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Footage of Real-Life Train Derailment Included in Bird Box, People Are Outraged

Netflix’s original movie starring Sandra Bullock, “Bird Box,” is steeped in controversy again, this time, for using footage of a 2013 train derailment that killed 47 people in a post-apocalyptic sequence.
Footage of real-life train derailment included in Netflix's "Bird Box" 6 photos
Photo: Netflix
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“Bird Box” came out at the end of 2018 and has proved an unexpected hit for the network, though not necessarily with critics. It was (and remains) so popular that it spanned its very own online challenge, the so-called Bird Box Challenge, which sees people attempt to do daily, regular stuff while blindfolded.

More recently, the Challenge expanded to include more dangerous activities, like driving while blindfolded, just like police expected to happen. The results were predictable and the teen who attempted it got properly criticized on social media.

Speaking of criticism, Netflix is getting another hefty dose of it. First, it was because it did very little in terms of stopping people from getting hurt with that stupid Challenge, but now, it’s a more serious issue. Apparently, it used stock footage of a real-life tragedy, and people are outraged about it.

In 2013, an unmanned train derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, causing millions of gallons of oil to spread all over the area. A fire started and the subsequent explosion killed 47 people and burned down half of the downtown area.

Well, the people of Lac-Megantic are the first to see the inclusion of the footage outrageous, the BBC reports. In the film, you can see a snippet of footage included in a fictionalized news report on the mass suicides that have already paralyzed major cities across the world.

According to the publication, Netflix has admitted that the footage is genuine. At the time of the tragedy, various videos shot by eyewitnesses made the rounds, and the network used stock footage when editing “Bird Box.” That said, it has no plans to remove it.

“We find that it’s really a lack of respect,”
the town’s current mayor Julie Morin tells the Canadian press. “It’s hard enough for our citizens to see these images when they are used normally and respectfully on the news. Just imagine to have them used as fiction, as if they were invented.”

“Bird Box” is actually the second Netflix production to prompt this kind of outrage regarding this particular train derailment. Canadian-American science-fiction drama “Travelers” also used stock footage from 2013, but producers Peacock Alley Entertainment have apologized and announced they would soon edit it out.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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