It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum

Topics => TEOTWAWKI => Topic started by: trapeze on November 02, 2013, 01:18:44 PM

Title: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: trapeze on November 02, 2013, 01:18:44 PM: I watched it last night and I have several comments.
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: trapeze on November 02, 2013, 01:39:11 PM: My first comment has to do with the reason for the blackout that was posed: a cyber attack. To me, that is pretty much nonsense. To the best of my knowledge the electrical grid is not set up in such a way that it can be hacked and taken down or, even if it was, could not be turned back on in short order.

I would say that any event that is able to take down the entire electrical grid and keep it down would be something more catastrophic such as an EMP strike or a massive solar flare event. Perhaps a very massive and very well coordinated attack on electrical substations that involved the destruction of large transformers but that seems unlikely since it hasn't happened yet. I mean, if AQ was capable of it they would have done it by now.

But, the civil unrest that was featured would be characteristic of an economic collapse and that does seem likely for reasons that we need not go into on this thread.

There were several other flaws that I suppose the film makers thought they had to include to tell the story. Notably: Using the video media to tell the story well into the blackout. First of all, their emergency power would be gone in a couple of days at best and even if they had power for weeks, who are they broadcasting to? That and the seemingly unending power that people had available for their cell phone video recorders. And honestly, even though there are some people who do document everything, who has time to record when you are running for your life? And wouldn't you be saving your battery power for essential recordings or something?

But those are minor criticisms.

On the plus side: I got a kick out of the metrosexual boyfriend who beat the guy to death with his one can of peaches. That was darkly funny.

On the negative side: The doomsday prepper who brought the useless hippie boyfriend into his bunker/compound. There is no way that I wouldn't have put the hippie on the road from the very beginning. That scenario was more than a little thin in the believability department in several areas. Especially the way that it was ended.
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: Alphabet Soup on November 02, 2013, 02:17:00 PM: Who broadcast it Trap?
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: trapeze on November 02, 2013, 07:51:47 PM: Can't remember. The same channel that does "Doomsday Preppers." And there were a LOT of ads for prepper related stuff like Wise freeze dried food...that sort of thing. I have to wonder if the prepper supply community didn't underwrite the whole thing.

You may be able to find it on Hulu or Netflix or Amazon...don't know.

Okay, it's the NatGeo channel and here is the trailer...

American Blackout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_Rz9mCTjM#)

This is supposed to be a rental link but I've been watching it for a while and it hasn't shut down...

American Blackout Documentary 2013 National Geographic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6KTH4XwdMk#ws)
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: trapeze on November 02, 2013, 08:18:13 PM: The people (students) trapped in an elevator are especially ridiculous. It employs all of the stereotypes about elevators. Like how you can get out through the ceiling. There may be a few elevators that allow a person to get out through the ceiling but for the most part that is nonsense. Elevator escape is done through the removal of the side panels from outside of the elevator. In other words, you can't get out unless you are rescued by professionals. Plus there is zero way that you are going to get onto a roof from an elevator shaft. Just not possible. More than a few elevator systems allow for operation under emergency power to bring the cars down to the ground level, open the doors and then stop them there. Anyway...the movie shows that two of four elevator occupants survive...one dies by falling down the shaft and a second one dies on the roof of the building from infection. This implies that there is no way to get off of a building roof. Utter nonsense. It is hard to get onto a roof for obvious reasons...suicides being not the least of them. It is very easy to get off of a building roof and that is because of fire codes. Doors are always unlocked in the downward direction.
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: Maddy on November 03, 2013, 10:08:56 AM: No - I didn't see it but wanted to. I'm pretty sure Charter will have it On Demand.
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: KittenClaws on November 09, 2013, 08:27:02 PM: Quote from: trapeze on November 02, 2013, 01:18:44 PM
I watched it last night and I have several comments.

All right, I'm a bit late with a reply.

I caught the part where the guy threw the can at the man who had hungry children. I thought that was out of line considering the amount of time that had passed. Of course, he cuts his thumb later trying to open a can with a knife. I assume this was the payback authored by the liberal who wrote this garbage.

Is my recollection incorrect? Could be.
Title: Re: Anyone See "American Blackout?"
Post by: John Florida on November 10, 2013, 07:52:45 PM: That thing was a joke! The prepper had none of his family trained at all and why the hell would he bring his daughters teenage boyfriend along? And where was his family?

A total waste of my time.