Sunday, February 26, 2012

Planning for the Apocalypse

With the vast amounts of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic movies, shows, and books the genre has really beefed up in the last five or so years. One of the fun things about movies that feature the apocalypse, whether it be brought on by zombies, a plague, or a huge natural disaster, is watching the characters survive.

Something I find funny is that no one is ever prepared. In the zombie movies, no one seems to know the "rules" about zombie. They waste tons of time and tons of people figuring out that you have to shoot them in the head, but is it really believable that not one of the people in the group has seen a zombie movie? Most movies seem to pretend that they don't even exist. But people talk about it all the time. My husband and I both talk about our plan for the apocalypse and how we're going to survive. And we have plenty of conversations with friends and relatives about the same. It's a silly, fun thing that we do and who knows, maybe some time we'll need it. Especially with the supposed 2012 end of the world hype.

But everyone in the movies, whether it be for zombies or natural disasters, never seem to know what they're doing. And sure, it's possible that the story of characters with a plan is less interesting than the story of characters without, but this lack of characters with a plan makes for excellent conversations after the movie. So, I decided that I'd share our apocalypse plan, which varies depending on the the type of apocalypse.

-Decide what sort of apocalypse. Depending of the type of apocalypse we are experiencing, I will have to choose the next steps differently. Also, if Husband is at work or away from me, wait for him to return and fortify the apartment. If I'm at work or out, find a way home that will not include me dying.
-Find a safe place to hold up until the worst is over. If it's a plague, stay home and stay away from large groups of people. If it's zombies, find a Sam's Club, Costco, or any other warehouse-style store. If it's a natural disaster, find a tornado bunker or other sturdy building (unless the disaster is a series of insane earthquakes).
-Get supplies. The best part about finding a warehouse-style store to take refuge in, you will likely find everything you need. In some states, you can even buy your weapons there.
-Fortifying the safe house and barricade all doors and windows.
-Wait it out, or keep the perimeter safe.
-If we run out of supplies or the safe house is no longer safe, then we move to a new one.
-Repeat steps 2-6 until society either rebuilds its self or we build/join our own.


Also, for fun, here are five of my favourites from the Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalypic genre.

1. Falling Skies (TV show on SyFy, which I enjoy a zillion times more than The Walking Dead. And coming from a rabid zombie lover, that should say something.)
2. The Stand by Stephen King (The book, but the mini-series is okay too)
3. Dance of the Dead (Comedy/Horror movie about teens and zombies and prom. It's epically hilarious, but also rated R for those who worry about that sort of thing.)
4. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (YA and a fantastic book)
5. 2012 (This one's PG-13 for those who need to know, and has John Cusack... which, of course, is also important to know. lol)

[READER RESPONSE] Planning for the apocalypse is fun. Do you have a plan? What is your apocalypse plan? And if you think it's too stupid to have a plan for a likely never to happen apocalypse, that's okay. Instead, you can tell us your top 5 movies, tv shows, or books that have to do with the apocalypse or post-apocalypse.

2 comments:

  1. At my last high school I taught at, the kids and I had a whole team worked out. Who was in and who we'd have to leave behind because they'd only slow us down (we all took a moment to sigh sadly for some of the older teachers we admire... buy hey, this is survival). We also worked out our B team - those are the teachers that you let think are in your group, but only because you need buffers when the zombies attack.

    Wagging Tales

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL! Charmaine, I laughed when I read your response. That is so amazing; I love it! The buffers are the best part. My husband insists that the only time we'd be in a group was for buffers too. I also love that this was something you and your students shared. That's so cool! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete