COVID-19 pandemic in popular culture

{{Short description|References to the COVID-19 pandemic in popular culture}}File:Afectos en pandemia.jpgThe COVID-19 pandemic swept the world in the early months of 2020, causing massive economic and social disruption. In addition to the disease itself, populations have often dealt with lockdowns, shortages and pandemic fatigue, political and cultural turmoil. This made the pandemic a time of exceptional stress,{{cite web |url=https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_the_pandemic_is_affecting_our_mental_health |title=Seven Ways the Pandemic Is Affecting Our Mental Health |last= Newman |first= Kira M. |date= 11 August 2020 |website=greatergood.berkeley.edu |publisher=Greater Good |access-date=19 December 2020 |quote="In late March, nearly 3,500 people were surveyed in Spain, when the country ranked second in the world in COVID-19 deaths. Many people met the criteria for clinical mental health problems: 19 percent for depression, almost a quarter for anxiety, and 16 percent for PTSD. Within a week after Slovenia declared an epidemic, over half of the thousands of people surveyed had high stress levels. In April, 14 percent of Americans were experiencing serious psychological distress, more than triple the rate in 2018."}} driving some people to seek peaceful escapism in media and others to consume media concerning fictional pandemics (i.e., zombie apocalypses) in an effort to make sense of the event.{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-13/why-we-read-pandemic-stories-in-a-pandemic/12138290 |title=COVID-19 will shape pop culture for years to come, but for now we love pandemic stories |last=Nobel |first=Emma |date=13 April 2020 |website=abc.net.au |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=18 December 2020 |quote="Fictitious stories about pandemics give us a way to experience the horror in a controlled way, with the pacing we've grown to expect, where resolution is always possible, and where we can always turn off the TV if it gets a bit too much."}} Themes include contagion, isolation and loss of control.{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/5891305/horror-movies-coronavirus-history-genre/ |title=Horror Films Have Always Tapped Into Pop Culture's Most Urgent Fears. COVID-19 Will Be Their Next Inspiration |last=McCluskey |first=Megan |date=7 October 2020 |magazine=Time |access-date=19 December 2020 |quote=}} The pandemic also impacted people's use of social media as well as the sports industry.

Some commentators have referred to the pandemic as a "distinct cultural era".{{Cite news |last=Proulx |first=Natalie |date=2023-04-11 |title=What Pop Culture Moments Define the Covid Era? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/learning/what-pop-culture-moments-define-the-covid-era.html |access-date=2024-11-11 |work=The New York Times}}

In media

The pandemic has been included in the narratives of ongoing pre-pandemic television series and become a central narrative in new ones, with mixed results.{{cite web |url=https://www.augustman.com/my/culture/film-tv/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-affecting-popular-culture/ |title=How The Covid-19 Pandemic Is Affecting Popular Culture |author= |date=24 November 2020 |website=augustman.com |publisher=August Man |access-date=18 December 2020 |quote="In addition to existing shows, streaming platforms and cable channels have tried putting together new series centred on coronavirus, like HBO's "Coastal Elites" or Netflix's "Social Distance" – but with no real success."}}

=Film and television=

{{see also|Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States#Topical programming}}

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| quote = "It was inevitable that films would be made about this significant chapter in global history, in part because a small group of people enduring an extended stay in their own homes is about the only scenario it's safe and logistically possible to actually shoot right now. But did the results have to start arriving while we're all still stuck in this nightmare?"

A. A. Dowd, The A.V. Club{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-star-powered-covid-drama-locked-down-is-nearly-as-a-1846052007 |title=The star-powered COVID drama Locked Down is nearly as annoying as, well, lockdown |last=Dowd |first=A.A. |date=2021-01-13 |website=avclub.com |publisher=The A.V. Club |access-date=2021-01-13 |quote="It was inevitable that films would be made about this significant chapter in global history, in part because a small group of people enduring an extended stay in their own homes is about the only scenario it's safe and logistically possible to actually shoot right now. But did the results have to start arriving while we're all still stuck in this nightmare?"}}

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== Horror ==

The horror film Host (2020), a computer screen film, was produced and released during the pandemic and centers on characters attacked by a supernatural presence after conducting a seance via Zoom.{{Cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=2020-07-07|title=Shudder Invokes Quarantine Spirits With Remotely Filmed Horror Film 'Host'|url=https://deadline.com/2020/07/shudder-host-rob-savage-quarantine-zoom-remotely-filmed-1202978631/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=Deadline|archive-date=2020-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104193743/https://deadline.com/2020/07/shudder-host-rob-savage-quarantine-zoom-remotely-filmed-1202978631/|url-status=live}}

Another film, Safer at Home, filmed in 2021 and set in 2022, evisions Los Angeles as a police state as a result of the pandemic. It depicts an online party going "terribly wrong."{{Cite web |last=Hipes |first=Patrick |date=2021-01-15 |title=Pandemic Thriller ‘Safer At Home’, Shot During Covid Lockdown, Finds Home At Vertical Entertainment |url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/safer-at-home-movie-release-vertical-entertainment-pandemic-thriller-1234674041/amp/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Deadline}}

The slasher film Sick is set during the pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Debruge |first=Peter |date=2023-01-13 |title='Sick' Review: Kevin Williamson Rewrites Slasher Survival Rules for the Pandemic Era |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/sick-review-kevin-williamson-1235488459/ |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

== Comedy ==

Staged is a British television comedy series set during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. It was primarily filmed using video-conferencing technology. In the first series, released in June 2020, David Tennant and Michael Sheen play fictionalized versions of themselves, trying to rehearse a play online during lockdown.{{Cite news |last=Hawksley |first=Rupert |date=10 June 2020 |title=Staged, BBC One, review: David Tennant and Michael Sheen's Zoom comedy is better than The Trip |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/staged-bbc-one-review-david-tennant-michael-sheen-442985 |access-date=21 June 2020 |work=i}}

The film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, a sequel to the 2006 mockumentary film Borat, was released on Amazon Prime Video in October 2020. It features the fictional Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) traveling around the United States and interacting with Americans during the pandemic. The film's conclusion jokingly postulates that COVID-19 was created by the Kazakhstan government, which used Borat to spread it and start the pandemic.{{cite web|last1=Buchanan|first1=Kyle|date=23 October 2020|title=The 'Borat' Sequel's 3 Wildest Scenes: Here's What Happens|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/movies/borat-sequel-giuliani-trump.html|access-date=9 November 2020|website=The New York Times}}

Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea is a dystopian dark comedy distributed by BayView Entertainment about a vile landlady who wrecks havoc on her tenants during a zombie epidemic. The screenwriter Brian Patrick Butler was inspired by political divison that stemmed from the pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Parker |first=Sean |date=2024-12-02 |title=Hemet, or The Landlady Don't Drink Tea is The Absurd Political Satire We Need Now |url=https://www.25yearslatersite.com/2024/12/02/hemet-or-the-landlady-dont-drink-tea/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=25YL |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Spark |first=Charlotte |date=2024-03-28 |title=Reel Review: Hemet, Or The Landlady Don’t Drink Tea |url=https://morbidlybeautiful.com/reel-review-hemet-or-the-landlady-dont-drink-tea/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Morbidly Beautiful |language=en-US}}

Writing for The New York Times about the then-upcoming BBC sitcom Pandemonium on 16 December 2020, David Segal asked, "Are we ready to laugh about Covid-19? Or rather, is there anything amusing, or recognizable in a humorous way, about life during a plague, with all of its indignities and setbacks, not to mention its rituals (clapping for health care workers) and rules (face masks, please)."{{cite web |last=Segal |first=David |date=16 December 2020 |title=Are We Ready to Laugh About Covid-19? A British Sitcom Hopes So |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/business/media/pandemonium-bbc-coronavirus.html |access-date=18 December 2020 |website=The New York Times |quote="Are we ready to laugh about Covid-19? Or rather, is there anything amusing, or recognizable in a humorous way, about life during a plague, with all of its indignities and setbacks, not to mention its rituals (clapping for health care workers) and rules (face masks, please)."}}

The film Locked Down, about a jewelry heist during the pandemic, was released on HBO Max on 14 January 2021, after being filmed in September 2020 and set the previous spring. It received mixed reviews.{{cite web|title=Locked Down (2021)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/locked_down_2021|access-date=14 January 2021|website=Rotten Tomatoes}}{{cite web|title=Locked Down Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/locked-down|access-date=14 January 2021|website=Metacritic|publisher=Red Ventures}}

Bo Burnham: Inside is a Netflix comedy special released in May 2021{{Cite web |last=Hyland |first=Luke |date=2021-05-22 |title='Bo Burnham: Inside' Poster and Release Date Revealed for Quarantine Comedy Special |url=https://collider.com/bo-burnham-inside-netflix-comedy-special-release-date-poster/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Collider |language=en}} and filmed during the pandemic without a crew or audience,{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Anne Victoria |date=2021-05-21 |title=Bo Burnham Made a New Special Alone in His House |url=https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/bo-burnham-new-special-inside-netflix.html |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Vulture |language=en}} with Burnham directing, shooting and editing the special while quarantined.{{Cite news |last=Dessem |first=Matthew |date=2021-05-31 |title=Inside, Bo Burnham’s New Special, Captures Just How Badly 2020 Sucked |url=https://slate.com/culture/2021/05/bo-burnham-inside-netflix-special-fantastic-good-funny.html |access-date=2024-11-11 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}} It features themes of balancing the impulses to "stay in bed, stay in the dark, stay alone", and "to create, create, create, stay busy, and make jokes",{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Linda |date=2021-06-04 |title=Bo Burnham's 'Inside' Is A Musical Fantasy About Terrible Realities |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/04/1002491153/bo-burnhams-inside-is-a-musical-fantasy-about-terrible-realities |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=NPR}} as well as thoughts on the irrelevance of one's own work during a perceived global collapse.

The satirical American TV cartoon South Park did two double-length episodes about COVID-19, "The Pandemic Special" and "South ParQ Vaccination Special". It then did two approximately hour-long television films, South Park: Post Covid, and South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid.

Friend of the World is a COVID satire and body horror film distributed by Troma Entertainment. Similar to The Divine Comedy, The Twilight Zone, and Night of the Living Dead, it was "deeply embedding some of the concerns of civil unrest people were facing at the time with the story of a disturbed man in an underground bunker."{{Cite web |last=Parker |first=Sean |date=2022-05-10 |title=Friend of the World: The Divine Comedy of Body Horror |url=https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/05/10/friend-of-the-world-review/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Horror Obsessive |language=en-US}}

== Drama/thriller ==

The Gone Game is an Indian psychological thriller web series directed by Nikhil Bhat, shot almost entirely within the confines of homes and directed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. It premiered on Voot on 20 August 2020. The show follows the death of a COVID-19 patient with the plotline getting messier in each episode.{{Cite web|date=21 August 2020|title=The Gone Game review: Voot's shot-during-lockdown thriller is an effective experiment|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/the-gone-game-review-voot-s-shot-during-lockdown-thriller-is-an-effective-experiment/story-ByjGlV0Es7EBWORCmOeA5N.html|access-date=17 September 2020|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}

The U.S. medical drama television series The Good Doctor and Grey's Anatomy began airing their season 4 and season 17, respectively, in November 2020. Both featured COVID-19's impact on the characters working at, and patients of, the hospital where the shows are set – including recurring characters becoming infected by the disease.{{Cite web|last=Grobar|first=Matt|date=3 November 2020|title='The Good Doctor' Creator David Shore On Season 4 Opener: COVID-19 Pandemic & New Residents Arrive As Shaun & Lea Set Up House – Q&A|url=https://deadline.com/2020/11/the-good-doctor-season-4-premiere-creator-david-shore-interview-abc-1234605878/|access-date=23 November 2020|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Jess|date=18 November 2020|title=Grey's Anatomy star responds to cast's on-set face mask criticism|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a34708868/greys-anatomy-camilla-luddington-face-mask-response/|access-date=23 November 2020|website=Digital Spy|language=en-GB}}

The U.S. drama franchise One Chicago premiered on 11 November 2020, with Chicago Med featuring a COVID Unit in the hospital, where incoming patients were tested by paramedics in season 6.{{Cite web|last=Frederick|first=Brittany|date=30 September 2020|title=Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med will all incorporate COVID-19|url=https://onechicagocenter.com/2020/09/30/chicago-fire-chicago-pd-chicago-med-covid-19/|access-date=30 September 2020|website=One Chicago Center|language=en-US}}

The U.S. procedural drama television series 9-1-1 began airing its season 4 in January 2021. The opening episode number 47, "The New Abnormal" featured a storyline centered around the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on both the recurring characters and everyday individuals.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Songbird, an American dystopian romantic thriller film directed by Adam Mason and produced by Michael Bay, in which "COVID-23" has caused the world to remain in lockdown for four years, filmed in Los Angeles during the real-world pandemic with consequently disrupted-production.{{Cite web|last=Countryman|first=Eli|date=29 October 2020|title=Michael Bay's Covid-Inspired 'Songbird' Trailer Shows the World Ravaged by Pandemic|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/songbird-michael-bay-pandemic-covid-1234818352/|access-date=29 October 2020|website=Variety|language=en-US}} The initial response was negative, with critics arguing that it was "cashing in on human suffering"{{Cite web|last=Ushe|first=Naledi|date=29 October 2020|title='Songbird' movie trailer about pandemic 'COVID-23' slammed by critics: 'Cashing in on human suffering'|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/songbird-movie-trailer-about-pandemic-covid-23-slammed-with-criticism-cashing-in-on-human-suffering|access-date=29 October 2020|website=Fox News|language=en-US}} and "throwing nightmare fuel on the fire of conspiracy theorists."{{Cite web|last=Kiefer|first=Halle|date=29 October 2020|title=The Songbird Trailer Is Here to Bravely Prey on Your Worst Fears About COVID|url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/10/songbird-movie-trailer.html|access-date=29 October 2020|website=Vulture|language=en-us}} It is described as the first American film derived entirely from the pandemic,{{cite web|last=Vishnevetsky|first=Ignatiy|date=10 December 2020|title=The first movie inspired by the pandemic is here, and it sucks|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-first-movie-inspired-by-the-pandemic-is-here-and-i-1845848429|access-date=21 December 2020|website=film.avclub.com|publisher=The A.V. Club|quote="Shot in July, it has the dubious honor of being the first American movie to come out of the pandemic—the first to be conceived, filmed, and released in the current climate."}} was released on 11 December 2020, to generally negative reviews.{{Cite web|title=Songbird (2020)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/songbird_2020|access-date=17 December 2020|website=Rotten Tomatoes}}{{cite web|title=Songbird Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/songbird|access-date=19 December 2020|website=Metacritic}} At least eight of the 75 movies announced for the 2021 South by Southwest included COVID-19 in their narratives.{{cite web|last=Mattise|first=Nathan|date=27 March 2021|title=Can you make a comedy set during COVID-19? Recovery takes the idea for a drive|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/03/can-you-make-a-comedy-set-during-covid-19-recovery-takes-the-idea-for-a-drive/|access-date=1 April 2021|website=Ars Technica|publisher=Conde Nast|quote="Of the 75 feature-length films on the SXSW Online 2021 schedule, more than a tenth (at least eight) explicitly involve COVID-19."}}{{cite web|last=Alter|first=Rebecca|date=10 February 2021|title=Here Are All the Movies About COVID at SXSW This Year|url=https://www.vulture.com/2021/02/sxsw-film-festival-2021-all-of-the-movies-about-covid.html|access-date=1 April 2021|website=Vulture|publisher=New York magazine|quote=}}

Putham Pudhu Kaalai ({{translation|A brand new dawn}}) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language anthology film, consisting of five short film segments. It was entirely shot during the COVID-19 pandemic in India and is set against the backdrop of the country's 21-day lockdown in March 2020, the five short films talk about hope, love, and new beginnings during the pandemic. The film released on Amazon Prime Video on 16 October 2020.{{Cite web |date=5 October 2020 |title='Putham Pudhu Kaalai' trailer: Tamil anthology set and filmed in times of COVID-19 lockdown |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-putham-pudhu-kaalai-trailer-tamil-anthology-set-and-filmed-in-times-of-covid-19-lockdown-2847555 |access-date=5 October 2020 |website=DNA India |language=en}}

Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn ({{translation|The number dialled by Karthik}}) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language short film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. A sequel to his Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), it stars Silambarasan and Trisha reprising their roles from that film. The film was primarily shot using an iPhone and released on 20 May 2020 on YouTube. It follows filmmaker Karthik who is at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu without work as theatres are shut down, affecting his career as a screenwriter. While experiencing writer's block, he hesitantly calls his ex-girlfriend Jessie, who fled the effects of the pandemic in New York City and is under lockdown in Kerala. After the phone call, Karthik resumes his writing and composes Kamal & Kadambari – A Love Story.{{Cite news |date=21 May 2020 |title='Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn': A letter to unrequited love, and then some |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-a-letter-to-unrequited-love-and-then-some/article31636643.ece |url-status=live |access-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200521051003/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-a-letter-to-unrequited-love-and-then-some/article31636643.ece |archive-date=21 May 2020}}

Coronavirus is an Indian Telugu-language film that explores life of a middle-class family amidst COVID-19 lockdown in India. The film was released on 11 December 2020.{{cite news|last=Pathi|first=Thadhagath|title=Coronavirus Movie Review: A slow narrative proves bane for this attempt to rightly question disastrous health policies|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/coronavirus/movie-review/79678889.cms|access-date=25 April 2021|website=The Times of India}}

Operation MBBS Season 2 is an Indian Hindi-language medical drama set in the COVID-19 pandemic in a medical college which is under the impact of the pandemic. Directed by Amrit Raj Gupta, the series was released on Dice Media YouTube channel, with its first episode uploaded on 15 March 2021.

Eeswaran is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action-drama film written and directed by Suseenthiran. It tells the story of a familial dispute during and due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.{{Cite news|last=Ramanujam|first=Srinivasa|date=14 January 2021|title='Eeswaran' movie review: A predictable rural subject that goes nowhere|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/eeswaran-movie-review-a-predictable-rural-subject-that-goes-nowhere/article33574757.ece|access-date=14 January 2021|issn=0971-751X}}

A Pencil to the Jugular is a 2021 Australian drama directed by Matthew Victor Pastor. Set during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne it is the second instalment in a 2020 trilogy of feature films directed by Matthew Victor Pastor. The film premiered at the 43rd Moscow International Film Festival in April 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/409585/ph-movie-on-antiracism-screened-in-russian-fest|title = PH movie on antiracism screened in Russian fest|date = 5 May 2021}}

On 13 March 2025 it was aired 7291, which is focused on the casualties in Madrid and it also includes commentaries about family victims, doctors and responsible of the residence for the elderly.{{cite news |url=https://elpais.com/television/2025-03-14/el-documental-7291-sobre-las-victimas-de-la-pandemia-en-madrid-arrasa-en-tve-con-mas-de-12-millones-de-espectadores.html |title=El documental ‘7291’, sobre las víctimas de la pandemia en Madrid, arrasa en TVE con más de 1,2 millones de espectadores |date=14 March 2025 |access-date=14 March 2025 |newspaper=El País |language=es}}{{cite news |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20250312/directo-documental-7291-ver-completo/16486826.shtml |title=Ya disponible en RTVE Play el documental '7291' sobre el drama de las residencias de Madrid en la covid-19 |first=Sergio |last=Serrano |date=13 March 2025 |access-date=14 March 2025 |work=RTVE |language=es}}

The Family Man is an upcoming Indian espionage thriller set during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The series follows the story of Project Guan-Yu, planned by Chinese terrorists during the pandemic to strike over India. The hint of this was given in the post-credit scene of the second season of the series. It is created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. and is expected to release in 2022 or 2023.

== Short film ==

Pablo Larrain coordinated a short film anthology entitled Homemade, created during—and featuring stories about—the COVID-19 lockdown period. Each of the 17 directors were asked to produce a five- to seven-minute-long film, using only equipment found at home, and for a general audience. The project was conceived in March and released only three months later in June, via Netflix.{{Cite web|last1=Ravindran|first1=Manori|date=2 June 2020|title=Kristen Stewart, Maggie Gyllenhaal Direct in Pablo Larrain's Netflix Short Film Collection 'Homemade'|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/global/kristen-stewart-pablo-larrain-maggie-gyllenhaal-paolo-sorrentino-netflix-homemade-1234646217/|access-date=24 June 2020|website=Variety|language=en}}

Gotta Get Some Tissue! is an animated short film and music video inspired by the pandemic, released in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Stone |first=Roger |date=22 November 2022 |title=Review: Gotta Get Some Tissue! |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/review-gotta-get-some-tissue/ |access-date=30 November 2022 |website=FilmInk |language=en-AU}}

The Last Butterflies with Cooper Andrews and Whitney Wegman-Wood was inspired by Wegman-Wood's nightmares during the pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Hardison |first=Ryan |title=Local filmmaker turns personal nightmare into an artistic feat in ‘The Last Butterflies’ |url=https://www.northcoastcurrent.com/north-coast-beat/2024/01/local-filmmaker-turns-personal-nightmare-into-an-artistic-feat-in-the-last-butterflies/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=North Coast Current}}

== Music videos and competitions ==

The annually televised Eurovision Song Contest was forced to be cancelled at short notice, the first time in its 65-year history. A special broadcast called Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light was quickly produced{{cite web | url=https://eurovision.tv/story/europe-shine-a-light-a-production-race-against-the-clock | title=Europe Shine a Light: A production race against the clock | date=14 May 2020 }} and aired in its place across 45 countries.

The music video for the song "Phenom" by Thao & the Get Down Stay Down was recorded entirely via the "rigid grid format of the teleconferencing app Zoom," while the band members were in home isolation. Described as "the finest music video to emerge from our age of isolation," it took eight days to complete.{{Cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Sarah L.|date=2 April 2020|title=The best music video to emerge from our age of isolation|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/the-best-music-video-to-emerge-from-our-age-of-isolation-20200423-p54mgf.html|access-date=23 April 2020|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}

The music video for "Lose Somebody" by Kygo and One Republic used large green screen footage and wild images while working remote from each other due to COVID-19 restrictions.{{Cite news|last=Yopko|first=Nick|title=Kygo and OneRepublic Drop Bizarre Green Screen-Powered Music Video for "Lose Somebody"|url=https://edm.com/music-releases/kygo-lose-somebody-music-video|access-date=9 April 2021|website=EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists|language=en}} The video for "Freedom", also by Kygo and featuring Zak Abel, was shot separately from their homes and focused on their lives while under stay-at-home orders.{{Cite web|last=Kassam|first=Alshaan|date=17 April 2020|title=Kygo – Freedom (ft. Zack Abel)|url=https://weraveyou.com/2020/04/kygo-freedom-ft-zack-abel/|access-date=9 April 2021|website=We Rave You|language=en-US}}

In November 2020, K-pop boy band BTS released "Life Goes On", which described their lives during the pandemic as they lived in isolation, without the in person interaction of their fans and concerts. More personal and "sentimental" in nature, it presented the band living together in isolation in their dorm during the COVID-19 pandemic—in one scene RM "wistfully wipes a couple of fingers' worth of dust off his bicycle seat" as he can no longer participate in that outdoor activity[19]—having a pajama party, watching movies, and playing video games, intercut with a clip of V driving his band mates around South Korea and eventually past Seoul Olympic Stadium—he "peers out the window" and "longingly stares" at the venue as they pass it—where the band was slated to kickoff their Map of the Soul Tour several months prior, before it was ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic. The latter part of the video features a black and white sequence of the band envisioning themselves singing the song in the empty stadium "with stage lights shining down on them" as the video fades out. At a press conference held the day of Be's release, Jungkook said that his intent with the music video was to express the "sadness and the longing" the band felt due to the tour's cancellation "and because we couldn't see ARMY much".

Arivum Anbum ({{translation|Knowledge and Love|Wisdom and Love}}) is an Indian Tamil-language song released on 23 April 2020, by Think Music India on YouTube in response to the pandemic in India. The song was composed by Ghibran and lyrics by Kamal Haasan. It was sung by 12 singers and recorded by the artistes from their homes. The lyrics of the song talk about the need to use "our heart and intelligence" to battle the crisis. The video also features visuals of the mass exodus of migrant labourers from cities across the country.{{Cite news |title=Kamal Haasan releases new song Arivum Anbum, states that 'knowledge and love' is the need of the hour |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/kamal-haasan-releases-new-song-arivum-anbum-states-that-knowledge-and-love-is-the-need-of-the-hour/article31413543.ece |date=23 April 2020 |website=The Hindu |access-date=11 May 2020|last1=Ramanujam |first1=Srinivasa }}

== Release schedules ==

Due to movie theaters shutting down, some movies originally intended for theatrical release have instead premiered on streaming services. Disney's Mulan premiered on Disney+ in September 2020, and Warner Brothers' film Wonder Woman 1984 was released on 25 December on HBO Max.{{Cite web|last=March 2021|first=Daniel Pateman 26|title=Disney Plus Premier Access: what is it, how do I get it and what can I watch?|url=https://www.techradar.com/news/disney-plus-premier-access|access-date=9 April 2021|website=TechRadar|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Alexander|first=Julia|date=18 November 2020|title=Wonder Woman 1984 will be released on HBO Max the same day it's in theaters for no extra cost|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/18/21504152/wonder-woman-1984-release-delay-new-date-warner-bros-disney-black-widow-dune-tenet|access-date=9 April 2021|website=The Verge|language=en}}

Some movies, such as the James Bond entry No Time to Die, were postponed for over a year due to the pandemic.{{Cite web|title=New 007 Release Delayed For 3rd Time As Pandemic Continues To Batter Film Industry|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/22/959645065/new-007-release-delayed-for-3rd-time-as-pandemic-continues-to-batter-film-indust|access-date=9 April 2021|website=NPR.org|date=22 January 2021 |language=en|last1=Katkov |first1=Mark }}

= Music =

As people turned to music to relieve emotions evoked by the pandemic, Spotify listenership showed that classical, ambient, and children's genres grew due to COVID-19 while it remained relatively the same for pop, country, and dance.{{Cite web|date=23 April 2020|title=How the Coronavirus Pandemic Affects Music Genres on Spotify|url=https://blog.chartmetric.com/covid-19-effect-on-the-global-music-business-part-1-genre/|access-date=10 April 2021|website=How Music Charts|language=en}} Out of these latter genres, however, country appears to be the most resilient, with popularity soaring by 15.8%.{{Cite magazine|title=The Pandemic Could Have Hurt Country Music. Instead, the Genre Is Booming|url=https://time.com/5898001/country-music-streaming-numbers-coronavirus/|access-date=10 April 2021|magazine=Time}}

Other examples of music influenced by COVID-19 include:

Markus J. Buehler at Massachusetts Institute of Technology produced a musical score from a sonification algorithm and the structure of the virus' S (spike) protein. Beyond the aesthetic appeal of the outcome of the analysis, it may offer another method of finding potential binding sites for therapeutic targets and thereby assist with treatment.{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Tegan|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-04-06/coronavirus-music-scientists-translate-spike-proteins-melody/12124424|title=Scientists translate coronavirus spike protein into music, revealing more about its structure|date=6 April 2020|work=ABC News (Sydney)|access-date=7 April 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407085650/https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-04-06/coronavirus-music-scientists-translate-spike-proteins-melody/12124424|archive-date=7 April 2020}}{{cite journal|last1=Venugopal|first1=Vineeth|date=3 April 2020|title=Scientists have turned the structure of the coronavirus into music|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-have-turned-structure-coronavirus-music|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.abc0657|s2cid=216483751|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407040713/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/scientists-have-turned-structure-coronavirus-music|archive-date=7 April 2020|url-status=live}}
Australian musicians Tim Minchin and Briggs produced the song HouseFyre—satirising Prime Minister Scott Morrison's leadership during the preceding months—whilst under isolation in their respective homes. The video clip was filmed from their mobile phones, with proceeds from the song's sale going towards a fundraiser for indigenous artists.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/apr/09/tim-minchin-and-briggs-release-isolation-track-satirising-scott-morrisons-leadership|title=Tim Minchin and Briggs release isolation track satirising Scott Morrison's leadership|date=9 April 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 April 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410052654/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/apr/09/tim-minchin-and-briggs-release-isolation-track-satirising-scott-morrisons-leadership|archive-date=10 April 2020|url-status=live}}
Musician iMarkkeyz remixed an Instagram video by rapper Cardi B to release the song "Coronavirus" in mid-March. It reached No. 1 on the Brazilian iTunes chart{{Cite web|url=http://www.itunescharts.net/bra/artists/music/imarkkeyz/songs/coronavirus/|title=iTunesCharts.net: 'Coronavirus' by iMarkkeyz (Brazilian Songs iTunes Chart)|website=www.itunescharts.net|access-date=19 April 2020}} and No. 9 the US,{{Cite web|url=http://www.itunescharts.net/us/artists/music/imarkkeyz/songs/coronavirus/|title=iTunesCharts.net: 'Coronavirus' by iMarkkeyz (American Songs iTunes Chart)|website=www.itunescharts.net|access-date=19 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403235450/http://www.itunescharts.net/us/artists/music/imarkkeyz/songs/coronavirus/|archive-date=3 April 2020|url-status=live}} and was called "the first stirring of what a future historian may call pandemic pop".
British Army veteran Captain Tom Moore raised more than $55 million for Britain's National Health Service (NHS) in the middle of the pandemic on the week of his 100th birthday with a version of You'll Never Walk Alone with singer Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir, becoming the oldest artist to top the music charts and claim a UK number one single.{{Cite news|last=Shelton|first=Tracey|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-25/captain-tom-moore-number-1-youll-never-walk-alone-coronavirus/12180754|title=Captain Tom Moore becomes oldest artist to top the UK charts with You'll Never Walk Alone cover|date=27 April 2020|work=ABC News|access-date=29 April 2020}}
The New York Public Library published an album of "audio landscapes"—recordings of ambient sounds evocative of the city—Missing Sounds of New York (including of the sound of peak hour traffic, a baseball game, a busy restaurant, and of the library's own reading room). Released on 1 May, it had been streamed on Spotify in the first week over 200,000 times and publicly praised by the city's mayor.{{Cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=7 May 2020|title=The sound of silence: visiting the library during lockdown|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/may/07/library-sound-lockdown-new-yorkers-recording|access-date=10 May 2020|issn=0261-3077}}
The Finnish National Opera produced the opera Covid fan tutte, which premiered in Helsinki in March 2020. The opera takes its score from Mozart's Così fan Tutte, with an original libretto by Minna Lindgren discussing the effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on life in Finland.
Another adaptation designed to give employment to musicians and live entertainment to patrons, was the revival of live concerts played during a break in a restaurant meal, such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra string trio playing for diners when the restaurant at the Sydney Opera House reopened.{{Cite news|last=Dye|first=Josh|date=30 October 2020|title=Dinner and a show: Sydney restaurants resurrect musical tradition|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=https://www.goodfood.com.au/eat-out/news/dinner-and-a-show-sydney-restaurants-resurrect-musical-tradition-20201029-h1rso8}}
NPR's "Morning Edition Song Project" has been inviting musicians to submit original songs about their unique experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|title=Morning Edition Song Project|url=https://www.npr.org/series/898937366/morning-edition-song-project|access-date=8 January 2021|website=NPR.org|language=en}}
Pop stars Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande released a song, "Stuck with U", which was a fundraiser for the First Responders Children's Foundation. The accompanying music video features various celebrities in a video chat, with "squares of Grande and Bieber singing isolated in their homes and video check-ins from fans and famous friends, including Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Stephen and Ayesha Curry and Chance the Rapper with his wife, Kristen Corley."{{Cite web|title=Ariana Grande And Justin Bieber Team Up For Fundraising Single 'Stuck With U'|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852618716/ariana-grande-and-justin-bieber-team-up-for-fundraising-single-stuck-with-you|access-date=10 April 2021|website=NPR.org|date=8 May 2020 |language=en|last1=Lewis |first1=Jon }}
British pop musician Charli XCX produced her fourth studio album, how i'm feeling now (2020), during COVID-19 lockdowns as a "do-it-yourself" collaborative process with her fans. Charli XCX has also referred to how i'm feeling now as a "quarantine album", and the album's lyrics contain many references to COVID-19 quarantine and lockdowns. NBC News called how i'm feeling now "the album full of quarantine anthems we need right now" and a "quarantine-defining work".{{Cite web |title=Opinion {{!}} Charli XCX's DIY album is full of the quarantine anthems we need right now |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/charli-xcx-s-coronavirus-album-how-i-m-feeling-now-ncna1210726 |access-date=23 April 2022 |website=NBC News |date=20 May 2020 |language=en}}
New York anti-folk musician Jeffrey Lewis recorded a lo-fi album at home in 2020 inspired by the lockdown experience, entitled 2020 Tapes: Shelter-at-Homerecordings & Pandemos.{{Cite web|title=Art in isolation from New York neurotic, Jeffrey Lewis|url=https://spotlightmagazine.our.dmu.ac.uk/2021/04/04/art-in-isolation-from-new-york-neurotic-jeffery-lewis/|access-date=1 August 2023|website=spotlightmagazine.our.dmu.ac.uk|date=4 April 2021 |language=en|last1=Hornsby |first1=Samuel }}

= Literature =

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Author Sloane Crosley{{Cite news|last=Crosley|first=Sloane|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/sloane-crosley-pandemic-novel-coronavirus.html|title=Someday, We'll Look Back on All of This and Write a Novel|date=2020-03-17|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402045203/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/sloane-crosley-pandemic-novel-coronavirus.html|archive-date=2020-04-02|url-status=live}}

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The novel Lockdown by Peter May, written in 2005 and describing a global pandemic, was originally rejected for publication for being "unrealistic". When a fan requested that May write something related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the author said he thought about it for a minute before he "realized that I've kind of already done it." It was published in April 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/us/peter-may-lockdown-coronavirus-book-trnd/index.html|title=A pandemic thriller, once rejected by publishers for being unrealistic, is now getting a wide release|last=Elassar|first=Alaa|website=CNN|date=4 April 2020 |access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407163523/https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/us/peter-may-lockdown-coronavirus-book-trnd/index.html|archive-date=7 April 2020|url-status=live}}
Horror and supernatural fiction author Stephen King backdated the setting of Billy Summers from 2020 to 2019, so that the characters could plausibly congregate and go on a cruise ship.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/04/08/829298135/stephen-king-is-sorry-you-feel-like-youre-stuck-in-a-stephen-king-novel|title=Stephen King Is Sorry You Feel Like You're Stuck In A Stephen King Novel|last=King|first=Stephen|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411060002/https://www.npr.org/2020/04/08/829298135/stephen-king-is-sorry-you-feel-like-youre-stuck-in-a-stephen-king-novel|archive-date=11 April 2020|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/stephen-king-shifted-plot-new-novel-billy-summers-due-pandemic-1234995358/ |title=Stephen King Shifted Plot Elements of New Novel Due to Pandemic |last=Parker |first=Ryan |date=10 August 2021 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher= |access-date=23 September 2021 |quote="I had a couple of characters that I had to get off the stage for reasons that have to do with the plot … so I said, 'I'll put them on a cruise ship,'" King began. "And then COVID came along and I said, 'No, this is probably not going to work.' So what I did was I took the whole book, which was set in 2020 and shoved it back to 2019."}}
Paolo Giordano, Italian physicist and award-winning author of the Premio Strega, published his thoughts about the virus outbreak in an essay entitled How Contagion Works in March 2020. It was quickly translated into more than 20 languages.{{Cite news|last=Momigliano|first=Anna|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/books/italy-coronavirus-paolo-giordano-roberto-burioni.html|title=In Italy, Coronavirus Books Rush to Publication|date=9 April 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 April 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412174228/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/books/italy-coronavirus-paolo-giordano-roberto-burioni.html|archive-date=12 April 2020}}
Italian virologist and author Roberto Burioni published {{lang|it|Virus. La grande sfida}} [Virus. The Great Challenge], an examination of how epidemics shape civilizations in March 2020. The proceeds went toward research on the virus.{{Cite web|url=https://www.consulenzeditoriali.it/books-fr/virus-the-great-challenge|title=Roberto Burioni – "Virus. The Great Challenge"|last=Carpinelli|first=Rosalia|date=2020|website=www.consulenzeditoriali.it/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415135838/https://www.consulenzeditoriali.it/books-fr/virus-the-great-challenge/|archive-date=15 April 2020}}
Italian publisher Garzanti published {{lang|it|Andrà tutto bene}} (Everything will be fine), an anthology of twenty-six short stories and essays about quarantine from a range of writers including children's author Elisabetta Gnone. Profits from the sale of the e-book went to the Pope John XXIII Hospital in Bergamo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.garzanti.it/libri/ritanna-armeni-andra-tutto-bene-9788811816331/|title=Andrà tutto bene|website=Garzanti.it|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417045928/https://www.garzanti.it/libri/ritanna-armeni-andra-tutto-bene-9788811816331/|archive-date=17 April 2020}}
Inspired by how many compared the COVID-19 response in the UK to the British sitcom Dad's Army, English historian and writer Niles Schilder wrote four scripts for the Dad's Army Appreciation Society, three of which looked at how the characters from the series would have dealt with the pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Schilder|first=Niles|title=fanfiction|url=http://www.dadsarmy.co.uk/fanfiction.html|access-date=26 February 2021|website=www.dadsarmy.co.uk}}
The COVID-19 pandemic inspired the 2020 romance novelette Kissing the Coronavirus.{{Cite web|date=30 September 2020|title='Kissing the Coronavirus' is the steamy viral-erotica novel you need to get through the pandemic|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/kissing-the-coronavirus-book/|access-date=12 January 2022|website=The Daily Dot|language=en-US}}
LeVar Burton, host of Reading Rainbow, announced his desire to perform live-streamed readings of books for his podcast LeVar Reads but that copyright law was unclear as to whether this was allowed. Neil Gaiman replied to Burton via Twitter, giving him permission to read any of his works.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/939vjv/please-dont-sue-levar-burton-for-reading-soothing-stories-to-scared-children|title=Please Don't Sue LeVar Burton for Reading Soothing Stories to Scared Children|last=Cole|first=Samantha|date=2 March 2020|website=Vice|language=en|access-date=27 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327154254/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/939vjv/please-dont-sue-levar-burton-for-reading-soothing-stories-to-scared-children|archive-date=27 March 2020|url-status=live}}
The COVID-19 pandemic inspired the Javanese language audiobook novel, Endahe Lintang Kemukus (The Beauty of Kemukus Stars) by Ki Dr. Budiono Santoso Setradjaja, Ph.D., SpFK, a clinical pharmacologist who was interested about Javanese culture. Published by Yayasan Saworo Tino Triatmo (YASATRI).{{Citation |title=BAB 1. Langit Kasaput Mega – Novel Jawa "Endahe Lintang Kemukus" |date=12 March 2023 |url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/6x0POVz6lZb5D202KpPbzq |access-date=7 June 2023 |language=en}}
'Corona Says' is a poem written during Covid-19 pandemic by Nepalese poet Vishnu Singh Rai. The poem is part of English language grade ii school curriculum in Nepal. {{Cite journal |last=Rai |first=Pradip |date=2023-02-22 |title=Logical Fallacies in V.S. Rai's Poem 'Corona Says' |url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/rupantaran/article/view/52205 |journal=Rupantaran |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=55–62 |doi=10.3126/rupantaran.v7i1.52205 |issn=2738-9960|doi-access=free }}

= Performing arts =

Madrid's Teatro Real debuted a modified version of Verdi's La Traviata where COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions were incorporated into the production. Performers began on stage wearing surgical masks, the staging featured a grid of 2m-wide taped red lines on the floor, with all actors' movements choreographed to remain apart, and the opera itself was selected as the plot features tuberculosis.{{Cite news|last=Higgins|first=Charlotte|date=8 July 2020|title=The great reopening – how Britain's galleries Covid-proofed themselves|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jul/08/great-reopening-britains-galleries-covid-proofed-london-dundee-llandudno|access-date=8 July 2020|issn=0261-3077}}

Tamas Detrich, director of the Stuttgart Ballet, commissioned eight contemporary dance works "created within and for these straitened circumstances", three of which were premiered at the company's first post-shutdown event Response 1.{{Cite news|last=Roy|first=Sanjoy|date=16 July 2020|title=Bouncing back: European dance is kick-started with huge state support|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jul/16/bouncing-back-european-dance-is-kick-started-with-huge-state-support|access-date=20 July 2020|issn=0261-3077}}

Several professional dancers and companies, both classical and contemporary, filmed and published new works which responded to themes of isolation. Either through in the choreography itself (e.g. Rhiannon Faith's Drowntown), in the location (e.g. empty public places Taylor Stanley outside the Lincoln Center, choreography by Kyle Abraham), or the filming technique (e.g. in Flying Home by street dance group BirdGang via "...the now all-too-familiar segmented Zoom-style screen").{{Cite news|last=Winship|first=Lyndsey|date=17 August 2020|title=No standing still: the best of lockdown dance|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/aug/17/lockdown-dance-highlights-dance-of-dreams-summer-shorts|access-date=18 August 2020|issn=0261-3077}}

The show believed to be the first full capacity premiere of a play anywhere in the world since the pandemic began was a theatrical adaptation of the popular children's television show Bluey entitled Bluey's Big Play, The Stage Show. After months of delay, the play - developed by Windmill Theatre Company from an original story by Bluey{{'s}} creator Joe Brumm with new music by Bluey composer, Joff Bush - made its debut in Brisbane in late December 2020 at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.{{Cite news|last=Dacey|first=Jason|date=23 December 2020|title=Bluey TV series makes its theatrical debut on stage in Brisbane world premiere|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-22/bluey-theatre-production-takes-to-the-stage-in-brisbane-premiere/13007020|access-date=}}

= Visual art =

File:Illustration of Plague and Death encircling the Earth.jpgIn April, street artist Banksy published a new piece of his trademark wall art—this time located in his own bathroom, referencing the required self-isolation—with coronavirus as the theme and "stir-crazy rats" as its subject. He published photographs of it online.{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/banksy-bathroom-art-coronavirus-lockdown-united-kingdom/12156326|title=Banksy follows stay-at-home orders and makes bathroom art during coronavirus crisis|date=17 April 2020|work=ABC News|access-date=17 April 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420195925/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/banksy-bathroom-art-coronavirus-lockdown-united-kingdom/12156326|archive-date=20 April 2020}} In July he continued the rats theme, with several stencil graffiti of rats wearing and playing with facemasks in a London tube carriage.{{Cite news|last=Bakare|first=Lanre|date=14 July 2020|title=Banksy creates mask-themed work on London Underground|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jul/14/banksy-creates-mask-themed-work-on-london-underground|access-date=15 July 2020|issn=0261-3077}}
Artists in the United Kingdom painted portraits of National Health Service workers for free, as a way of recognizing their contributions, and with a view to holding an exhibition once the pandemic subsides.{{cite news |title=The artists painting front-line workers for free |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-52319539/coronavirus-artist-tom-croft-paints-nhs-key-worker-portraits-for-free |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2020}}
Damien Hirst produced two versions of a new poster artwork entitled Butterfly Rainbow—one as a free download "to raise the spirits", and another to be sold in limited edition as a fundraiser for the UK's National Health Service.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-52319538/coronavirus-damien-hirst-s-rainbow-giveaway|title=Damien Hirst's rainbow giveaway|date=2 April 2020|website=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=24 April 2020}}
Sculptor Antony Gormley created Hold while in lockdown—a small human figure made of dark clay, "resting its head between tightly wound arms, clasping bent knees and shoulders. Toes curled inwards" which he described as "trying to make an objective equivalent for the state that we're all in". It was "exhibited online" at White Cube gallery.{{Cite news|last=Wills|first=Ella|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52296886|title=How artists are depicting the coronavirus lockdown|date=2 April 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=24 April 2020|language=en-GB}}
Artist Sara Shakeel created a series of digital images to encourage proper hand washing and to thank health care workers, by depicting both collaged with the artist's signature glitter and crystals.{{Cite web|title=Pakistani artist Sara Shakeel's crystal-covered image of exhausted medical worker sends powerful message|url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/pakistani-artist-sara-shakeel-s-crystal-covered-image-of-exhausted-medical-worker-sends-powerful-message-1.1004987|website=The National|date=12 April 2020 |language=en|access-date=23 May 2020}}

File:Dio smaterializza la molecola del Coronavirus COVID-19 per porre fine alla pandemia del 2019-2020 in Italia e nel mondo (E guarirai da tutte le malattie ed io, avrò cura di te); God fights the Coronavirus, grattage dell'artista Giovanni Guida.jpg

Italian artist Giovanni Guida created {{lang|it|E guarirai da tutte le malattie.. ed io, avrò cura di te}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Guida Giovanni nell'Enciclopedia Treccani|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giovanni-guida|access-date=|website=Treccani}} [And you'll be cured of all diseases.. and I'll take care of you], a grattage illustration of God fighting the virus in a composition referencing Michelangelo's The Creation of the Sun and Moon.{{Cite web|last=Fabrizio Intravaia|title=Un'opera d'arte per sconfiggere la pandemia|url=https://www.corriereitaliano.com/cultura/arte-e-spettacolo/7050/unopera-darte-per-sconfiggere-la-pandemia/|website=Corriere Italiano|date=27 May 2020}} The work was described by Italian media as having gone "viral".{{Cite web|last=Emanuela Sorrentino|title=Coronavirus, l'illustrazione dell'artista campano è "virale"|url=https://www.ilmattino.it/napolismart/cultura/coronavirus_illustrazione_artista_campano_virale-5170287.html|website=Il Mattino|date=14 April 2020 }}
Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei created "an initial batch" of 10,000 surgical masks with hand screen-printed illustrations of "sunflower seeds, mythical beasts and... a defiant middle finger". The items are to be sold via eBay with proceeds being donated to Human Rights Watch, Refugees International and Médecins Sans Frontières.{{Cite news|last=Brown|first=Mark|date=2 May 2020|title=Ai Weiwei creates 10,000 masks in aid of coronavirus charities|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/may/28/ai-weiwei-creates-10000-masks-in-aid-of-coronavirus-charities|access-date=29 May 2020|issn=0261-3077}}
Over 70 comic strips participated in The Big Thank You Search of 2020. Each strip included six symbols of workers who were essential during the pandemic.{{cite news|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/06/07/features/hawaii-cartoonists-participate-in-the-big-thank-you-search-of-2020/|title=Hawaii cartoonists participate in The Big Thank You Search of 2020|work=Star-Advertiser|date=7 June 2020|access-date=10 June 2020}}
For the 2020 edition of the annual photography festival Cortona on the Move [It] organizers commissioned photographers for an exhibition entitled The COVID 19 visual project—the first Italian arts festival since the health emergency began.{{Cite web|title=Cortona On The Move 2020|url=http://www.arte.it/calendario-arte/arezzo/mostra-cortona-on-the-move-2020-69075|access-date=18 August 2020|website=www.arte.it|publisher=Arte|language=it}} A virtual exhibition was also produced.{{Cite web|title=COVID 19 visual project|url=https://covid19visualproject.org/en/about|access-date=18 August 2020|website=covid19visualproject.org}}
Graffiti artist Banksy also raised more than £2,500,000 for the NHS, with a production of the work to remain in the hospital. The image is 1m x 1m in size, and it was hung in collaboration with the hospital's managers in foyer near the emergency room. The image shows a child holding a figure of a masked nurse wearing a cape. This black and white painting was considered a " universal tribute" to staff at Southampton General Hospital. The artwork was used to raise money for the hospital.{{Cite news|date=8 March 2021|title=Covid: Banksy to auction Southampton hospital artwork for NHS|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-56319474|access-date=9 April 2021}}
Google Arts and Culture digitized thousand museums for people to "visit" these museums virtually from home. These museums include Hammer Museum in L.A, Anne Frank House, National Museum of Indonesia, Ghent Altarpiece in Belgium etc. Google Arts and Culture {{Cite web|title=Google Arts & Culture|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/|access-date=9 April 2021|website=artsandculture.google.com|language=en}} made visitors become virtual globetrotters and see arts and exhibitions from over 1200 thousand museums around the world. It also provides the Zoom capability for people to explore the artworks in detail. The Ghent Altarpiece in Belgium also includes detailed descriptions of the works to make visitors' virtual learning experiences as good as in-person visits. Google Arts & Culture.{{Cite web|title=How to Experience Art & Culture During Coronavirus|url=https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/how-to-experience-art-culture-during-coronavirus|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Artwork Archive|language=en}}
Artist Francisca Lita Sáez created three artworks that show the experience of physicians during Spain's Covid-19 pandemic. The acrylic and pastel artworks all show the defenseless people's confrontation with the Covid-19 virus, which was hard to control. The combination of physicians' experience and art shows a visual representation of clinical magnitude and human's fight for survival. The three artworks entitled are The Threat (2020); An Unequal Fight (2020) and Stop Pandemic (2020).{{Cite journal|date=1 October 2020|title=Paintings From Spain's COVID-19 Pandemic|url=https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/paintings-spains-covid-19-pandemic/2020-10|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics|language=en|volume=22|issue=10|pages=E893–897|doi=10.1001/amajethics.2020.893|pmid=33103653|issn=2376-6980|doi-access=free|last1=Vicente-Herrero|first1=T.}}

=Websites=

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected website format, operations, and the way people surf the internet. Websites such as Brokerage, Live Chats, and Video Streaming Websites, E-Commerce, and Financial Technology have altered their website structure to better fit the unfortunate trends that COVID-19 brought to human society. Despite this, some websites have seen an increase in page views and/or sales, while a select few others in specific industries have not been so lucky.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

==Digital marketing==

Since the start of the pandemic, many website companies have had to alter their digital marketing strategies to either attract more page visits, orders or discourage misleading advertisements that may reduce website credibility and traffic.{{Cite web|date=28 October 2020|title=Three key ways the Covid-19 pandemic has changed digital advertising strategies|url=https://marketingtechnews.net/news/2020/oct/28/three-key-ways-the-covid-19-pandemic-has-changed-digital-advertising-strategies/|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Marketing Tech News|language=en-GB}}

To prevent misleading information, Facebook removed more than seven million ad posts listed as faulty information in relation to the COVID-19 virus. With other marketing techniques, digital marketers have seen it fit to normalize the societal depiction of the proper ways of dealing with this virus. By doing so, they have altered their message to the public by including practices of social distancing, staying at home, cleanliness, and the usage of masks in their advertisements. For example, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, has said to continue its Santa Claus tracking on 24 December 2020, despite the pandemic. For NORAD to keep children safe and aware, they 3D cartoon photos of Santa Claus wearing a mask while riding his sleigh.{{Cite web|author=David Williams|title=Covid-19 won't stop NORAD from tracking Santa's Christmas Eve flight around the world|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/21/us/norad-santa-2020-trnd/index.html|access-date=9 April 2021|website=CNN|date=21 November 2020 }}

==E-commerce websites==

A chart from Bazaarvoice.com shows a Year-over-Year ("YoY") increase in monthly page views and order counts from 1 January – 30 June 2020, averaged from 6,200 different e-commerce (ECOM) websites.{{Cite web|date=15 July 2020|title=The impact of COVID-19 on e-commerce by category|url=https://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-e-commerce-by-category/|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Bazaarvoice|language=en-US}}

As seen from the chart, before major statewide quarantines, ECOM was already starting to see increases in page views and orders from January - March, increasing 14% in page views and 19% in orders. When former President Donald Trump issued COVID-19 a National Emergency in mid-March, both page views and order counts had a YoY increase to 96% and 88%, respectively. The trending psychology behind this surge in ECOM usage is since most people at this time were in fear of in-person and Brick-in-Mortar alternatives that were still open at the time.{{Cite web|title=A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020|url=https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020|access-date=9 April 2021|website=AJMC|date=January 2021 }}

The top trending ECOM sites amid the pandemic from highest YoY growth to least were Toys and Games, Business and Industrial, Sporting Goods, Hardware, Home & Garden, Entertainment, Animal & Pet Supplies, Electronics, and Food/Beverages/Tobacco. Down trending ECOM websites include those that sell products used in pre-pandemic times, such as Luggage websites. Luggage and Bag websites were one of the only websites to see over 10% decreases in page views and order counts.

==Financial technology==

The COVID-19 pandemic has, fortunately, like ECOM, presented tail-winds to website usage. Financial analysts predicted that for many payment providers, it could also drive new purchasing habits that could leave the companies in a stronger position once the crisis is over. Credit card network websites such as Visa.com, PayPal.com, and Mastercard.com have seen page view and payment volume growth pressured by temporary business closures, elevated unemployment, and a cutback on international travel. Due to recent social distancing and shelter-in-place, these companies have also seen people increasingly move their spending online, as seen with the increase in ECOM popularity. However, for websites such as Squareup.com, with many Brick-in-Mortar operations, the crisis has negatively impacted them.{{Cite web|last=Bary|first=Emily|title=Muted spending growth in pandemic doesn't cancel big opportunities for payments companies|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-can-the-companies-that-help-us-pay-for-goods-survive-a-coronavirus-shutdown-2020-04-14|access-date=9 April 2021|website=MarketWatch|language=en-US}}

==Live chats and video streaming websites==

Schools and businesses worldwide have altered their business structure to an online means of learning and work. As a result of the new norm to online chat and video streaming methods, websites such as Zoom have seen massive growth in page visits and user volume. These websites have allowed customers; fearful of contracting the virus; a risk-free way of communication, learning, and work.{{Cite web|title=How Have Websites Changed to Accommodate COVID 19|url=https://www.revize.com/blog/how-have-websites-changed-to-accommodate-covid-19/|access-date=9 April 2021|website=www.revize.com}}

= Trends =

During the course of the pandemic, the social media app TikTok grew the most,{{Cite web|last=Molla|first=Rani|date=1 March 2021|title=Posting less, posting more, and tired of it all: How the pandemic has changed social media|url=https://www.vox.com/recode/22295131/social-media-use-pandemic-covid-19-instagram-tiktok|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Vox|language=en}} lending to a number of new trends in digital pop culture including video games like Animal Crossing, Among Us and Genshin Impact, banana bread baking, Tiger King memes, and quarantines.{{Cite web|last=Schoenberg|first=Nara|title=Americans are drinking quarantinis with Cuomosexuals. Your guide to quarantine culture.|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-life-coronavirus-quarantine-culture-tt-04282020-20200430-ivdff37ilzgc5jo7kbyrigrvgi-story.html|access-date=10 April 2021|website=chicagotribune.com|date=30 April 2020 }} The increasing popularity of TikTok led to the development of similar-looking features on other social media platforms, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

= Social media usage =

Although social media usage has increased overall, posting activity has declined. This is due to a number of factors, such as having less to share or even feeling guilty or afraid of backlash after having attended unsafe activities. Many users have felt that it is inappropriate to share happy or celebratory posts in such a solemn atmosphere. As such, the rise in social media activity has caused anxiety in users, which leads them to leave social media sites before rejoining soon after.

= Anxiety =

In the early stage of the pandemic, a survey conducted by Gao J. Zheng shows a high prevalence of mental health problems, which is positively associated with frequent exposure to social media.{{Cite journal|last1=Bhat|first1=Muzafar|last2=Qadri|first2=Monisa|last3=Beg|first3=Noor-ul-Asrar|last4=Kundroo|first4=Majid|last5=Ahanger|first5=Naffi|last6=Agarwal|first6=Basant|date=July 2020|title=Sentiment analysis of social media response on the Covid19 outbreak|journal=Brain, Behavior, and Immunity|volume=87|pages=136–137|doi=10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.006|issn=0889-1591|pmc=7207131|pmid=32418721}} When the stay-at-home order was enforced, young people showed a higher level of frustration than other age groups because many mistakenly thought they were not part of the at-risk population.{{Cite journal|last1=Basch|first1=Corey H.|last2=Hillyer|first2=Grace C.|last3=Jaime|first3=Christie|date=10 August 2020|title=COVID-19 on TikTok: harnessing an emerging social media platform to convey important public health messages|journal=International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health|volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=367–369 |language=en|doi=10.1515/ijamh-2020-0111|pmid=32776899|s2cid=221098586|issn=2191-0278|doi-access=free}} Social media was one factor that promoted such frustration. For example, many posts on TikTok focus on young people's anxiety due to social distancing and isolation. Such negative attitudes have spread rapidly over TikTok.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Unlike TikTok, whose users are mostly young people, the overall attitude towards the pandemic is different on Twitter. For example, a study on Twitter users during the pandemic shows overall higher positive sentiments. Among Twitter users, 48,157(51.97%) users expressed positive feelings, while 31,553 (34.05%) were neutral, and the rest of the tweets - amounting to 12,936 (13.96%) - showed negative emotions. One major reason behind the prominence of positive sentiment is that most people still appreciated the government and health workers despite their personal anxieties.

In sports

COVID-19 has forced difficult and financially depleting decisions on the sports industry. Nearly every major sporting event in the sports-event industry had been canceled, moved, or postponed in the midst of the outbreak. As the unfortunate pan of events that emerged from the crisis, sports fans were distraught as some of their favorite teams were forced to withdraw from specific tournaments or even the season altogether. For example, in March 2020, during the Sweet 16, the Rams were forced to withdraw their position in the tournament after multiple players had caught the COVID-19 virus. A 2019-2020 YoY revenue growth chart listed on Forbes Magazine showed that YoY revenue growth had dramatically downsized for major sports leagues due to these cancellations.{{Cite web|last=Traub|first=Matt|date=30 March 2021|title=Sports and COVID-19: The Impact on the Sports-Event Industry|url=https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/sports-and-covid-19-what-happened-earlier-this-summer/|access-date=12 April 2021|website=SportsTravel|language=en-US}}

A 2020 chart from Forbes Magazine shows a revenue growth comparison of major sports leagues from 2019 to 2020.{{Cite web|last=Birnbaum|first=Justin|title=Major Sports Leagues Lost Jaw-Dropping Amount Of Money In 2020|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2021/03/06/major-sports-leagues-lost-jaw-dropping-amount-of-money-in-2020/|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}

For the 2020 Summer Olympics, foreign spectators were banned{{when|date=April 2021}} from attending the games in Japan without a 100 percent refund. Moreover, the vaccinations rates were increased, and Major League Baseball gave the news to provide vaccine facilities in their stadiums. Vaccinations of the athletes were an ethical issue, if it was legal and ethical.{{Cite web|last=Traub|first=Matt|date=30 March 2021|title=Sports and COVID-19: The Impact on the Sports-Event Industry|url=https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/sports-and-covid-19-what-happened-earlier-this-summer/|access-date=10 April 2021|website=SportsTravel|language=en-US}} The NBA announced vaccinations were not mandatory, but vaccinated players would be more flexible. According to ESPN, the NBA were allowing vaccinated athletes to not wear masks in the training facilities, with extra freedom traveling. Before the vaccinations, the NBA was continuing in a bubble, where players were not allowed to leave. Players inside the bubble were wearing sensors for social distancing. Reporters who wanted to get inside the bubble were required for temperature and oxygen checks and COVID tests. The benches of the NBA athletes were changed, and they became socially distanced. Without their fans, some of the old NBA coaches were still wearing masks during the games. Popovich, the oldest coach in the NBA, who is 74, said that "I don't want to die", when he was asked about wearing masks.{{Cite news|last=Stein|first=Marc|date=4 August 2020|title=Life Inside the N.B.A. Bubble|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/04/sports/nba-bubble-coronavirus.html|access-date=10 April 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

Professional wrestling largely ceased, with WWE holding all events in their empty Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, while AEW held all its shows in an empty arena, also in Florida. Other companies such as ROH, Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling postponed and or outright cancelled shows. WWE would eventually implement the ThunderDome, an arena filled with screens showing fans watching the shows at home.

References

Category:Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Category:Internet memes related to the COVID-19 pandemic