The Book of Eli takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which gangs have taken over and the world is a seemingly endless wasteland. The images in The Book of Eli are very much akin to what many of us in the prepper community feel could really happen, so while there’s a lot of incongruities with reality throughout the movie, there are definitely some quality tips that every prepper can use.
1. Gangs Will Only Get Worse
Gangs today are a real problem. While they are mostly focused in urban environments, they are still a major issue that needs dealt with.
Once the SHTF however gangs will only get worse. As seen in The Book of Eli, gangs basically run the world with violence and oppression ruling. Another note taken from the gangs in the movie is that they’re mostly focused around major “cities,” as this is where the most opportunity for money and power are.
This tells the smart prepper two things:
First, it shows that avoiding major population areas is VERY smart and..
Two: that sometimes going it alone might not be the best option. Having a few people with you that are trained well could help you defend yourself against the gang members that venture out. Unless you’re Eli, going it alone could mean a lot of trouble.
2. Survival is About More Than The Essentials
The Book of Eli is all about a man that has been given a book to protect that he believes will save humanity. While you probably don’t have any belongings that can pull humanity from the ashes and restart society, this does serve to prove a valid point.
Too often we focus on the necessities and plan for our bug out to include nothing but what we need to get out and stay alive. While this isn’t necessarily a BAD idea, we all have things we value that can and should take up some space in your pack. Whether it’s photos of your friends and family or a family bible that’s been passed down through generations, we all have things we hold dear.
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Survival is about more than just barely living; it’s about keeping a sense of who you are in a bad situation. This means you need to keep some things that make you feel alive and remind you why it’s important to stay that way. Survival for survival’s sake won’t get you too far, but knowing that you’re doing it for a good reason will help keep you positive and motivated to keep going.
3. Learn How to Use Hand-to-Hand Combat Effectively
While I’m not downplaying the need for and usefulness of guns, The Book of Eli shows how important hand-to-hand combat will be. While those of us that are smarter and more resourceful will have ammo and guns to use it in, many people won’t. This means they will rely on using blunt instruments, knives, and their hands to fight.
Guns are loud and when nobody’s making ammo any more it will get more and more scarce. If the majority of people are fighting without the use of firearms you can get along without them, too. Save your guns for when they’re needed. Learn to fight and use hand weapons now so you’re ready for the roving gangs lataer.
4. Water Comes First
It’s obvious from the landscape of The Book of Eli that some form of cataclysmic nuclear war happened. This would change the landscape in much of the world to be extremely hot or extremely cold, making nowhere truly comfortable. Both extremes require a lot of water to stay healthy and hydrated, and as Eli shows in the movie, it takes quite a lot of trading to get a simple canteen fill of water.
This means you need to get a good water plan in effect now so you know where you’ll get water not only today but years from now. Have emergency stores of water available for immediate consumption but plan on filters and even a bug-out spot that has a well or natural spring.
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5. Bartering is Important
Speaking of trading items for water, there are multiple examples in The Book of Eli showing the need for bartering in a post-EOTWAWKI environment. Eli trades for a charge of his iPod and again trades for water.
While it’s great to save gold and silver coins, the real riches will come from having good bartering skills. People will soon realize that money and metals aren’t worth a whole lot when you can’t feed yourself!
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Learning bartering skills can keep you safe and get you the things you need to survive. Try bartering with friends and family instead of asking for favors to see how people react to it. Ask someone to help you bring your new washing machine home in return for cleaning their car, or give someone vegetables out of your garden in return for hooking up your new audio system. There are entire communities today built around the idea of bartering and while that might be a little extreme for everyone, learning this will get you more in a post-SHTF world than any gold coins ever will.
Wrap-Up
Just like any other movie that involves survival skills, there are a lot of bad and incorrect ideas that we’re choosing to ignore for the better points. For example, Eli only carries a single canteen with him to drink when traveling across a desert. This is not only a bad idea; it could kill you. Dehydration is nothing to joke about and unlike the weeks you can go without food; no water for a few days can kill you.
There are other items and even a few good tips that should be so commonly understood that they don’t need mentioned (like not eating humans. All-around a bad idea.)
If you watch movies like The Book of Eli with a prepper’s eye, you’ll always find some good points and who knows, movies like this could be a great introduction for someone not akin to the prepper world. Just make sure to keep your prep nice and quiet!