Zombie films that teach us how to survive the apocalypse
By Carla Davis
Zombie films can teach us a lot about survival, no matter how the apocalypse happens.
Zombie films can teach us invaluable survival skills. I like Naked and Afraid just as much as the next person, but we know that for the participants on that show, help is really just a cameraman away, right? If someone is bitten by a snake or contracts Dengue Fever, they’re medically tapped and whisked away to the nearest hospital.
The true test of survival would be how you are able to fare during a zombie apocalypse, and there is no way to practice for that. The only text book we have to go by are the many zombie movies (hardcore and comedy alike) available to stream. What can these films teach us?
Zombie Tip #1: Family drama will cause trouble every time
On The Walking Dead, the love triangle between Rick, Lori and Shane caused a lot of trouble for our group. There was tension, there were arguments, there was a pregnancy…and then Shane went a little bit crazy, which ultimately led to his demise. All of this negative energy upset the group dynamic, and you have to imagine that it caused our group of pilgrims to lose focus on the ultimate goal, which was survival.
Blood Quantum introduced us to a zombie apocalypse in which indigenous people were immune to zombie bites. They could still be bitten, but a bite did not mean they would necessarily die, and if they did die, they did not come back as zombies. Our band of indigenous survivors is led by Traylor, who is more than willing to provide shelter to white refugees. Younger son Joseph has a pregnant white girlfriend, so he is all on board with Dad’s plan.
Older son Lysol is an angry rebel, and it’s his decision to allow zombies to feast on the non-indigenous folk that brings about the disaster that follows. If Lysol hadn’t spent so much time trying to get back at his Dad, maybe a better family dynamic would have led to a better outcome. And Traylor should have known better than to trust Lysol in his absence, knowing how volatile his son was.