EOTW & Dystopian Movies that Actually Helped Your Prepping

[JoeGrayman]

New member, old prepper here.

I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead. Not so much for the zombie factor but for the little tips here and there that you pickup from scenarios you may not have thought about. I actually keep a notebook for those ideas so that I can include those contingencies in my daily preps. I also use a type of Threat Probability Matrix and assess the likelihood of the scenario and and the level of impact that it would have to my BOL, preps, family, etc.

I love these types of movies that you can actually learn from throughout the movie, not just an isolated scene here or there. I've looked through the boards and see a lot of horror/zombie links, but do you have a list of movies that are actually worth watching? Not just for the lessons but also entertaining enough to sit through 2 hours?

[NT2C]

New member, old prepper here.

I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead. Not so much for the zombie factor but for the little tips here and there that you pickup from scenarios you may not have thought about. I actually keep a notebook for those ideas so that I can include those contingencies in my daily preps. I also use a type of Threat Probability Matrix and assess the likelihood of the scenario and the level of impact that it would have to my BOL, preps, family, etc.

I love these types of movies that you can actually learn from throughout the movie, not just an isolated scene here or there. I've looked through the boards and see a lot of horror/zombie links, but do you have a list of movies that are actually worth watching? Not just for the lessons but also entertaining enough to sit through 2 hours?

Hmmm. Well, in my case it was a book, not a movie, though the book was eventually made into a movie later one. The book was My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. I fell in love with the book as a young child and that sparked a lifelong interest in self-sufficiency that continues to this day. This has enabled me to survive a winter in NY's Adirondack National Park and two years living homeless on the streets of NY. When my kids were younger I often spoke to them about the book and the lessons it taught. My youngest daughter found me a copy of it one year and gave it to me as a birthday gift. It then made the rounds through all the kids in our building (about 20) before being lost in the fire that left me homeless. Years later, my darling wife bought me a copy of the trilogy and wrote to the author seeking an autograph and explaining my history with the book. She wrote back, enclosing a signed and inscribed bookplate for the inside cover of the book.

Though written for young adults the trilogy of books are still an enjoyable read for many adults. I've not seen the movie but if it stayed true to the book it would be quite interesting.

[majorhavoc]

Welcome to Zombie Squad and I must say; a very intriguing question for your first post. Well done!

This is probably more abstract than you were looking for, the movie Take Shelter helped me understand importance of keeping my preps on the down low. No so much because it'll make you a potential target in a SHTF situation (although it most certainly will), but because the average person's "normalcy bias" will make it difficult for them to understand what I'm doing; perhaps make me seem a little crazy to those who don't get it. A little less of an issue in 2020, but most people still aren't ready to accept the possibility of a near or total societal collapse, even to this day.

[SCBrian]

Like N23po, my books have become movies, but reading Alas Babylon and Z for Zachariah in middle school struck chords with me. Pile on that I was mostly a sci-fi reader (Heinlein, et al) and it kinda stuck. I dont prep super deep, but I have enough to make a run at it, and my preps get deeper every day...

[PistolPete]

For movies I have to say Dawn of the Dead (2004). It showed how a group is only as good as the people in it, a weak link or two and you're all screwed. It also got me thinking about geographic areas that are better to ride out a total collapse, which is a good mental exercise.

And it may seem odd, but Escape From New York, Total Recall and Judge Dredd got me thinking about how societies will organize in a collapse scenario or scarcity situation. All the movies are over the top, of course, but shows that organized subcultures, like criminal organizations, will likely rule areas if existing law no longer does.

In my youth is was Mad Max and Red Dawn that got me interested in being prepared in general- just having a few skills and goods can make such a difference in a disaster scenario like that, and outlook and a support group are key.

10 Cloverfield Lane is a great look at survival in a bunker, I was thoughtful about the approaches taken in that movie. It was really well done, I thought.

If we go into books the top of my list is Lights Out by David Crawford (HalfFast). It really showcased the difference between community and buying stuff.

[JoeGrayman]

Welcome to Zombie Squad and I must say; a very intriguing question for your first post. Well done!

This is probably more abstract than you were looking for, the movie Take Shelter helped me understand importance of keeping my preps on the down low. No so much because it'll make you a potential target in a SHTF situation (although it most certainly will), but because the average person's "normalcy bias" will make it difficult for them to understand what I'm doing; perhaps make me seem a little crazy to those who don't get it. A little less of an issue in 2020, but most people still aren't ready to accept the possibility of a near or total societal collapse, even to this day.

So I went out and found the movie "Take Shelter". The first hour or so I thought the guy was crazy, and was just watching it while I worked on the computer at home - but by the time they were in the shelter --- holy @@@@. Couldn't peel me away. You are spot on with your takeaway from the movie. I live in farm country where we give people directions to our house like "turn off the paved road and drive till you hear banjos". And, even out here I wouldn't dare talk about my preps. OPSEC is still vital here. Rural America today isn't like it was 50 years ago. Today the city has moved in and taken over the under 40 crowd. They are as oblivious as are most urban dwellers. We moved here from Houston, TX just 2 years ago and it seemed that the Houstonians were more in tune with the need to prep than are the people where we moved. So, yes - I definitely agree with your takeaway. And MANY thanks for the movie suggestion. Loved it!

[RoneKiln]

I've never seen the movie The Postman, but the book had a line that really impacted me. Something to the effect how everyone had so much ammo stocked that everyone was still shooting at one another 20 years after the collapse, but nobody had ever stocked enough water purification or medical supplies to last more than a few months.

I should probably buy more water purification and medical supplies. Cause I might have enough ammo for a decade or two if I was real careful.

I honestly can't think of much a movie taught me other than don't do what most movie characters do.

[raptor2]

I grew up with duck & cover drills. We watched movies like this in class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogiYqRF ... AtomicWolf

This coupled with the lectures from our teachers on the subject (They were ww2 veterans) were quite sobering about the need to prepare.
One lecture about the aftermath of the Occupation of Japan and what that teacher witnessed first hand left quite an impression on me. He said that firearms and ammo were basically worthless as weapons of war, even nukes were only useful to facilitate main weapons of war which were starvation and disease.

The lesson taught that was that surviving an event is easy. The hard part would be the long term outcome and depended upon mundane things like sanitation, clean water and a steady food supply.

[MPMalloy]

I grew up with duck & cover drills. We watched movies like this in class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogiYqRF ... AtomicWolf

This coupled with the lectures from our teachers on the subject (They were ww2 veterans) were quite sobering about the need to prepare. One lecture about the aftermath of the Occupation of Japan and what that teacher witnessed first hand left quite an impression on me. He said that firearms and ammo were basically worthless as weapons of war, even nukes were only useful to facilitate main weapons of war which were starvation and disease. The lesson taught was that surviving an event is easy. The hard part would be the long term outcome and depended upon mundane things like sanitation, clean water and a steady food supply.

Thank you for this link. I really, really get into this part of history

You know about CONELRAD, yeah?

[raptor2]

I grew up with duck & cover drills. We watched movies like this in class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogiYqRF ... AtomicWolf

This coupled with the lectures from our teachers on the subject (They were ww2 veterans) were quite sobering about the need to prepare. One lecture about the aftermath of the Occupation of Japan and what that teacher witnessed first hand left quite an impression on me. He said that firearms and ammo were basically worthless as weapons of war, even nukes were only useful to facilitate main weapons of war which were starvation and disease. The lesson taught was that surviving an event is easy. The hard part would be the long term outcome and depended upon mundane things like sanitation, clean water and a steady food supply.

Thank you for this link. I really, really get into this part of history

You know about CONELRAD, yeah?

Yes.
We were also instructed in the use of CD geiger counters & dosage meters.
That lesson was interesting as child. Being told that basically if you need this you will likely die from radiation is kind of sobering.

[MPMalloy]

I grew up with duck & cover drills. We watched movies like this in class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogiYqRF ... AtomicWolf

This coupled with the lectures from our teachers on the subject (They were ww2 veterans) were quite sobering about the need to prepare. One lecture about the aftermath of the Occupation of Japan and what that teacher witnessed first hand left quite an impression on me. He said that firearms and ammo were basically worthless as weapons of war, even nukes were only useful to facilitate main weapons of war which were starvation and disease. The lesson taught was that surviving an event is easy. The hard part would be the long term outcome and depended upon mundane things like sanitation, clean water and a steady food supply.

Thank you for this link. I really, really get into this part of history

You know about CONELRAD, yeah?

Yes. We were also instructed in the use of CD geiger counters & dosage meters.
That lesson was interesting as child. Being told that basically if you need this you will likely die from radiation is kind of sobering.

I love sites like these, the view back into that period in time. It's kitshy, but also informative

[WillyWinchester]

My first foray into prepping was Hatchet by Brian Paulsen... Read it as a kid. What a rush

[RonnyRonin]

I've never seen the movie The Postman, but the book had a line that really impacted me. Something to the effect how everyone had so much ammo stocked that everyone was still shooting at one another 20 years after the collapse, but nobody had ever stocked enough water purification or medical supplies to last more than a few months.

I should probably buy more water purification and medical supplies. Cause I might have enough ammo for a decade or two if I was real careful.

I honestly can't think of much a movie taught me other than don't do what most movie characters do.

The postman is also my pick, and also for a line VERY early on: it was the one about how so many of his friends died from horrible oral infections. I read the book young enough to probably save my parents thousands in dental bills.

[Brekar]

My first foray into prepping was Hatchet by Brian Paulsen... Read it as a kid. What a rush

Same here. Hatchet was my first foray into those kind of books. Loved it. Actually still have it believe it or not. As far as books a few that stuck with me since then was "Alas, Babylon", "One Second After", "Lucifer's Hammer", "The Postman", "The Road" and "Tomorrow War 1 & 2". All of them show what can/will happen in extreme versions of different PAW's, and what will happen if you don't prepare...

As far as movies "Red Dawn", "The Night Eats the World", "28 Days Later", 12 Monkey's" "Contagion " and "Quiet Place" are all good movies that helped me. All of these were movies that made me think what could I do to improve these my families chances to survive this, How to implement it, and that all plans will fail, better have plans A-Z lined up...

[yossarian]

My side of the Mountain, the cub scout magazine, Boy's Life and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen were the very beginning. Along with tales of Daniel Boone. As far as movies, I found Panic in Year Zero right about the same time I found ZS

[WillyWinchester]

My first foray into prepping was Hatchet by Brian Paulsen... Read it as a kid. What a rush

Same here. Hatchet was my first foray into those kind of books. Loved it. Actually still have it believe it or not. As far as books a few that stuck with me since then was "Alas, Babylon", "One Second After", "Lucifer's Hammer", "The Postman", "The Road" and "Tomorrow War 1 & 2". All of them show what can/will happen in extreme versions of different PAW's, and what will happen if you don't prepare...

As far as movies "Red Dawn", "The Night Eats the World", "28 Days Later", 12 Monkey's" "Contagion " and "Quiet Place" are all good movies that helped me. All of these were movies that made me think what could I do to improve these my families chances to survive this, How to implement it, and that all plans will fail, better have plans A-Z lined up...

Hatchet still gets to me to be honest, and when my kid's old enough to read it... You bet he's gonna.

[Brekar]

My 10 year old has read Hatchet from cover to cover several times now. As well as Call of the Wild and White Fang. All great books.