Rented it last night. Different than what I expected, which was larger in scale, I guess. Focused on the impact of an 3-day power outage in Los Angeles on one suburban family. No phones, no radio or TV, etc.

Good flick overall. My wife and I talked afterward for a bit about a decision to get a gun (leaning towards getting one, despite strong misgivings). Thought-provoking and tense at times. No scenes of mass panic, just rumors of looting and deaths. Never found out the cause of the outage.

Who else has seen it, and what did you think?

-- regular (zzz@z.z), May 13, 1999

Answers

I saw it last fall. I thought the first half was real good but got kinda strange toward the middle to end.

The grocery store scene was great. Voice on intercom says "cash only, no credit cards, only small bills, remain calm" Then at the gun shop the line is through the store, everyone wants a gun-waiting period on pistols-I wonder if that y2k movie due to be out this fall or whenever will reflect this as well?

-- Johnny (jljtm@bellsouth.net), May 13, 1999.

I watched it last summer with my wife after hearing a recommendation from Art Bell. It left a big impression upon both of us.

Very intense! Pulse rate definitely heightened throughout the movie! I thought a plausible depiction of the possible reactions people may have to a loss of multiple utility systems exacerbated by a dearth of information.

I didn't believe the scene where one of the guys goes out to the car, turns on the radio & hears nothing but static. The U.S. has an emergency broadcast network set up for just this scenario. Some information would get out. But the movie probably wouldn't have had the same impact, would not have been able to take the same course. And the intensity may have been lessened greatly.

Nonetheless, I give it a thumbs up for, if nothing else, forcing the viewer to consider such a scenario. My wife & I had a long discussion following the movie that never would have taken place - with such focus - had we not viewed the picture.

Warning: You may not want children to be exposed to this movie. My advice would be for parents/guardians to view it first.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), May 13, 1999.

Hi all:

There is a book based on the movie (a "novelization"), by Dewey Gram, (1996 by MCA Publishing). Far better than what the editors did to the movie.

Included are scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor -- such as sweating, frightened powerplant workers, trying to restart generators; explanation of why the power, phones, radio is out (it was a large solar flare, with a powerful electromagnetic pulse that knocked out all systems); AND, a clear description of why the hero is so ambivalent and indecisive (personality traits).

Anyway, it all is REALLY based on an old Twilight Zone episode, "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street". Tip: at the beginning of the movie, we see street signs: "Maple" and "Willoughby". "Willoughby" appeared in another TZ episode, and was the name of a harried business man's fantasy of a peaceful hometown.

Lest any think this has no application to y2k, think: solar flares; power outage; social confusion....

Anita E.

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), May 13, 1999.

I think the cause of the outage is given at the start of the movie in a really subtle way. It's a solar flare or an EMP or something.

Oh, and the part about the Gun shop got to me. Brought back memories of life after the riots here.

Mike ===============================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), May 13, 1999.

Watching the scene at the grocery store was eerie: people trying to hold on to what is normal. Made us think about what it would be like with the possibility of it being very long term. Enjoyed the movie, much food for thought. It really won't take long for people to panic if their children need food/water/heat. And people are very unpredictable when they are afraid!

-- winna (??@??.com), May 13, 1999.

Hey regular,

After watching the movie, I thought to myself: "Had they known it would only last a few days, there might not have been so much paranoia and dissension among the neigbors when they had their meeting." Unfortunately, we also don't know how long it will last which makes things difficult. However, we do know when it will happen, and if we could somehow prepare ourselves and our neighbors with a "cushion" to get by, even if only for a couple of weeks, that would help to avert some of the initial panic and paranoia, and allow us to deal with whatever comes up more rationally. However, I'm learning that it may not be so easy.

"The Trigger Effect" movie has had a significant impact on my current thinking. I am one of those who has "headed for the hills". I moved out of the city last year and now live in a small neighborhood (about 6-8 houses in a small "subdivision") in a fairly rural area up in the mountains, where I thought (and still do think) that I would be somewhat safer than where I was, without completely bugging out to the remote wilderness. Unfortunately, I'm now starting to become concerned that I should have moved somewhere even more secluded with fewer or no neighbors.

After watching the movie, I tried to discuss the Y2K issue with some of my new neighbors to try to get a feel for things. The family that lives on one side of my house is very concerned and they are trying to prepare as best they can. As a matter of fact, it was one day a couple of weeks ago when we were both working in our gardens that I brought it up by asking if they were planting a Y2K garden? She said that they were, and my neighbor also said that she was very relieved that I was preparing myself also. She had recently spoken to one of our other neighbors who said he wasn't worried about it, and she was afraid that everyone would come looking to her and her family for help if something happened and, being a Christian, she wasn't sure how things would go if needy people began showing up at her doorstep. On the one hand, she felt she should try and help others, but what about her own family? I told her that I have had similar concerns, and like her, I was quite relieved when I saw them outside, tilling a section of their back yard.

Since our conversation, I have talked to some of the other folks in the neigborhood, and I am shocked and dismayed at their lack of knowledge and their denial of the Y2K issue. One of them actually said that Bill Gates will fix it in October!!! (I still can't believe I actually heard someone say that!) I have tried to inform them as subtly as I can by saying that I'm pretty worried myself, and that I've done some research and there might be problems, and they might want to look into it a little themselves and maybe stock up with a little extra food, just in case. I don't want to hit them over the head with it, but I don't want them to be completely in the dark, either.

At one point, I was thinking about trying to get everyone together to have a neighborhood meeting to discuss the Y2K issue ahead of time, before it actually hits. After watching the movie, I thought that if people got together to plan before a disaster struck, it would help avert panic and dissension. But I'm beginning to feel like I may be starting to get a reputation as the neigborhood "Y2K kook" and I'm afraid to bring it up anymore. I also get upset thinking about it because I'm not a very social person and I'm not good at working with others or doing "community" things, and I think "Why should I have to be doing this crap? I'm getting myself prepared and now I just want to be left the hell alone."

I now have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I regret mentioning it, because more people now know that I am preparing. On the other hand, if they show up at my door looking for a handout, they can't say that they didn't know, and I could tell them to f*ck off with a clear conscience. Still, I anticipate that most won't prepare and that sooner or later, someone will show up at my doorstep with an attitude. I have decided to buy an extra 5 or 6 (at least) fifty pound bags of rice to store to deal with such an eventuality. I'm already overwhelmed trying to prepare for myself, and I feel resentful that I now have to plan for others, but the reality is that if my neigbors are hungry and they know that I'm not, then they may get very pissed off and nasty, and then I will be in danger.

Yes, I know someone will make a comment about guns and ammo and defending yourself. I already have an AR-15 and several thousand rounds of ammo, but the reality is that you can't just go around shooting people. I think it makes more sense to swallow my pride and spend a few extra dollars and try to help out a little if I can. Even ignorant assholes are people too, I guess. I'll just save my ammo for when I run out of extra rice to give away!

Now I'm getting myself all upset, so I think I'll just wrap it up now. Talk to y'all later.

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), May 13, 1999.

I guess a 3-day power outage will mean different things depending on where you are. Here, in my state, due to the ice storm, we had that in jan. 98- even longer- a few weeks outage I believe in some parts of the state. We're off the grid so didn't notice any difference but even still, it wasn't a biggie, even in winter for our neighbors. It was a major problem for unprepared dairy farmers though... anyway- I guess that reinforces the theory that the govt will attempt to keep the power on for sure in certain parts of the country and not worry too much about other parts. I can't imagine people up here panicking or rioting over the power being out for any length of time, but I sure could picture it in NY or boston, or DC or places like that(never been to LA so don't have a point of reference there)

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), May 13, 1999.

I rented the film last September. I'm with Anita on this one. I lived through 3, 4, and 8 day power outtages in the upper midwest as a child and a teen. The credibility of the film was stretched thin as a soap bubble skin when they posited that people would start panicking (with resort to weapons and theft) after 8 hours. I don't buy it. It'll take more than a week to see more than just a few isolated events like that. I wish my brain would rest assured on the notion that we'll only see 7 days of power and supply disruption....therein lies the possibilities of the film's scenarios,...not 8 hours to 2 days without power.

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), May 13, 1999.

Clyde, the person who said bill gates would fix it in october got one little piece of correct information and thinks it is the silver bullet. actually, the fix that MS is coming out with will fix ONE of the several hardware problems out there. it is a fix for Active RTC/CMOS Support, and it is very important and will save the butts of a lot of people with NEW noncompliant computers, but it won't do a darn thing for older computer hardware, and it certainly won't do a thing for the other 4 levels of compliance beyond hardware.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), May 13, 1999.

Donna...Los Angeles and the Upper Midwest are not exactly like peas in a pod... -SD-

-- Slightly Dubious (hmmmmm@curious.com), May 13, 1999.

I saw the movie, but wasn't impressed. However, my aunt and uncle live in Virginia and they had an ice storm last December that put the power out there for a week. No power, no water, no heat. For people that did have fireplaces this wasn't a problem. But for those who had to rely on propane heaters, there were many problems. Even in that type of situation, the guy at the hardware store would only sell propane in 'authorized' containers. The store only had 2 of these containers left when my uncle got there, and the price was marked up by 200%. People will do anything, if they think they can make a buck. It is best to be pro-active not reactive. By the way, after my uncle got his propane, he went home and didn't leave the house until the power was restored. He was lucky it only lasted a week. They didn't have enough food to go much past that.

-- DJ (reality@check.com), May 13, 1999.

For a better version of "The Trigger Effect" go to your library.

Look for a set of James Burke's "CONNECTIONS" series. (The ones from 1976-78)

The FIRST tape is "The Trigger Effect", in fact, this episode was what the entire movie was based on.

But the Episode of CONNECTIONS is far scarier than the lamo movie.Far more "thought-provoking" than the movie. You end up leaving the city, but everyone else is leaving; you stop at a farm...will they let you in? will they shoot you? are you starving? will you have to kill them? or do you just lay down and die?

he doesn't answer the questions. He just puts you in the situation.

Very much worth the search.

-- PLONK! (realaddress@hotmail.com), May 13, 1999.

Anything by James Burke is excellent. And to Slightly Dubious,...I have lived in S. California for 18 years and still don't see that the kind of panic depicted in the movie will come in 8 hours to 2 days during all but all-out Y2K disaster...This is earthquake country, by the way, S. California...I have seen people rally, and NOT panic, first-hand. I think the focus on "citizen-denizen-panic" is a pure and ignoble fiction invented by governments, who need clueless lemmings to justify their existence. Human beings are resiliant beings if given the information they need to survive and thrive; not a popular position in the age of the "People are Stupid" fiction, I know, but it's the one I'm sticking to.

Donna, in fashionable sheet-wear, a musician and mourner.

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), May 13, 1999.

My husband and I thought it was totally stupid. We had the power go out in an ice storm, in the dead of winter, back in the 1970's, and we were totally unprepared. I assure you neither we, nor out neighbors, two of whom were in their 80's, didn't act that panicked or ignorant. Luckily my husband was able to get into town after 4 days, and we were glad because our diet of canned soup was getting boring. We only had a fireplace, and I've never been so cold. Both of our elderly neighbors had wood stoves and did fine. I wore my golf shoes to go check on them and bring in their wood for the stoves. They baked us corn bread and cookies, and said they grew up like that, so it was no big deal to them.

I keep a rating of that type movies. Here goes, flame away.

Trigger Effect - Awful - Dumb

Waterworld - Not too good, but interesting concept.

Soylent Green - As good as the first time I saw it.

The Postman - Good, I liked it better than the book.

Road Warrior - Stupid! Yuck

Red Dawn - OK

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 13, 1999.

Hi Gilda,...long time, no Hi.... :-) Did you really like the Postman movie better than the book...? I liked the book better, but thought the movie was much better than "Trigger Effect".

Anybody wanting a real dark look at post-apocalypse rent "Testament". Great movie,...bummer afterglow, though. And for my favorite recent film on the potential for human spirit...."Phenomenon"...the best thing Travolta's ever done.

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), May 13, 1999.

Hi Donna, (smile) I haven't seen you much lately either. I miss your quotes and book suggestions. Yes, I did like the movie of Postman better than the book, but I think it was because I saw the movie first.

Thanks for the two suggestions. I'll check them out. I like Travolta. Civil Action is the most recent movie of his I've seen, and I really enjoyed it. I think an ancient dump near us would qualify for a Cilvil Action.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 14, 1999.

I wish I could be as positive as some of the rest of you regarding the strength of the human spirit but since living in boston I have been caught up it two(2) riots when the only problem was a hot day. (Power was on and no shortages) Basically several thousand people of all races got pi**ed off because of the heat and went on a rampage destroying shops and homes for about 1 1/2 hours on a Saturday (both times). Stupidly I walked out of an office building right into the middle of it once (I thought they may have been filming a disaster movie until I watched the stores being torched and trashed) and the second time it went right by my girlfriend's apartment.

It was pretty scary. So pardon me if I don't agree with you.

-- Yinadral (Yinadral@juno.com), May 14, 1999.

I used to live in South Florida and on NUMEROUS occasions I've seen supermarket shelves literally stripped bare of EVERYTHING within 24 hours of an official hurricane warning. If Y2K disruptions prevent the shelves from being restocked in a timely manner. . .

A person can only survive 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Hungry people get very irritable. If you're in a major city, you're toast.

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), May 14, 1999.

As another Southern California resident and a real LA native I tend to side with Donna on how people here deal with doom : )

It's very interesting in that we've been a beta testing ground for everything from quakes to riots to floods to fires over the last decade. Maybe God decided he/she would use us for a little insight into the capacity of a person to be compassionate and helpful under dire conditions?

Under situations like fires, floods, and earthquakes people really do rally together and support each other. It's an amazing sight to see communities pull together and truly allows for feelings of hope that we aren't a doomed species destined to kill each other off like rats in a cage.

Then, there are situations like what happened with the riots.

During the riots I could look out my balcony and see fires burning only a few miles away. The city I live in is one of the most racially diverse areas in all of Los Angeles. It's a true melting pot with just about every conceivable racial group represented. Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Samoans, Filipinos, Asians...if racial tension was really a catalyst to bring about a riot it should have spilled over here.

But actually my community, which is just south of South Central, managed to be one of the safest cities in the LA basin. There were no fires in the city I live in. There was about $100,000 in damage though I never actually saw any. And our Sheriffs did an amazing job of keeping order and peace. They actually took positions on top of our Mall with shotguns to keep the looters away. The looters never came and people in my city remained calm. I was very, very proud to live here.

Yet, my city is viewed by many in more affluent areas as being a place where you don't travel into it unless you decide to take your life into your hands. Interesting how views can be skewed based on perception and racial bias.

That's another thing that should be understood. Those that took part in the rioting were not necessarily those that took part in the looting. The looting spread mostly because opportunists took advantage of the confusion and the violence, etc.

That was then, this is now.

Like in the Trigger Effect there was a run on guns. As a gun owner it was scary for me to go out to my local range and find it busier than normal. Actually, that is a huge understatement!

I actually stopped going after I took a ricochet in the leg. Luckily it was a flesh wound. I realized I was standing in an indoor range with people who had never fired before let alone been taught proper gun safety.

It was very frightening for me to see people who had never even thought they would buy a gun waiting in line just to get in to a gun store. Once inside the store the counters were three and four deep with people waiting to talk to a sales person. In the months that followed gun sales increased at an incredible rate here in LA

There are a whole lot of guns here now packed away in a box somewhere in a closet or tucked in a sock drawer still shiny and new and never fired. Maybe they're loaded or maybe the box of ammo has never even been opened. Certainly, there are a lot of gun owners here that have never actually learned to fire their weapon. Did they ever learn to respect the killing power of a gun? I'm sure many haven't.

There is no doubt that the police were overwhelmed during the riots and the looting.

Remember the coverage showing Korean store owners and their families and friends in full on gun battles with looters? A lot of people don't realize that many of these families actually live in their stores. Many were actually protecting their homes as well as their portion of the American dream. The police didn't try to step in and control the situation. They didn't shot and kill or arrest the gun wielding store owners. What cold they do? Most of the time they didn't even arrest the looters.

Even so, with all that violence and fear and panic and racial tension, I like to reflect back to Florence and Normandie and some other LA street where some of the most brutal and horrific TV footage was taken. My most vivid memories are of these two situations, very similar and very different.

The first is my shock and fear as I watched Reginald Denny being beaten. No police came to save him. No roving band of citizen Militia shot their way in to save him. Nope. The people that saved him were black and they were just citizens who lived in that community and decided to risk their own lives to help him, and others to safety. I still get goosebumps and tears thinking about it.

The second most vivid memory of that time was the beginning of it all. I viewed footage of a man being beaten by police. He had been stopped for a traffic violation and he was being beaten because he wouldn't stay down on the pavement in the middle of the street. He was "resisting." He was provided no judge, no jury, no law, no civil rights, no freedom, no liberty. People would be arrested for beating a dog in the manner that this man was being beaten. Why was there even a debate as to whether or not he deserved to be beaten in our "civilized" society? In the end, who came to his rescue? The man may well have been a three time loser and a drug addict and a speeder too but he was also protected under the constitution with certain inalienable rights.

Society can come apart at the seams and it can happen from either side of the line of law and order. Luckily, there are people who value life and community and freedom and liberty whether in uniform or not.

It may by just my two cents but I do believe that community IS the key to creating a strong society.

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), May 14, 1999.

The book recommended by Yourdon et al is really the best analogy that I've come across. That book is Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. The Trigger effect was alright in premise but lacked the dialogue to be very effective.

-- Will (sibola@hotmail.com), May 14, 1999.

If you want a good read on TEOTWAWKI try Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. This is a realistic picture of life after a comet hits the earth. I haven't seen any of the current crop of movies on the subject but this is one great book.

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), May 15, 1999.

Saw the movie - enjoyed it - Ahhhhhhhh, Elizabeth Shue :)))

She has an effect on my trigger.

Sorry about that.

Nightfall - absolutely superb, there is an expanded version out now of the short story.

I very much enjoyed Lucifer's Hammer too - a good read and lots of practical information too.

I would also recommend the James Wesley, Rawles novel - a good read with excellent and current practical advice.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 15, 1999.

Michael: Re: 'Out of control' police: One company I work with has decided that all Japanese working in and visiting a factory in a southern state (Georgia) are no longer allowed to drive by themselves. They must take a taxi or have western driver. It seems the local police were shaking them down for "tempoary cash bonds" for traffic violations such as getting too close to the center line. The police would never issue them a ticket, but intimidate them to pay $250 cash in exchange for mailing them a ticket 'later.' The Japanese are unaccustomed to being yelled at by police and truely fear them. The company would rather pay the cost than make waves with the local police. Now, their company policy for the U.S. is consistant with the driving policy in third-world countries.

Sad.

-- PNG (png@gol.com), May 15, 1999.

PNG,

What city in Georgia?

-- Dian (bdp@accessunited.com), May 19, 1999.