Fran's disappointment in not going to Canada

[Philly_SWAT]

Seems as if the boards are kind of quiet lately, so I wanted to come up with something to start a discussion. This was what I came up with. I can see why Fran would be upset that it appeared that "the boys" were making decisions without consulting her. Flyboy was her man, "most of the time" according to her. She was pregnant, but unmarried. Was she upset over Flyboy's unwillingness to commit? Fran's character seemed to me to be quite resilient and willing to express her thoughts. The next day she said to all of them she wasnt going to play "den mother" to them, and wanted to be part of the plans "there's four of us, OK!" Peter understood this as being only fair, "fair enough", but Flyboy was upset that she pwn'd him in front of his male buddies, buddies he already had trouble keeping up with in the manliness department. She also adapted quickly to using guns, flying the chopper, and injecting morphine. But why was she so upset about not going to Canada? Why would Canada be any better than any other place? If they just wanted to be in a rural area, there would be plenty right in Pennsylvania. If she was upset simply about changing plans without consulting her, why mention Canada in particular? Any thoughts?

[EvilNed]

Maybe because Canada is far less populated they had an easier time dealing with the zombies up there. Sure, society had probably collapsed, but I can't imagine it being very diffiult too control the zombie population in the wide open spaces further up north.

[Danny Terror]

Yeah I never really put too much thought into this, but I'm goofing off at work so I'll just say that perhaps Fran and Steven had discussed Canada as a place to go and raise their baby before the outbreak began and it was still a place that she dreamed about even though the world had fallen apart. I really doubt that Fran suggested Canada as a safe place to try and make it to in the Helicopter but of course I could be wrong. Danny T.

[axlish]

I think that she knew that in order to truly get away, they had to learn to live off of the land, give up their life of materialism and cut the umbilical chord to society. The mall represented everything that she wanted to get away from. She reluctantly indugled and the mall proved to be the end of two of their lives. That is why the ending is so upliftinng and hopeful, because she is returning to her intended path with Peter.

[darth los]

Seems as if the boards are kind of quiet lately, so I wanted to come up with something to start a discussion. This was what I came up with. I can see why Fran would be upset that it appeared that "the boys" were making decisions without consulting her. Flyboy was her man, "most of the time" according to her. She was pregnant, but unmarried. Was she upset over Flyboy's unwillingness to commit? Fran's character seemed to me to be quite resilient and willing to express her thoughts. The next day she said to all of them she wasnt going to play "den mother" to them, and wanted to be part of the plans "there's four of us, OK!" Peter understood this as being only fair, "fair enough", but Flyboy was upset that she pwn'd him in front of his male buddies, buddies he already had trouble keeping up with in the manliness department. She also adapted quickly to using guns, flying the chopper, and injecting morphine. But why was she so upset about not going to Canada? Why would Canada be any better than any other place? If they just wanted to be in a rural area, there would be plenty right in Pennsylvania. If she was upset simply about changing plans without consulting her, why mention Canada in particular? Any thoughts? It definitely seems like something she and Steven discussed beforehand. Perhaps that's where they were headed until they tripped over this consumer's paradise. It also seems like it was her idea. She did say, "nobody cares about my vote". It's true that there are plenty of rural areas in PA but they are pockets in the midst of some very densly populated areas. Up in Canada there are miles upon miles of frozen tundra for pete's sake. You might be able to hide up there indefinitely. You know, you would think that when fran saw that the human race was done for and what was waiting outside the walls of the mall that she would have warmed up to the idea after a while. The only reason they were alive for as long as they were was that mall. They wouldn't have stood a chance virtually anywhere else. Of course they could have found a similar set up somewhere else but life as she knew it was over with. People with the mindset her and riley had want to continue life as usual because they feel that as a result of what they've become they're not really living anymore. But there's really little alternative. Whether it's in an uderground bunker, fortified city, mall, or old house the key to survival is to find somewhere safe to make zombieproof and live out your days the best you can.

[Publius]

It's true that there are plenty of rural areas in PA but they are pockets in the midst of some very densly populated areas. Up in Canada there are miles upon miles of frozen tundra for pete's sake. You might be able to hide up there indefinitely. Right. Pennsylvania has "rural" areas. Canada has vast stretches of true wilderness, like nothing you can find in the U.S. east of the Mississippi. And much of that is not even tundra, but temperate woodland at latitudes comparable to the UK, the Netherlands, or northern Germany. These maps of Quebec and Ontario (the provinces closest to Pennsylvania) show that the great majority of each province is "sparsely populated" -- where 1 person per square mile is NOT considered "sparsely populated! By contrast, no county in Pennsylvania has a population density of less than 10 people per square mile, and all but three have a population density several times that. Go a little further west in Canada, and the entire province of Manitoba has half the population density of Pennsylvania's most "sparsely populated" county!

[dracenstein]

Wouldn't a lot of Americans have thought the same about Canada being sparsely populated and gone north? And some of them may be bitten... Plus a lot of urbanites might die from natural causes...

[sandrock74]

I think I would have gone for Wyoming. The entire state population is 500,000...think about that...only half a million people in a state! You probably won't find better odds anywhere else inside the U.S.

[RustyHicks]

Maybe Fran thought it would be safer in Canada because Canada is nothing but ice, glaciers and snow I hear that a lot from people who visit Canada, who actually think Canada is the North Pole and Santa is our neighbor. Seriously though, Canada is less populated, there are lots of places to hide. Up in the moutains, cottage land, forest... Maybe she thought it would be a little less dangerous

[Publius]

Wouldn't a lot of Americans have thought the same about Canada being sparsely populated and gone north? True, but what else are you gonna do? A lot of people in densely populated areas will have thought of pretty much every sparsely populated area. At least a helicopter will let you leapfrog over most of the masses who will get bogged down on the highways heading north.

[Thorn]

I think a lot of good points were raised here. Personally I think she had Canada in her mind, and in her mind it was a better place. For whatever reason it represented freedom to her, or change. Perhaps something better, with her man, and her baby. Everyone I think needs to think there is something better out there. Those plans were changed, and she was on the outside looking in on those plans. She had a baby to care for and think about, and she knew what was there. A lot of danger. A mother more often than not will seek to protect her children, there was certainly a lot of risk involved with where they were and their new plans. Also at the time the movie was filmed and still to this day females are often put in lesser roles, I think she viewed how she was being treated (as less than equal) as unacceptable and the Canada decision was just a part of it.

[Bub666]

I think no matter where they would've gone,there would have been too many zombies.

[krakenslayer]

I think no matter where they would've gone,there would have been too many zombies. I think the frozen wastes of northern Canada would be an extremely safe place in the event of a zombie outbreak, if you're not adverse to "going back to nature". There are streams to fish in, animals to hunt, trees for fuel, dozens of small settlements and secluded hunting cabins to live in. The extremely low population density, rugged terrain and often harsh climate (frozen zombies!!) would provide a reasonably strong natural defence against roaming ghouls, who generally tend towards places they remember from life (therefore, mostly towards densely populated areas). Granted, large numbers of survivors will be trying to escape to the wilderness, but if you actually look at Canada on a map, it's ****ing huge - it's 9,984,670 square kilometres - and most of it just wilderness! Even if there was a mass exodus there, if the survivors were more or less evenly distributed and you headed away from population centres and roads, you'd be lucky to even encounter another group of survivors let alone a horde of zombies.

[Cody]

I tned not to think to in dpeth toawrds movies like this.

[MoonSylver]

I think the frozen wastes of northern Canada would be an extremely safe place in the event of a zombie outbreak, if you're not adverse to "going back to nature". There are streams to fish in, animals to hunt, trees for fuel, dozens of small settlements and secluded hunting cabins to live in. The extremely low population density, rugged terrain and often harsh climate (frozen zombies!!) would provide a reasonably strong natural defence against roaming ghouls, who generally tend towards places they remember from life (therefore, mostly towards densely populated areas). Granted, large numbers of survivors will be trying to escape to the wilderness, but if you actually look at Canada on a map, it's ****ing huge - it's 9,984,670 square kilometres - and most of it just wilderness! Even if there was a mass exodus there, if the survivors were more or less evenly distributed and you headed away from population centres and roads, you'd be lucky to even encounter another group of survivors let alone a horde of zombies. Yep. Only thing I'd add is if there was a mass exodus, I don't know how many people would make it. Most of society has lost basic survival skills. Look how many people go hiking, camping, whatever & get lost & die every year.