Wednesday, September 10, 2014

the divide


THE DIVIDE

“The Divide” is a roughly two year old movie with Michael Biehn of Terminator fame ( and also kick-ass roles like the Marine in the second Aliens and in one of the bad dudes in Tombstone ) and Rosanna Arquette and a bunch of other actors I don’t know because I’m not in the habit of watching teenybopper crap they churn out nowadays.  It was recommended in the history of the prepper movement book I just reviewed.  A nuke or nukes detonates in New York City and a few tenants in an apartment building make it downstairs where Biehn as Super has a nice little bomb shelter set up amidst the storage spaces.  From there, they all quickly go nuts/stupid.  Now, taken at face value, this movie kind of blows.  Right away, government troops hone in on a radio signal, barge in and take the little girl for tests.  Here is the city in a hot zone, and troopers come in all dressed in elaborate gear searching for someone testing positive for a mouth swab, then they take the kid by force, going through a tent tunnel system back to a lab.  Why?  Never explained and making little sense.  That part is quickly dropped, then things degenerate as food runs out and the Super’s hoard of personal food is discovered and the kids mother in her despondency turns into a whore and the half brothers turn on each other and etc.  There are glaring inconsistencies such as power being on at all times, being told to put lime down a hole to cover waste but it is just a tap into a sewer system ( the powder would either sink or be carried away ), some being so much more susceptible to radiation than others- and even while their hair is falling out, not losing any energy- and the Super character being fully prepared but always doing the wrong thing.

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Yet, the damn thing does grow on you.  After you get done watching it, and gasping at the obvious gaffs as if you are either not sure the guy who made this knows much about nuclear war or he was trying to make cogent points, later on it starts to raise interesting questions in your mind.  In one scene, the Super states he was going to share his food stores, yet was waiting to see who was going to show themselves as trustworthy.  If that was the case, he miscalculated horribly since he ended up in restraints with the two strongest males of the group terrorizing everybody ( coolest part of the movie was when in the end one was dispatched by a female cutting his throat from behind with the top lid of a food can-make sure to get the unrated version.  No nudity, but raw violence ) and eating all the food as they stayed drunk.  Did he have a death wish despite prepping?  That is just one of the many ponderings.  Should you plan on dispatching potential Alpha Males prior to their acting out?  Should you fight to the bitter end knowing the outcome or take the easy way out?  Should you abandon civilized behavior- will that be a successful strategy or will it unravel everything quicker?  The movie has flaws, sure.  Two hours was a bit long being short on character development.  Improbable detours.  But it will keep you thinking about making least worst decisions in impossible situations.

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7 comments:

  1. Alpha males are EXTREMELY useful, find one or two just smart enough to follow your advice, groom him/them for leadership (with yourself as second or third councilor, of course). The other alphas send out to raid/collect food and supplies/ hunt /mine and other dangerous occupations - worse comes to worse get a ring together and have gladiatorial contests of some sort to entertain the rest.
    Make certain your groomed alpha gets his pipes cleaned often enough to remain malleable and keep the pipe cleaners on your payroll but NOT cleaning your pipe, use a less attractive but even more trust worthy one for that purpose.
    Of course if you are a pipe cleaner yourself this whole thing changes a little, but not necessarily too much.
    As has been said, "be polite to everyone, and have a plan to kill them all".

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    1. Love the last line, and a brilliant idea. I might steal it for an article, then in a year or so claim it as my own as everyone crowds around me and cheers and women throw themselves on me. Not quite getting that reaction from my actual original ideas.

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    2. The quote is ascribed to USMC General James Mattis: "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet." He came up with other gems, like what he said when he arrived in Iraq as Chief of Central Command: "I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all"
      An internet search and review of his quotes can be entertaining...and educational.

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    3. Heh, watch out - you might be the groomed alpha...

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  2. Actually, flushing lime along with the caca in a city sewer system is not a bad idea. The pumps at sewage central will cease to run almost certainly after shtf.
    Which turns all the sewage pipes into a long skinny septic tank. As it backs up, the lime will help with odor and disease.

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    1. In the movie, it was four feet of sewer water in a "tunnel" about ten foot wide and seven foot high. More a long room than a pipe.

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