5 Points to Ponder After Watching World War Z

First things first, if you haven’t seen the movie at least watch the trailer here.

Without spoiling the movie for those who have yet to see it I’ll provide a brief synopsis.  Massive outbreak of an unknown disease spreads throughout the world in days, utter chaos ensues as society collapses.  Our sexy hero must find a way to save the day while surviving many life threatening scenarios.

You might not be a hardcore movie goer and neither am I, but I actually had a few prepper friends recommend this movie to me.  They said that the plot did have quite a few plausible aspects to it so I grabbed my wife and we set off to consume a bag of butter laden popcorn while watching Brad Pitt save the world.

The movie was quite good and my wife and I whispered “that’s so true” or “that could totally happen” at least 10 times throughout the movie.  So here you go, 5 points which I wrote down after the movie.  Points to ponder, or lesson’s learned which were showcased on the screen but have very real implications here in reality if SHTF were to occur in some form or another.

1- The Government is not here to save you.  This is totally dependent on the scale of the collapse which the world would face, but if it’s anything on a global scale (like in the movie) where life as we know it ends and chaos ensues you can forget about the National Guard showing up to pass out MRE’s and water.  Most in all levels of government will have one thing on their collective mind: family.  This includes the military, police, fireman, government officials at FEMA and the list goes on.  It’s not about them being selfish either, when the communication chain is severed and chain of command collapses there is only one thing left to do: survive.

2- Total collapse could unfold in mere hours.  There is a point made in the movie which I’ll try to paraphrase: Most people don’t believe that something can happen until it happens.  How true that statement is and it’s the reason that people really don’t prepare or give a second thought to the potential for SHTF in some form or another.  Many who dabble in prepping simply assume that the warning signs will be there giving them ample time to max out a few credit cards stockpiling last minute preps.  Once a collapse takes place which wipes out life as we know it everything changes in hours, not days or weeks.  Murders, rapes, looting and pillaging will almost instantly coincide with the onset of a collapse when society is confronted with a massive outbreak, or lack of power, or the bottom falls out of the economy.

3- Essential Supplies (Food, Water, Medicine) will disappear quickly.  This should be pretty obvious given point #2 but it needed to be stated.  There is a scene in the movie where people are running through the supermarket looking for food and water, trying to take medicine from the pharmacy in the back of the store.  A small gun battle even erupts and a uniform police officer simply runs right by, too consumed in his own mission to get supplies for himself.  The point here is when the SHTF, you’ve have what you have.  While there could be a few exceptions don’t count on being able to do much of anything outside of your local community when it comes to obtaining supplies.

4- Murphy’s Law: You won’t be near your stash when T-SHTF.  This part of the movie is in the trailer so I’m not spoiling anything, but when T-SHTF the main characters are stuck in the city in a traffic jam.  In the same respect you could be on a mandatory business trip which means flying, which also means no weapons or massive bugout bag to accompany you.  There you are 500 miles away from home with a few suits and a shaving kit and a solar flare wipes out the grid and all communication.  What good is your redoubt location and the $100k in preps you’ve accumulated over the past 10 years now?  Wait, I forgot to mention you have a paracord bracelet and a 2 inch knife…so maybe you’ll be ok.  Regardless always keep in mind that things often happen in a way which we do not except, or as Helmuth von Moltke noted: “No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.”

5- It’s all about problem solving.  Our hero is faces many obstacles during the movie.  Instead of focusing on the negative and giving up he always manages to problem solve his way out of the particular bind he is in, amazingly enough.  If SHTF happens there is one thing that is certain: it will suck.  Everything you think you know will be tested, everything you thought would happen probably will not.  Instead of focusing on the negative the key to staying alive will be the ability to problem solve using critical thinking skills.  Some tasks will require a hammer while some will require a much more delicate tool.  Some out there believe that every task post SHTF will be solved with body armor and an AR15, those types probably won’t make it past the first week.

So there you have it, 5 things to ponder after watching World War Z.  Go see the movie for yourself as it’s one that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.  If anything the opportunity to eat butter laden popcorn with an $8 fountain drink is always a good time.