Why is it during doomsday scenerio's people always make stupid decisions?
By
Agent White,
Posted on: 2011-12-29 19:20 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
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Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
Admission: zombie movies completely freak me out on a fundamental level, no matter how lame the movie is, and the issue above is part of why.
While zombies aren't real, the idea of a fatal contagion or major disaster very much is. And the corollary issue of zombies is that until a person turns, they are still a person, and killing them or even just abandoning them is a morally ambiguous act. A related idea would be "Why would anyone care for plague victims, the logical thing to do is kill them before they can spread disease." Now, people in zombie movies do tend to suffer from one extremely unlikely turn of chance, and that is that every bite has a near 100% chance of transmission, and every case is fatal. While that transmission rate is theoretically possible, a more realistic scenario would be the disease affecting/killing most people, but at least some surviving (although possibly disfigured). Given this fact, the act of killing or abandoning a still living person, if the situation happened in the real world, is fairly complicated. Part of the horror of the situation is (for me at least) zombies used to be people. Horror movies tend to gloss over this by making it very clear when the person has changed from human to monster, but real life would probably be a lot less generous. |
Don't forget the power of denial and emotional attachments.
No it's just a scratch.
I can't possibly be infected.
It could never happen to me.
That's my wife!
I've known Jim since childhood.
Scruffy would never hurt me.
It's all just a Nemesis plot.
Dude this'll look great on youtube!
(Sorry bout that last one but stupidity had to make a comeback)
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Because the movie/show/book would be 10 minutes long otheriwse. |
Originally Posted by EvilRyu
Why is it during doomsday scenerio's people always make stupid decisions?
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It's called - Stupidity is the only option (warning, tropes link)
Gets all the more frustrating when it repeats. Shows with multiple seasons for instance, Eureka, TNG etc. All end up having a scenario that is so similiar to one already solved by the protaganist that you spend the whole episode yelling at them for not putting 2 and 2 together.
Stupidity is the only option.
Maestro Mavius - Infinity
Capt. Biohazrd - PCSAR
Talsor Tech - Talsorian Guard
Keep Calm & Chive On!
People make stupid decisions even when doomsday predictions don't happen. Just imagine how it's gonna go down when the world does end.
"You don't lose levels. You don't have equipment to wear out, repair, or lose, or that anyone can steal from you. About the only thing lighter than debt they could do is have an NPC walk by, point and laugh before you can go to the hospital or base." -Memphis_Bill
We will honor the past, and fight to the last, it will be a good way to die...
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I'm not worried about that. |
Originally Posted by DarkGob
People make stupid decisions even when doomsday predictions don't happen. Just imagine how it's gonna go down when the world does end.
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I am curious to see what kind of chaos happens the closer we get to December 21st though. If you thought Y2K was crazy...
I can see a lot of people completely losing it the closer we get. That's why I laugh at anyone that says 2012 is a bunch of mumbo jumbo and nothing will come of it.
I say, it may be mumbo jumbo, it may be mis understood, but one thing is certain. To a degree it will be a self fullfilling prophecy. By the simple fact that we have been inundated with fear mongering for years and years.
The year of Fear is here. Every little thing that happens, every storm, every power outage, every traffic jam, will be hyped as signs.
Hold on to your logic circuits gang, it's gonna be an interersting year!
Maestro Mavius - Infinity
Capt. Biohazrd - PCSAR
Talsor Tech - Talsorian Guard
Keep Calm & Chive On!
I'm telling my sister in the Midwest (USA) to add an addition to her farm house, plant an extra large garden, and create a well-stocked bunker by December.
I live in South Florida. One Atlantic tsunami and my house will be in the Gulf of Mexico 
, so I plan on visiting my sister for early Xmas this year and want to have that place ready for me. 
(yeah, I'm joking)
[QR]
Because post-apocalyptic fiction does not exist in doomsday scenario movies. No one knows what a zombie is in a zombie movie.
Comrade Smersh, KGB Special Section 8 50 Inv/Fire, Fire/Rad, BS/WP, SD/SS, AR/EM
Other 50s: Plant/Thorn, Bots/Traps, DB/SR, MA/Regen, Rad/Dark - All on Virtue.
-Don't just rebel, build a better world, comrade!
Thing about doomsday preparations is that they can be used for a lot of other natural disasters. Like getting a home power generator that can run on a variety of fuels. You might get a severe ice storm like we did one year and be without power for an extended amount of time. Or putting up your own windmill to provide power.
Planting a garden and learning to can your own food? Sure, useful for when the world goes to heck, but is useful in and of itself to lower your food bills.
A secured bunker? If you live in tornado country, it makes for a handy shelter.
The more you can divest yourself of reliance on other people and services that may see disruptions, the better off you'd be for most scenarios. Yes, that includes zombies and alien invasions, but also for supply disruptions like gas shortage in the 70's.
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This.|
Originally Posted by DarkGob
People make stupid decisions even when doomsday predictions don't happen. Just imagine how it's gonna go down when the world does end.
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Look at all the idiots that actually sold their cars, houses and said "eff you" to paying their bills while giving all their money away or donating it to a church on May 21st and then again on Oct 21st 2011 because of that Christian nutcase, Harold Camping said the rapture was going to take place.
Like DG said, imagine how people will act/react if something epic does ever happen.
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"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-
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Honestly?|
Originally Posted by CrazyJerseyan
Like DG said, imagine how people will act/react if something epic does ever happen.
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I'd like it if something actually did happen. This world isn't going to change unless something truly kicks us in the shorts.
Besides, think of the stories you could tell your kids. "Daggummit! You kids don't know how good you have it! In my day, we were fending off hordes of zombies and mall shoppers! All you have now are the hippies trying to protect the zombies! Git off mah lawn!".
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I like the telling stories to my kids part...that would be fun. "You kids got it ez! When I was a young whipper snapper during the Zombie Apocalyse of 2015..."|
Originally Posted by Dark One
Honestly?
I'd like it if something actually did happen. This world isn't going to change unless something truly kicks us in the shorts. Besides, think of the stories you could tell your kids. "Daggummit! You kids don't know how good you have it! In my day, we were fending off hordes of zombies and mall shoppers! All you have now are the hippies trying to protect the zombies! Git off mah lawn!". |
Even if something epic did happen, the world may change in some way, but human nature never does. Things may shift here or there, but nothing will truly change unless we're talking about a mass extinction-level event. And in that scenario, our kids wont be hearing too many stories.
"Forum PvP doesn't give drops. Just so all of you who participated in this thread are aware." -Mod08-
"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-
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For something to get rid of humanity completely, it'd probably have to crack the planet in half. We're kinda like cockroaches. Tenacious, hard to truly exterminate, can practically live anywhere on this planet, and can put up with horrible living conditions.|
Originally Posted by CrazyJerseyan
I like the telling stories to my kids part...that would be fun. "You kids got it ez! When I was a young whipper snapper during the Zombie Apocalyse of 2015..."
Even if something epic did happen, the world may change in some way, but human nature never does. Things may shift here or there, but nothing will truly change unless we're talking about a mass extinction-level event. And in that scenario, our kids wont be hearing too many stories. |
Also...
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"War. War never changes. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage. In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation. But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world - but war, war never changes. In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as vaults. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wasted to greet them - all except those in Vault 101. For on the fateful day, when fire rained from the sky, the giant steel door of Vault 101 slid closed... and never reopened. It was here you were born. It is here you will die because, in Vault 101, no one ever enters and no one ever leaves." |
I agree with you, but my point was...outside of the world cracking in half, I seriously doubt anything short of that is going to cause the world/us to change much. Just like you pointed out about humans being similiar to cockroaches in that we can live almost anywhere...we also dont vary a lot outside of our parameters.
In the 1400s, we had nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
In the 1500s, we had nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
In the 1600s, we had nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
In the 1700s, we had nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
In the 1800s, we had nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
In the 1900s, we had nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
In the 2012, we have nations at war, general strife, starvation, plagues...
There were and are many great things to rejoice about I suppose, but do you see the pattern? I doubt anything short of an extinction will give us that suffiecient kick in the pants you mentioned to change the natural course of things.
"Forum PvP doesn't give drops. Just so all of you who participated in this thread are aware." -Mod08-
"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-
Well, we'd need an almost-mass extinction. Bottleneck us down to a couple hundred thousand or so. Give us the chance to learn from the idiocy of the past and revamp. Kinda like how the Black Death allowed for changes in the society of Europe. For one to change, they need to hit rock bottom. We're close, but not quite there yet.
Only downside is the collateral damage to the not-human population of the planet.
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I guess my point is this...do we ever really learn or grow enough? Does gaining knowledge about one aspect of reality or another really alter human nature for us to transcend our base nature/instincs?|
Originally Posted by Dark One
Well, we'd need an almost-mass extinction. Bottleneck us down to a couple hundred thousand or so. Give us the chance to learn from the idiocy of the past and revamp. Kinda like how the Black Death allowed for changes in the society of Europe. For one to change, they need to hit rock bottom. We're close, but not quite there yet.
Only downside is the collateral damage to the not-human population of the planet. |
The Black Plague by some accounts decimated Europe's population by 50% and how did anyone evolve from that? A couple hundred years later, the population was topped off again and it was back to business as usual. Sure, some became smarter by way of the sciences (which benefitted everyone)...medical knowledge etc. Many though blamed the plague on people not being faithful to some god, which is basically the same thing people do today, like 600 years later (some religious nut claimed Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and its residents all because of Mardi Gras lol).
Back to the original point, I dont think there is any partial doomsday scenario that will cause the human race to get their **** together.
Just my cheery, realist opinion though
"Forum PvP doesn't give drops. Just so all of you who participated in this thread are aware." -Mod08-
"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-
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We've only had around 10,000 years of being "civilized" and most of that was spent being able to only eat with one hand. Give it time, but time is the one thing that we are more than capable of limiting for ourselves.|
Originally Posted by CrazyJerseyan
I guess my point is this...do we ever really learn or grow enough? Does gaining knowledge about one aspect of reality or another really alter human nature for us to transcend our base nature/instincs?
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| The Black Plague by some accounts decimated Europe's population by 50% and how did anyone evolve from that? A couple hundred years later, the population was topped off again and it was back to business as usual. Sure, some became smarter by way of the sciences (which benefitted everyone)...medical knowledge etc. Many though blamed the plague on people not being faithful to some god, which is basically the same thing people do today, like 600 years later (some religious nut claimed Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and its residents all because of Mardi Gras lol). |
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Back to the original point, I dont think there is any partial doomsday scenario that will cause the human race to get their **** together. Just my cheery, realist opinion though
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I think we're looking at "change" from different perspectives. It sounds like you are speaking on social evolution...Im looking at it more along the lines of the human nature never really seeming to progress. So the ruling class had to treat the workers better for a period of time but then sent them all out to fight the neighboring lords later on.|
Originally Posted by Dark One
We've only had around 10,000 years of being "civilized" and most of that was spent being able to only eat with one hand. Give it time, but time is the one thing that we are more than capable of limiting for ourselves.
By removing a large population of the working class, the ruling class had to pay better and provide better working conditions to compete for the more limited worker resources. Along with other socio-economic impacts, though granted some had to take quite a while to be realized. Complete environmental collapse either through supervolcano explosions, impact events, or good ol' fashioned human endeavor. If we know we can't live here anymore, then we'll have to look elsewhere for a home. Spread out amongst the stars. Meet strange new aliens and take the Kirk route with 'em. |
Maybe we will have another 10,000 years ahead of us to get it right or maybe we'll destroy each other in the next 300 years.
Time will tell I suppose.
"Forum PvP doesn't give drops. Just so all of you who participated in this thread are aware." -Mod08-
"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-
Natural selection only benefits the good of a species in theory, though. In reality, what is selected is not what survives better, but what breeds more. So, regardless if whether or not it is destructive to the species as a whole, whatever is better at reproducing stays. It makes sense when you think about it. Take how many times has some genius had a dozen kids, and contrast that to how often a sly, arrogant [pancake] gets chicks or how often it is someone with no regard for birth control has lots of kids. Bottleneck the population down, and you aren't going to get the people who survive better because they are smarter or stronger. You'll just people who "make more people better" because they reproduce quickly enough that their stupidity doesn't curb their population growth.
I, personally, think that "common sense" doesn't apply to nearly as many things as we think it does. Granted, when you drop an object it tends to fall, and fire is probably hot, but give any situation in which common sense should dictate one outcome, and people in generally can come up with a dozen reasons why it is that a different outcome will occur. Most of them are probably legitimate from a reasoning perspective. The rest, often a debated concern through priorities that other people don't share.
Take, for example, the denial stage to any tragedy. We tend to think post hoc that this is just people being unreasonable about the facts of the matter, but we seem to neglect is the fact that there are a lot of instances where the initial assumptions are wrong. There are tons of times where no, you kids aren't addicted to cigarettes, that the previous positive cancer screening was a mistake, that the death of your spouse was a prank just like that one time in college, it really is an April Fools joke, your neighbor isn't a serial killer, and that pain in your chest is just a gas bubble. The denial stage is an adequate barrier to what is a really dangerous alternative: when you jump aboard every train of thought that runs through the station. I actually had parents like this growing up, and it is an unpleasant way to live when they always assume the worst, and punish you for things you didn't do because they got an impression that you did it. Those people who have an emergency room visit for every ache and pain, those who round up a mob and run every weird person out of town, those who blow all of their savings the moment they find a lump on their chest, it is a destructive way to live that hurts everyone and it happens just because they didn't resist every whim and wind that blows through their path.
Of course, when watching movies, we're genre savvy and expecting the obvious movie-based results when in real life things can and often will be different if such an event were to occur.
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I just want a good seat where I can relax and be entertained while I watch the world die.
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When Yellowstone finally blows, I'm going to be on my porch with a beer in hand. No point in running from something like that.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I just want a good seat where I can relax and be entertained while I watch the world die.
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So, exactly what film are we talking about here? The only Darkest Days I could find is from 2005.
Rabbits & Hares:Blue (Mind/Emp Controller)Maroon (Rad/Thermal Corruptor)and one of each AT all at 50
MA Arcs: Apples of Contention - 3184; Zen & Relaxation - 35392; Tears of Leviathan - 121733 | All posts are rated "R" for "R-r-rrrrr, baby!"|Now, and this is very important... do you want a hug? COH Faces @Blue Rabbit
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Darkest_Hour_(film)
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Originally Posted by Blue Rabbit
So, exactly what film are we talking about here? The only Darkest Days I could find is from 2005.
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"Forum PvP doesn't give drops. Just so all of you who participated in this thread are aware." -Mod08-
"when a stalker goes blue side, assassination strike should be renamed "bunny hugs", and a rainbow should fly out" -Harbinger-
Ah, thank you good patron.
Rabbits & Hares:Blue (Mind/Emp Controller)Maroon (Rad/Thermal Corruptor)and one of each AT all at 50
MA Arcs: Apples of Contention - 3184; Zen & Relaxation - 35392; Tears of Leviathan - 121733 | All posts are rated "R" for "R-r-rrrrr, baby!"|Now, and this is very important... do you want a hug? COH Faces @Blue Rabbit
It does help that there are some real idiots in that movie, though, but the Hans and John dynamic of smart villain and smart hero is really what makes the movie work. They both get to outsmart each other several times, and it feels like a battle of equals. And when someone does act stupid, well, they die. Or at least get some kind of comeuppance. Die Hard rewards cleverness and punishes stupidity, which makes for an altogether awesome film. We need more Hans Gruber caliber action villains...
Alas, even Common Sense is lacking as a trait now. Self-Awareness is big (watch the leads talk about how this is so much like reality show x, or mentions of at-the-time-of-filming 'current' social trends) and so is attitude. Apparently being loud and obnoxious counts as a survival trait (see also: gangsta attitude) as does being pretty and vacuous. The real problem here is that characters are now lacking any real depth and dimension to them and the reliance has become upon the visuals to sell the story.
But this is more about corporate Hollywood more than the filmmakers.
S.
Part of Sister Flame's Clickey-Clack Posse