How Zombie Films Reveal the True Dangers of COVID-19

Like the Living Dead, a Virus Can Overwhelm Powerful States, Ruin Economies—and Reveal Our Best and Worst Selves

Sydney

On any given day at the University of Sydney in Australia, Chinese visitors spill out of tour buses to make their way up the hill to the main Quadrangle, an elegant Gothic Revival structure of sandstone, leaded glass windows, and whimsical gargoyles. Enamored with Harry Potter, the tourists hold smart phones aloft to capture images of the building their guides claim to have inspired Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No one bothers to correct them.

Now the Quad is a ghost town, depopulated by the novel coronavirus, making it easy to spot …