Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Like when I want popcorn during monopoly
I'm the only person in America who has not read the Hunger Games, but I saw the movie. It may have been a mistake. I understand that the movie was made for fans of the book. But could they not throw a bone or two to those of us who are too lazy to read never got around to it have other stuff going on. There's a lot I didn't understand. Like, what was with the hand signal? What's a district? Why are squirrels the new chicken? And WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT UPSET THAT CHILDREN ARE DYING? I think that maybe the events of last week, the French shootings and the attention brought to the Trayvon Martin case made a movie about children killing children a little hard to swallow. Or maybe it's because I have a child of my own and my maternal uptightness has really kicked in. Whatever the reason, I was bothered. I appreciate the creativity and imagination of both the author and the filmmakers. The story was engaging and the images fun to look at, though learning to zoom out couldn't hurt the cinematographer. And Jennifer Lawrence was really great, even if she played the exact character she did in Winter's Bone. But who was the bad guy? What perverse human being created a child-slaughter television competition? Who can I blame? It's fine to tell this story, but it needs to be darker. Children shouldn't die. Ever. And a world where that's ok needs to feel like a sick, twisted place, not the Land of Oz. Right? Am I way off here? Did I miss something? Do I need to read the book? Guide me, internet.
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read the book! still disturbing but at least you understand the rationale.
ReplyDeletegotta love dystopian novels!
Yep. You gotta read it. If it helps, you're pretty good with the whole reading/writing skill set, so it should be a quick read. I did it in like 2 days with a toddler. You'll definitely know who to hate if you read it.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you're not alone. I haven't read them either. Secondly,I have heard from some people who read the books that they were equally disturbed. Just for the record. And from another non-Hunger-Games-reader's point of view, the obsession with this children killing book is kind of odd. But then again, don't knock it til you try it, right? errr... I mean the reading the books part... anyways..
ReplyDeleteDisturbed as well. I also found myself not really liking any of the characters that much. What was with the shaky camera? It made me sick.
ReplyDelete1. Read the books. All three of 'em.
ReplyDelete2. The hand signal is a rarely used sign of admiration, love, support, etc. in District 12. When Katniss uses it after she says good-bye to Rue, it's also a way of thumbing her nose at The Capitol.
3. There's no more United States, instead North America is comprised of districts. This is a really detailed map: http://aimmyarrowshigh.livejournal.com/32461.html
4. Squirrels are the new chicken because in District 12 they don't have very much food at all.
5. People aren't upset that children are dying because they've been browbeaten and brainwashed by the leaders to believe that it's okay, entertaining, etc.
6. The bad guys are the people who run Panem, specifically President Snow (played by Donald Sutherland). His evil comes to light in the second and third books.
7. No, I'm not a teenager. Yes, I swear, I have a life.
It's a really well written series and it illustrates what happens when the Collective We no longer have a voice. My kids aren't old enough to read it yet but, when they are, I'm really looking forward to using the books as a means of opening the door to some bigger conversations.
I didn't read it either, we saw the movie on Saturday. I agree with a lot of what you said with not knowing what was happening. Luckily Joey(who listened to it on his ipod) filled me in. I thought differently about the children killing children...it didn't bother me. I haven't had kids yet so maybe that's my issue, but honestly I didn't think it was violent enough. From what people were freaking out about the book and "oh no how can they show that in the movie?!" really got my hopes too high. As a true Tarantino fan I didn't think it was gory enough for the type of show it was. The author isn't that creative though. Two words Battle Royale. Look it up. It is almost the exact same concept as a Japanese movie about ten years ago.
ReplyDeleteJust noticed that this is logged in as Joey, but I (Jessica) left this post....he agrees with me though so I guess he could have posted it too.
ReplyDelete