As the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the world people are choosing to cope with it and the quarantine in different ways, sometimes that includes memes. To the people that weren’t taking the virus and its deadly spread seriously, one movie became their calling card very quickly, Edgar Wright’s 2004 horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead. Parroting its infamous plan that culminated in the idea: “Go to The Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all this to blow over,” fans were posting the meme non-stop for some time with Wright himself noticing. In a new video though, the stars of Shaun of the Dead advise people from “going to the Winchester” at all.
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Comedic duo Simon Pegg (the titular Shaun) and Nick Frost (his roommate and friend Ed) recreate “The plan” scene from the film in a new video, but advise everyone against going to The Winchester and just staying home. They also manage to get a dig in at the toilet paper supplies worldwide (something which has also gotten a zombie lampoon earlier this week). Watch the video for your self below.
It’s worth pointing out everyone posting the “wait for all this to blow over” meme are forgetting two critical pieces of information about the scene. After Shaun and Ed agree to go to The Winchester, a news anchor on TV says: “Stay in your homes…and make no physical contact,” which are the same guidelines given worldwide about suppressing the spread of the coronavirus. There’s also the ending of Shaun of the Dead itself, which saw The Winchester overrun by the living dead and many of the lead characters, including Frost’s Ed, die as a result. Context is important even when dealing with memes.
According to the World Health Organization, who officially dubbed the coronavirus outbreak a “pandemic” last week, as of yesterday there are over 200,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide with over 7800 deaths around the globe. In the United States there have been 11,015 confirmed cases with 150 deaths as of this writing.
For those who are worried about the spread of the coronavirus, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers a litany of tips, including covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding large gatherings or close contact with people who are sick, and washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. As “The Plan” video from Pegg and Frost suggests, practice social distancing.
