Drawing on hew own experience, Xinyu Zhang critically considers one of the main political narratives of the COVID-19 government, the war metaphor, in relation to the psychology and behaviour of citizens.
She argues that this metaphor includes portraying the epidemic as a war, intimidating the population by exaggerating the danger of the germs, creating a sense of mission and meaning at the organisational and individual levels, and creating a sense of isolation and sacrifice by inspiring militaristic values in the population, exacerbating helplessness and fear. thereby weakening the responsiveness of individual citizens and increasing obedience to policy.
Zhang's work aims to help people who suffered from Mysophobia during COVID-19, who had the same experience as the author, to become aware of the political truth behind the war metaphor and its impact on their condition, and to warn more people by showing the consequences of the war metaphor acting on some individuals (Mysophobia).
Bacteria are presented dialectically, as Zhang hopes to invite visitors to reflect, develop and enrich their own narratives concerning bacteria in the context of pandemic, with scientific and political context.
