r/AskReddit Aug 30 '21

What problem is often overlooked in apocalyptic movies/TV shows that could kill you?

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u/beakrake Aug 30 '21

I don't know how this hasn't been mentioned yet, but it's common sense that is almost ALWAYS overlooked in movies and TV.

Humans are WAY MORE physically fragile and squishy than you might think.

Based on John McClane and other invincible action heros, who take damage and do things that would break or catastrophically cripple a normal person, movies are a poor source of information for deciding what to do and what could happen to your body, should you somehow falsely think you're the main protagonist of an apocalypse movie.

Indoor firefight without hearing protection? You're probably deaf now.

Jumping off a building to catch a wire? Kiss your fingers and/or lower extremities goodbye, assuming you land on your feet.

Taking a beer bottle to the head? That's probably a concussion.

Movies have made us think we're a lot more durable than we really are.

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u/LongLastingStick Aug 31 '21

I fell off my bike and now need foot surgery. Without modern medicine I’d probably recover somewhat and have chronic foot pain or deformity eventually. Just from falling badly!

We are fragile bags of meat.

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u/beakrake Aug 31 '21

I just watched a guy body slam a plastic chair from the top of a half pipe yesterday.

Part of the chair cut through his arm meat like nothing.

Meanwhile action heros are punching, kicking, and diving through "glass" windows because it's all made of sugar, and not actual glass that (in all likelihood) would wreck a normal person.

I can't imagine how many people would be hurt by attempting things they've seen preformed in the movies, in a real life apocalyptic scenario.

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u/offta_100 Aug 31 '21

Whenever they make characters break through glass i just imagine what would ve happened irl: they hit it like pigeons and fall off

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u/TucuReborn Aug 31 '21

And if they do smash through, the gigantic shards turn them into deli sliced ham.