What trials and tribulations will society face after a collapse of the world as we know it?
Watch After Armageddon in full below.
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Shells instead of Fiat Currency?
Round large rocks with holes in the middle.
Brownies. I have and still do vote for brownies as currency. And NOT because I have a case of the good stuff. Although that might finally push me into the middle class…lol
Well, there goes my morning. I can’t pass up an end of the world documentary.
Oh, MLG..I was thinking the same thing…making beef/vegetable soup and thank the gremlins for ‘pause’!!
These are the people who deny there is anything wrong with the world economy, government, etc. When the SHTF they are totally unprepared and the first to seek help!
That woman was a moron and probably typical of how most would react when their electricity and modern convienences are gone. I didn’t like the show; I felt that they only survived through dumb luck and not through any measure of planning or skill on their part. Maybe it is good for waking up some of the restless sheeple, but most of us here are past that.
I agree about the dumb luck part, but I didn’t look at it as an “instructional” show. I thought it was a decent preview for folks who aren’t ready to face possible events yet. Just another tool to get the point out.
Not that there wasn’t some points brought up worthy of consideration, but The History Channel in particular represents one of the many reasons why I stopped watching TV’s agenda years ago. I think it’s called “Tele-vision Programming”.
For me, the best predictive document of such a case, is the book “The Stand” by Stephen King.
Published in late 70s combined the armageddon scenario with the fight between good and evil.
It’s my favorite book, and was also adapted for a tv mini series with Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, and Rob Lowe.
A good novel to read.
I love that book too, Manos! It’s on my top ten list for fiction.
The book,as always, is a kazillion times better than the movie. 😀
Daisy,
You’re right about the movie. But i still have it in my archive. Gary Sinise is my wife’s favorite. She watches him in some NY Csi series.
ive always thought that book was a good overview of what would happen during collapse, an exellent book one of my favorites, need to re read it again. there were alot of obscure scenarios in that book that most people wouldnt event think about, like the heroin addict that after the virus had killed almost everyone, broke into his very wealthy dealers house and found tons of heroin and was so happy(stupid) that he didnt even consider that it could be pure and shot up and o.d.ed, will find lots of that type of thing in a post collapse world, as well as things like the rape gangs and all the other bad shit that is bound to happen. best advice that book gave was to take what you need, use motorcycles for transportation, travel in the night and sleep in the day if possible, dont trust anyone but remember that you can survive alone but probably not for long, pepole need other people to feel human. granted some probably can but the vast majority cannot i.e. the movie I am legend with will smith, he bout goes crazy being alone. funny all of the collapse/disaster movies, books, documentaries and tv shows that have been in the media and have become part of our pop culture…a species can smell its own extintion i believe.
Manos, I read The Stand years ago and it was a truly scary book to read. Even though it is fictional it mixes in very plausible real world situations that gives the book unusual realism. It made me start thinking about “what if” scenarios in a very different light. It’s a long book, but it’s a great read. You can’t put it down once you pick it up.
I have a copy of that movie. I see the anarchy represented there as a very plausible event in the US.
Randall Flagg would be the first one I’d shoot.
Also check out Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. It’s an older novel but still has some good points in it. Also Lucifer’s Hammer is a pretty good read.
And Evil wins in the end. Read the epilogue; there is a new Emperor in town in the end.
@PO’ed Patriot:
In that book, there is a character called Hugh which only shows up in the epilogue. He sets up a police state, ostensibly in the first step to make him Emperor.
Is this the one where the dude drains and filters water from a car radiator? If it is, that piece of advice will kill you.
I agree with you on that point. Many folks will re-act just like that. However there will probably be as many folks that survive through dumb luck as there would be from proper planning and execution of that plan, just due to sheer numbers.
I liked the show because it does show what the “average” person would more than likely face instead of showing the prepper that is out in the boonies doing his thing and only realizes that the world has gone to $hit only when he makes his yearly trip to town.
Actually Moon, my take is that the womans intuition was correct. 1. They should have bugged out to Idaho early on. 2. She saved his ass in the warehouse, didn’t she?
I’ve watched it several times so I analyzed it for tips and what to do and not do. Many parts in my opinion were unrealistic. Like all those people aimlessly wondering around the foot hills outside LA. Dragging a pullman suitcase through the desert, hell every time I check one of those bags at the airport it gets broken. They must have the MilSpec version and did you count all the items he had in that messenger bag?
The psychology and the way people break down is accurate, but it will be much more violent. Overall its better then nothing to illustrate how fast your world could change and the need for planning, preps and firearms.
I’ve sent it to all my friends and family and I can tell the ones who actually watched it. The ones that watched it all called me with questions.
The moron woman then dropped the gun, and neither her nor her husband had the brains to pick it up, or take the dead guy’s gun, or grab more than a handful of the supplies they had just murdered a man for…
A gun or two would have been handy when the truck of gas-hunters came by and drained all their fuel.
These people are too stupid to live.
This show actually made me want the Apocalypse to arrive.
Agreed. A story of a family who did nearly everything wrong and survived.
Here’s the trick… you don’t view it as a how-to video.
(PS: Mac, yer welcome 🙂 )
The way I viewed it wasn’t to follow the fictional family along, or to even get into their story. IMHO the characters were instantly disposable when compared to the folks talking in the background about what to really expect.
The trick is to listen to the commentary, and to take notes from that. Hell, watching the ‘family’ do practically everything wrong (save for a few things, like the father snatching that quick pile of medicine from the hospital on his way out) was actually instructive in a way as well – as examples of what not to do and why it’s bad.
IMHO, there’s a lot of things that actual preppers would have done differently. Under the presented scenario, most would have left long before the next door neighbor did. Most would have viewed the punk getting killed as a golden opportunity to snatch his weapon. None that I know of would have been dumb enough to stick to any established, paved roads. Lots of things that would’ve been different IMHO.
I agree with the dumb luck, but it is always a possibility to do everything right and still die, and to do everything wrong and still live.
Watched this a year or two ago when it first came out. Good program. I recorded it and the locked all my wife’s recordings on the DVR. wouldn’t give her the code to watch her shows until she watched this and told me her thoughts.
This is at least a year old, I have watched it many times and I see this as propaganda to justify fear induced tyranny. This was made to prepare us…not for surviving collapse, but for the draconian control we will all have to suffer in the name of security.
ooops, wrong video, I thought this was the one where they had a nuke go off in DC and the rest of the show was about COG (continuation of government), I think it was called, day after disaster. Both videos came out at about the same time and they are both “training” videos for what TPTB know is coming
They have no imagination in TV land. Even the programs about the world without people, were lacking. They couldn’t imagine the massive fires that would result from no maintenance on anything electrical or fuel driven. Fires from lightning, etc. Fires that wouldn’t be fought by anyone. Fires driven by the wind.
I always thought the same thing too, that there would be horrendous fires burning out of control. The problem is twofold. One, those idiots that inhabit the inner cities rioting and burning down their ‘hoods, plus the dumbasses in suburbia who will resort to burning furniture and fences etc., for cooking and heating in their non-fireplace equipped homes. The second problem as I see it is the fires that will start from natural and non-natural causes in rural areas. I live in Northern Kalifornia and for years the Forest Service has put all fires out thus increasing the amount of undergrowth and trees that are just excess fuel at this point. Now they are forced to put out all fires because any fire that is allowed to burn would turn into an unstoppable holocaust. If you live in a rural area, a concern would be losing everything to a forest fire. Add to this the stupid yuppies and preppers that plan to head for the hills when the SHTF and you have a recipe for disaster. Those of us lucky enough to live near nuclear plants or downwind would have to worry about what will happen when lack of electricity causes the cooling ponds where the spent fuel rods are stored to boil off. There will be meltdowns of those “spent” fuel rods and radioactive plumes. Fuck Harry Reid and all those NIMBY assholes that have managed to block creation of a national repository for these spent fuel rods. Those who are not killed by starvation and disease might survive long enough to have the opportunity to die by radiation sickness.
I’ve always thought that just leaving the waste sitting around was a stupid idea. Thank Ford and Carter for making reprocessing impossible. Don’t blame the utilities because they would LOVE to be rid of all the waste. If we’re going to use nuke power, let’s at least try to keep potential damage limited.
Apocalypses for sale! Get your Apocalypes here! Watch the end of the world on pay per view. Don’t worry about the price, we’re all gonna die!
Get out of NY Plisken.
this is so glossed over it isnt funny. If you were here with me during hurricane Katrina you would of heard women screaming at night and witness women getting raped on the sidewalk during the day. There were stabbings, elderly abuse, it was a bunch of freaking savages. This movie does a gross dis-service to what will actually happen in big cities.
Not to mention unarmed citizens being murdered by the New Orleans Pooolice!
Well, as Old fuzzy pointed out, no fires and no imagination. Not a lot else to add to the comments above, which I agree with.
I am way behind most of you here in the prepping stakes but even I found nothing I could learn.
Take care x
I have to admit I hadn’t thought to punch a hole in the bottom of the gas tank to drain it. I would have been standing there with a tube trying to syphon it out LOL
You saw what NOT to do.
Ben Dover says:
December 7, 2011 at 4:44 pm
You saw what NOT to do
Why not?
I like HC but for reasons stated above, one has to view their programs with a heavy dose of skepticism. Some are good, a few are excellent, and many others are dismal.
I haven’t seen the show (don’t have a TV anymore,) but my feelings are mixed. On the one hand, waking up the sheeple is a good thing, I think. On the other hand, sending the message of “here’s what the future looks like but there’s nothing you can do so eat, drink, and be merry, since tomorrow we’ll all be dead, anyway,” is the absolute wrong message to send.
I like programs that make people really think and give them ideas about how to get through, you know? Offer possibilities that they can pursue and accomplish on their own, and realistic, attainable goals. Empower people and encourage independent, critical thinking, not hopelessness and despair.
Come Lord Jesus, come.
I’ll take two pockyclips, and an A Rr in a pine tree…
Not enough time during lunch to watch full vid, have to later.
Maybe get me some national guard uniforms…lol…
but, I’ve said before, if the shtf, there will be plenty of two leeged predators out there. Some may live in your direct area, don’t trust untill it is earned, or don’t trust at all.
I knew one co-worker, in engineering in Houston, who pretty much came out and told me he would just go take what ever he needed from whomever had it in his subdivision, that was his idea of preppin. A complete and total predator with no though of anyone but himself and maybe, maybe his wife…so if you live in Beaumont and a guy with the last name Crumpler comes around, shoot first…never mind any questions, or if someone who comes around with the first name Gene, do the same…I did want to give out full names you know…trust me, I’ve talked with some of these people, they even pretend they are Christian… but the fruit of the tree rings true…be very carefull peeps…there will those that will shoot first and not even bother asking what you have. Best to avoid any contact, best to get out early and quickly…don’t wait, at the first real sign…get “the plan” in action.
nuff sed for now
Terry
Thanks, Mac!!! I was gonna go hunting around the ‘Net for this program after reading about it yesterday, but you saved me the effort.
Did you enjoy it Daisy? I am disappointed that I didn’t learn much. I find the site far more of a teaching tool than most people I think.
I do wish so much that people over here would catch on to what is happening around them. Most have their heads so far up their own backsides that if the BBC announced societal breakdown on the prime time news they would assume it was an ad for a new reality tv show…it makes me both mad and sad. Mad because they only have to stop and look to see what is happening and sad because of all the little kids whose stupid parents didn’t even give them a chance to make it through whatever is hurtling towards us.
God knows that I have an awful long way to go before I can truly say I am getting to the point of preparedness where I can deal with most things. That said, every tin can of beans or soup I stash away is, on the food front at least, another days survival. I know there is much much more to surviving “the event” than just food, but by having food in your belly you feel better, stronger and more fit to cope with what comes your way.
Hunger makes people mad and desperate, and I think this is the main danger. After the initial system shock it will be the food stashes they are after. On the upside, hunger makes you physically weak and less able to make logical decisions.
Based on my medical knowledge and a pile of text books we have to get through the first three weeks to survive the first phase of any breakdown where food is no longer on the shelves. After three weeks the first food related die offs will occur. Prior to this who knows, if the grid is out many will have already succumbed, those whose drugs need refrigeration, those on oxygen, those who cannot access life saving medication. Of those that have survived this, and have not secured a food supply, they will be so debilitated they will not be much of a threat.
Medically we can go three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food before serious debilitation, collapse, coma and finally death occur.
Why am I waffling on ? You lot already know all this. Sorry, I get a bit carried away sometimes.
Take care x
Well Carolie, my entire extended family lives in your neck of the woods. My folks, sister and I are the black sheep of the family living here in the States. I know what you are talking about. Although most of the family are quite intelligent, they are also dumber than a box of rocks!
Where are they, if you don’t mind me asking. I am in the Midlands
Take care
I work with educated fools every day. Sometimes you want to ask “By the way, what color IS the sky on your planet?”.
Swindon and Bouremouth areas.
My folks had the bright idea back in 67 to move back to the UK. Just great, a southern California kid thrust into a system where people drive on the wrong side of the road, speak with an accent, walk or ride the bus everywhere, have a very strange money system, kids wear uniforms to school and the weather SUCKS! It only lasted 2 years before they came to their senses and we moved back home. Looking back now, great memories for me.
Mac we need an edit button!
Bournemouth
Carolie ~
I wouldn’t say I actually LEARNED anything from it, but it was fun to realize how much I’ve learned since I’ve been prepping. Like when they were driving down the highway rejoicing because they thought they saw the National Guard, I was yelling to the computer, “No, you idiot!!! Run FROM them, not toward them!!!” Or when I cringed while watching the mom throw out the stuff from the freezer I was saying, “Dummy!! Stop! You can still eat those peas!” 😆
I still remain firmly convinced that my plan to bug in is a solid one.
I am a former firefighter and wilderness survival instructor and I record this every time it comes on. It is a great outreach tool for people who have not accepted that we have a problem. Certainly the circumstances are contrived, but they do a better than average job of explaining several potential threats and some simple ways to prepare or handle those threats. Having only been to LA once (it sucked so I left the next day – too much traffic), I have no idea how true it is to that location. We have a lot of rain here in the mountains so despite being one of the most wooded states in the union, we do not have a lot of forest fires.
I am thankful for growing up in the hills and what I learned there and that I do have an off-grid retreat in an easily defensible rural community.
Gov. Activates Fema Camps throughout United States, documentation can be found at infowars.com, now some people think Alex Jones is full of crap, I don’t excitable, maybe, just look at the signs people. The History Channel just might be airing in real-time. Remember your rifle, carbine, handgun should chamber a common NATO round, why? You’ll be able to gather ammo that is compatible with your wolf predator Stopper, double tap center mass, stop the threat! Have a nice day!
what does it mean when a gun is referred to as a “carbine”?
Carbine is typically used to designate a rifle with a shorter barrel. For example, a rifle may have a 20″ or 24″ barrel and the carbine version of the rifle may have a 16″ barrel.
Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbine
Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length.
The smaller size and lighter weight of carbines makes them easier to handle in close-quarter situations such as urban or jungle warfare, or when deploying from military
vehicles
No, you don’t get lower velocity due to shorter barrel; muzzle velocity still the same. Twist rate will affect your range (distance).
@Transmutant,
Actually you DO get lower velocitis with a shorter barrel. Rifle propellant such as IMR 4831 or RL19 burn much slower than propellants (powders) for pistols.
Take a couple of teaspoons of Unique or other pistol propellant and the same quantity of a rifle propellant and pour it on the ground in a safe area. Light each one with a match and note the burn rates. Using a pistol propellant to load rifle ammuntion will probably result in a blown up rifle and a trip to the emergency room.
If you are going to reload ammunition get some manuals (Nosler, Speer and Hogdon) and follow the instructions. Reloading is not difficult. It is a little bit more economical (used to be a lot) and kind of fun.
From what i remember from the army, the carbine was initialy created for cavalry purposes.
Being shorter, the rider could handle it much more efficiently.
My grandfather had a short barrel mannlicher during the Balkan wars. It was Austrian similar to the Italian Carcano.
I have a lot of criticisms of this program as others here have posted. OTOH, I think a program like this (as watered down as it is) can be a stepping stone/wake-up call for those who have not done anything to prepare themselves for any kind of an emergency. It can also be a way to start a discussion about being prepared…
Me: Hey I saw there is going to be a show on the History Channel tonight @ 6 called After Armegeddon, looks interesting. Think I’m going to park it with some popcorn and watch it.
Sam Sheeple: Oh yeah, what’s it about?
Obviously, if Sam Sheeple is used to sitting on his carcass watching TV every evening, there’s a chance the seed you planted will bloom and he’ll watch it. Folks often post about their frustrated attempts to wake up the sheeple and I’m just suggesting one way to plant a seed (and hope there are enough neurons still firing for it to take root!).
Does the video show the worshippers of the sphere blindly staring into a blank TV screen shocked and mortified that the “big game” has been canceled and replaced with a very important public service announcement ? They would be far more concerned about the “big game” then anything so trivial as a financial collapse.
Seriously, the disbelief on so many faces that yes it can happen is a kodak moment. The idea that money is not really money is about equal to telling the religious that there is no God.
Out of these ashes bad things happen. A public shocked by such an event will cling to the first person or group that they believe with their extremely limited knowledge affords any answers regardless of the long term outcome. Dangerous is an understatement when masses of idiots become instant political experts.
If it were to get this bad,which I don’t think it will, we are all done. I saw this program before on history Channel and it does get very realistic in a worse case scenario.
That said, a middle of the road scenario is most probable(economic collapse) where people will become agrarian and locally focused. In the cities it will be bad because they won’t have time to change lifestyles to become anywhere near self sufficient. Supply chains are just too complicated to supply them.
The welfare system will break down,but for those that were raised on it,they will wait in cities for help from gov. I hope they do so we in rural areas won’t have to deal with them. The first 6 to 8 weeks will be critcal. After that, hopefully, the shortage of gas will prevent them from leaving in large numbers.
I fervently hope and pray that this is all conjecture ,but,having a hobby of gardenig and self sufficiency is not a bad thing to master and plan for. God Bless, James
The lack of mayhem in this can only be attributed to the die off being the cause of the crash. If the crash comes first and free energy is no longer available the violence will be much worse than that depicted in After Armageddon. Our whole society of 300 plus million people is possible only because of a finely tuned machine that uses virtually free energy to produce enough to feed us. Throw a wrench in the works and you have 250 million people starving and looking for those that have something to eat.
Thanks Mac!
Can anyone offer some serious pros and cons for body armor?
@Nina, you speak highly of the cross bow.
What are your opinions on benefits and limitations of cross bows,
And any brand preferences.
Thanks for any advice on the matters in advance.
Slick
somehow my post disappeared (thanks be to God I copied the lot 🙂 ) (I wrote a lot and hated to lose it)
On the topic of body armor.
well there are two kinds of people when you ask about body armor – those for it and those against it.
I’m one of the latter. von Mallentin, when asked what he preferred – tough hide or fast feet said that he would choose fast feet over tough hide anytime anywhere.
Body armor –
class 1 protects against knife
class 2 protects against shrapnel
class 3 protects against pistol bullets (low energy, high surface impact)
class 4 protects against rifle bullets
and a variations in-between those
class 1 is usually some sort of reinvention of old Greek linen armor – multiple layers of protective fabric toughened for the purpose. light quite flexible, used mostly by bar kickoffs 🙂 not much use for annything else
Class 2 flexible and light armor made of kevlar fabric, not kevlar plates. it defeats shrapnel by entangling bits. shrapnel doesn’t have high enough energy (added to usually high impact surface) to penetrate such defence. useless against rifle fire (actually it is even worse to be wearing this sort of armor when going into rifle fire, because rifle bullets not only penetrate that kevlar fabric, but also begins tumbling much earlier than it does when entering non protected body, and even more important – the bullet carries with it bits of that kevlar fabric into the wound – you pretty FUBAR’ed) Swedish army uses that kind of armor. (I must tell that even that light armor is not that light when you consider wearing it for a prolonged length of time)
Class 3 and 4 is actually intermingled, because true class 4 is quite rare. usually it is considered class 3/4 when you have kevlar plates. however, cevlar plate is usually enough to stop pistol bullet (low energy, high impact surface) but rifle bullet goes right through. Russians have those humongous steel plated armor that makes you dehydrate, tire and die from bullet wounds in no time. it helps only when bullet strikes at certain angle to it, otherwise – you’re FUBAR’ed
I have seen only one armor that could actually stop AKM’s (that’s a newer model of AK47) bullet – a combo plate of ceramic/steel armor.
all I can say is this – there is almost no armor that would save your a$$ from a military rifle shot, and if you get one that would, you wouldn’t probably be able to even walk normally.
my preference is always – be agile, be quick, change positions, never shoot from the same spot, think, move and maneuver around the enemy. you won’t be able to do that when trying to run around with 60pnd armor on.
I must point out, that this is in no way a comprehensible guide to body armor, but it pretty much sums it up.
p.s. while reading this and trying to figure things out about body armor, consider this – AKM’s bullet will penetrate rail through its thinnest part at the range of 100 meters (provided it hits it at the 90 degree angle
Giurza,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me on this matter.
Sounds like fast feet if I’m on the march,
And maybe class 3 or better if I’m in a a stationary defensive mode or open area if I have to be there.
Weight sounds like a legitimate concern for sure…..
I’m back to fast feet.
Thanks again.
@Slick:
What kind of body armor are you looking for? “Soft” armor will stop most pistol rounds and 00 buck. Level II is the most flexible/lightest and level IIIa is the heaviest of the soft armors. Level IIIa gives you the most protection from blunt force trauma, maximizing your ability to return fire if hit.
If you want protection from rifle fire, you have to go with Level III or IV “hard” armor, which use metal plates. Each plate is fairly heavy, so you’re looking at a total weight between 16 and maybe 40 lbs, depending on what the plate is made from. It gets heavy, fast.
All body armor has a shelf life. I ‘think’ it’s ‘good’ for around five years. That being said, I’ve seen expired police vests stop a 9mm round. You can get police surplus vests for less than fiat 200.
All body armor is hot to wear. Definitely have a moisture wicking shirt on underneath it!
Hopefully this helps.
Mal
Mal,
Just like firearms, there is no one size fits all situations it seems.
My side arm of choice is the F&N 5 7
Which is a wicked fast small round that easily defeats level 2 I have read.
I didn’t get it for that reason in particular, it gets back on target really fast, and holds a ton of rounds (20) which is good for me as I am a shitty shot. As it sounds like any good rifle round could defeat level 2, and 3&4 start to really get heavy.
I think I am back to the fast feet.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with me.
I’m not going to get into the differant types and exactly what they can do for you but from personal experiance I can say this. Yes body armor is heavy and hot haveing worn it twice to Iraq. Some people think we should just go to plate carriers. I’ll pass on those. One key point to make on body armor even the old kevlar vests from the first gulf war and balistic nylon vests from vietnam they weren’t desingned to stop bullets at all, they were for shrapnal. Shrapnal causes some 70% of all battlefield fatalities thats info gatherd from as far back as WW I. The new bodyarmor the Army and Marines are currently fielding will also stop pistol ammo (9mm ful metal jacket) and other soft point pistol ammo aswell as buck shot and shrapnal. If you want real ballistic protection then you need to add plates. the new ceramic plates issued to soldiers are proof against 7.62 AP (thats .308 armor pierceing). basicly if your considering body armor what do you think you’ll need it against, most gang bangers use 9mm, other wise you’ll have hunters with deer rifels or bird shotguns the later 2 if they can keep thier rifles and shotguns might be more friendly. As far as the weight and how cumbersom it is I would hope you pracice shooting with all your cold weather gear on and do stess fires (run 2 miles, or do alot of pushups or something like that then shoot) wearing body armor is like that toy just have to get used to it. On my first deployment I had a reall jack@$$ of a batalion seargent majior but one thing he did right was in our training phase before we shipped we had to wear our body armor from 0700 to 1900 no matter what we were doing or where we were, we learned to wear it and get used to it. The last thing to consider the cost comared to what else you may need to survive.
FOG.45,
Thanks for your service and sharing of your field experience with me on this topic.
Sounds like it’s fast feet or heavy ass plates to lug around, and level 2 will do nothing to save my ass from a sniper round of most calibers.
*** SPOILER ALERT! ***
LOL…The idiot dad is a paramedic and he dies of a minor scratch despite the community having a still. I understand that people, 100 years ago, died from something this simple, but PLEASE…they couldn’t have shown him having one LAST ounce of common sense and disinfecting it with the moon shine??? Hollywierd!!!
Also, what kind of dog was that little girl roasting?
I think they wanted to illustrate the point that people would be dying from things that today are no big deal.
The movie had a good premise, but this family made so many boneheaded mistakes that their survival, even short term, would be improbable.
Agreed – I think the value of it was waking up the newbie in us.
I believe that was a Poodle mix of some sort…. Like chicken.
the scenerios can all be different….but the outcome is still the same.
Generally speaking, the movie is fine.
I’m still watching the 3rd part, but until now it really captures the anxiety and stress of a collapsing society.
I saw the show this week and also a few months ago. The show is a fictionalized account of a pandemic that causes massive collapse in infrastructure interspersed with talking heads commenting on various aspects of things that can go wrong.
I think the main value of this is to wake people up to the fragility of modern society. They make no attempt to give viewers ideas how to survive, other than bland warnings about the need for water, security, etc. The problem with a show like this is the sheeple I know would refuse to watch it on the grounds that it is scary and depressing. And every prepper I can think of already gets it, and there is not much to learn.
Nevertheless, any reader of SHTFplan could pick up a little talking point here and there, and I think it might be helpful in discussions with people you care about. Take my wife – PLEASE, TAKE MY WIFE – for example. If I quote university professors and government officials on the need to prepare, that means more to her than if I tell her a group of strangers on my Internet newsgroup think the sky is falling. Getting people to wake up is a tedious process and you never know what little thing will ignite the spark of understanding.
Imagine how much uglier it would have been if the bulk of the population hadn’t been killed by the flu.
Greetings,
I watched this show for its amusement factor. It was nothing short of silly. These these people could survive for months in and around LA was beyond ridiculous.
I thought this was a reasonably good approximation of Apocalypse Lite. Since we’ve already seen entire sections of big cities degenerate into arson, looting, and assaults after an inflammatory court decision or localized natural disaster, I’m betting that SHTF will happen big time in almost every city after a widespread pandemic like that portrayed in the HBO special.
If you’re unfortunately caught inside a city of any reasonable size one option would be to hunker down and wait it out…hopefully you’d already be armed, provisioned, and discreet with the fact that you’re eating and you’ve got water bottles stashed in the basement. OTOH if you were caught in a vehicle trying to get out of Dodge by a zombie mob, you’d be toast unless you were well armed. Problem with making a run for it after the fact is one, it wouldn’t take many people to overturn most vehicles or set up a road block that will stop an automobile or SUV. And two, a semi-organized mob might be able to both outrun and outgun you on the road.
As far as cities go I’m thinking the least worst place is in the ‘burbs, away from the majority of the population center.
A much better film to see is “The Road”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY
Worth watching.
As a long-haul independent trucker years ago, I encountered howling mobs of people that were mostly just pissed off. They were not hungry, thirsty, or even scared. Their real problem was usually their company, their union, or a drastic increase in fuel prices, but they would vent their anger at anyone that was in a vulnerable or isolated situation. African wild dogs or hyenas would make comfortable companions compared to a mob of human beings. The further one is away from them, the better off they will be in my humble opinion. My background is rural and I sure don’t claim to possess any “street smarts” but there’s no way that I would plan ahead to stay in an urban or even suburban environment. But who really knows?
One day I saw this cowboy dressed in the usual garb; Hat, rodeo belt buckle, chaps, and was surprised to see hee was wearing a pair of Reebok sneakers! I asked him why sneakers and not cowboy boots? He replied “I don’t want anybody to mistake me for a long-haul trucker!”
WOW This is the first time I can remember where everyone actually are having a useful conversation without bickering at one another. It was a pleasure to read all of these posts.
violence resulting from the inevitable crash will be like flipping a light switch… one moment a nervous calm, the next, window smashing and looting because no food/water/entitlements = take someone else’s belongings for one’s own survival or just because the thugs figure they pretty much can get away with it… bad news travels by word of mouth extremely quickly and this kind will be bad news on steroids… leave a large city BEFORE the crash comes…
A few recommendations from me. (Not really prepper related).
Black Dawn – the Next Pandemic
Docudrama from Canadian TV.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/158467/black-dawn-the-next-pandemic
Know Your Enemy
Everything you didn’t know about the Babylonian Mystery School and why you should care. The first few minutes (part 1) are introductory, despite any initial tendencies to blow this video off, please watch the intro and see if it doesn’t really interest you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmmvbcP2vnc&feature=related
NWO – Dr. Stanley Monteith
Illuminati expose, guy knows his stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQJauL5Zfs
A couple others:
Nazi UFO Deception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBEHTyTfKvc&feature=fvsr
Age of Deceit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjmFm8PIz8M
The “worst case scenario” presented in After Armageddon isn’t a very likely one. It’s much more probable that things will gradually fall apart, so gradually that people will not react until it’s too late for them to do anything…until they are so weakened and disoriented by hunger that they won’t have the strength to riot or go berserk.
A breakdown of law and order? Govt functionaries do better than the average citizen both in good and bad times. The govt continued to function in Ireland during the years of the potato famine, and it certainly continued to function in the Ukraine during the artificial famine created by Stalin.
It’s unlikely that all food will disappear from one day to the next. There will rather be an extended period of price increases (inflation), with shortages of certain foods; periods when deliveries stop then start again. Moreover, most Americans are overweight and many are obese. The obese ones could certainly survive a couple of months just on body fat, assuming they had water to drink.
Millions dead in a matter of weeks? How about people gradually realizing that their money is buying less food, and the food available is of poorer and poorer quality.
There will be a move away from the cities, but people have so much faith in govt that it will be hard for them not to believe that it will only be a matter of time before govt officials put things right again, so a lot of folks will put off making a major decision about relocating. In fits and starts, govt will deliver food and perhaps other necessities, while people grow weaker and weaker.
A new, deadly strain of influenza? Maybe. But much more likely inflation, food shortages, a governmental bureaucratic elite that makes sure if has access to food and fuel, even if it means denying these to the mass of citizens. It was that way in Ireland, it was that way in the Ukraine, it is that way whenever catastrophe strikes or is caused by govt policy.
Not that these bureaucrats see themselves as evil; on the contrary, they feel that without their efforts, their schemes, their plans, things would be much worse. Did the people who organized and voted for TARP feel that they were defrauding the American people? On the contrary, they congratulated themselves for saving the world economy and preventing a second depression!
A program like After Armageddon makes people worry about the wrong things. They worry about a sudden plague when in fact the real threats they face are govt-caused inflation and food shortages, and their own naivety and passivity.
Dissociation. The trance-like state. “They may sit there and stare, and not move, and not do what they need to do to survive.” Now we’re getting somewhere!
btw, one could argue that most Americans nowadays are experiencing a mild form of dissociation, inasmuch as they are sitting passively while govt bureaucrats destroy the country’s economy, while at the same time they dismiss those who are preparing for hard times as fanatics.
Some small communities would not want outsiders coming in? Doubtless true. But where are the authorities in all these scenarios? Did they all just disappear? Average citizens are forming armed bands but the police are nowhere to be seen? This is the big fault in scenarios such as that of After Armageddon: in order to spin improbable tales of the post-apocalypse, it is necessary to pretend that law enforcement and military will disappear as if by magic.
That’s not going to happen.
Organized criminal gangs are going to take advantage of the situation? Of course. But again, there will be police and military to fight them.
The reference to starvation and to starving people roaming the countryside was one of the more realistic aspects of the movie (thank heaven there was no mention of cannibalism!). But in real-life mass starvation situations, most people die at home or near home. They often tend to wait until they barely have enough strength to walk a few miles before collapsing.
I deal with some of these issues in my novel Golden Corn for the Stranger, available from amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Corn-Stranger-Kevin-Beary/dp/1881355055/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323375138&sr=8-1
Riveting show. So how am I supposed to get out of a major metro area when it hits the fan? The only place I have to go to is a little town in nowhere, Wyoming, and that’s 3.5 hours away. I would have to go through many small towns on the way there and risk being robbed by some gang on the way. The best I can think of doing is hiding out in my basement til it feels safe to poke my head up.
Okay, other than the Shtf reality, this family is funny. What dumb male and female.
Do I correctly infer, this was a 1/2hr show and only nine+/- mins of actual show per Episode??
The wake-up call for me was reading Matthew Bracken’s trilogy, starting with “Enemies, Foreign and Domestic”. He wrote these books about 10 years ago, but they are completely relevant to today. It’s like he had a magic time machine and stepped into the future. And as for me, I have planned for food and protection the best I can, and if Armageddon is coming, then I know Jesus is not far behind!
Amazing series – thanks Mac.
You think about the first few steps after a disaster but not the next 20. Very useful wakeup call for everyone.
Will be showing this to my entire family.
The one thing I had not considered at all was the comment on childrens behavior! I guess if there was some left to fend for themselves, without the governance of an adult for right and wrong, things could get ugly
There was a theatrical movie called The Road, about a couple and their kid trying to survive after some catastrophic event. They were typical sheeple: unprepared, untrained, with no clue about anything.
If there ever is a total colapse of the system, the law of the jungle will become the law of the land. But small isolated groups who have prepared and work as a team will have the best chances.
I liked After Armageddon because it might actually inspire non-prepper people to look around them and consider preparing. The scenarios were all possibilities and I thought they effectively demonstrated the domino effect of a breakdown in society.
It was meant to open eyes and I believe it succeeded in doing just that. Especially that end bit when the father passes away from a small cut that got infected. Knowing he was a paramedic no less…
I hope History Channel continues to do more of these shows. They can go a long way in educating people.
There was a comment made about organized crime and the probability that it would not be an issue because of the military and police there to fight them…. I beg to differ. First off, there is more people and land mass then soldiers and police to cover it- and that is on a good day when the thin veneer of society is intact. The scenario being a pandemic, they too will be getting sick and dying as well. And some will bolt from duty to care for their own families just like the paramedic father demonstrated.
the pandemic scenario is one of the least likely. it is actually a politically-correct scenario, which is why a channel like the history channel chose to go with it.
it is a politically-correct scenario in the sense that the catastrophe is not caused by human bad guys. there are no corrupt govt officials, incompetent economists, voracious financial parasites.
in real-life catastrophic situations, the police/military tend to be those who retain access to communication networks, food and fuel. they therefore have a big advantage over any criminal elements that are trying to take advantage of the situation. they also have an advantage over the private citizen struggling to save his family.
everything else may be broken…but govt still works.
The bottomline if you’re not armed to the teeth then you can seat idly-by while you watch your women, mother, sister, daughter get raped multiple times by 20 dirty greasy bastard.
Prevent this have 4 shotguns, with about 1,000 shells, 4 rifles with scopes, 1,000 rounds, handguns with clips, 1,000 rounds. Few will mess with you. This is the real equalizer.
A couple other great books to read are “One_Second_After” by William R. Forstchen (excellent book) and a series called “The_Ashes” series by William W. Johnstone. “The_Ashes” series is mostly out of print so are starting to become very hard to find. They start out with a decent story simply written and graphic but become somewhat repetative about mid series. I have only read 7 of about 30 books to date.
I have recently woken from the “reality” of modern life and feel very far behind with no real illusion of my long term survival. My wife is a mindless pollyanna of hope with no thought of tomorrow outside of the alarmclock. I do hope to plant a seed of survivability in my son beyond the Xbox zombie reset deaths. I have a black thumb so hopefully can trade out my back and mechanical abilities for those that can produce food.
If not I have about 3 months of supplies and after that…20% survival rate and land only being able to support half of that population before being picked clean. As I said I have no illusions, 8 out of 10 have to die for those hardy souls to survive without the current supporting infastructure. Until then I will keep trying my best.
Peace.