Viral Media

The Spread of Infected Language in Pontypool

“Something's going to happen . . . but then,
something's always about to happen.”
—Grant Mazzy, Pontypool

Grant Mazzy’s deep, hypnotic voice moves with smooth intonations over the airwaves alluding to the danger that is to come. Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) delivers an opening monologue in Pontypool (2008) that taps into the anxiety and fear born from the digital revolution, a time when people were beginning to feel pressure in their daily lives from the onslaught of information. This new world of information inflammation—commodified and manipulated for the explicit goal of going viral in an instant—created a sense of unease that found representation in a variety of cultural outlets, especially film. The resurgence of zombie-themed films in the early to mid aughts often featured viral outbreaks as a central motif. Movies like 28 Days Later (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), and [REC] (2007) portrayed the pervasive influence of media coverage amidst catastrophic events¹. Based on the 199…