidence even further. Conservative conspiracy theorists, including Andrew Tate, have begun spreading misinformation on X as they claim that the Baltimore incident was the result of a cyberattack, like the incident in Leave the World Behind. As mentioned above, though, there has been no confirmation or evidence that a cyberattack occurred. Still, users are desperately trying to stir hysteria, claiming that the U.S. is under attack and that Leave the World Behind was “predictive programming” rather than a fictional movie. Many are also claiming that a bigger “Black Swan” event is imminent.
Since the Obamas served as producers on Leave the World Behind, some are even positing outlandish theories that the movie was simply “elites” teasing their plan for the United States, and Baltimore is the start of a plan coming to fruition.
Given that this is still a developing event, it is very dangerous to be spreading lies and conspiracies about it. All resources and focus should be devoted to the rescue mission, but the rising hysteria threatens to be a distraction.
Not only is it dangerous to contribute to hysteria and potentially prompt drastic action from conspiracy theorists while a rescue mission is underway, but it’s also extremely insensitive and selfish. It’s quite disgusting that some conservatives are somehow making this tragedy about themselves and grasping at it to support their wild views. This is simply not the time to be delving into theories or trying to sound clever or witty by pointing out supposed similarities between fiction and real life.
(featured image: Netflix)
