Health & Fitness
No Appetite for “Hunger Games”
"The Hunger Games" is a movie that left a sour taste in my mouth.
A few weeks ago I went to see the movie “The Hunger Games.”
My daughter had read the book and liked it and wanted to see the movie. I knew very little about the story. I knew that it took place in the future and as in Roman times, a fight of some sort to the death was seen as entertainment to this futuristic society.
I always enjoyed science fiction so I thought this would be a good movie for me to see.For those of you who are not familiar with the story here is a brief summary. The fictional nation of Panem lies in what once was North America. It is surrounded by 12 districts. The government is a cruel one and forces each district to send one boy and one girl to participate in a fight to the death which is viewed by all on a bizarre reality show. These children are between the ages of 12 and 18.
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The audience that I was in was made up of many young girls ages eleven and twelve accompanied by their moms. I know that I am showing my age when I say that I found several scenes disturbing. The "games" begin and the children run to grab knives and slaughter a few of their opponents. Lying on the ground are bloodied young girls and boys. At this point I knew that this was not a movie that I was going to enjoy.
In its defense I will say that the main character, Katniss, is an admirable heroine. She takes her younger sister's place in the “games” when her name is drawn and literally saves her life by doing so. There is a love story between the main characters and they show courage and wisdom that is lacking in many of the adults that rule the fictional land.
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As I left the theatre, I was walking behind several of those young 11 and 12 year olds and I overheard one of them saying that it was the best movie she ever saw. Her friends quickly nodded in agreement. This disturbed me even more than the movie.
I realize that it is fiction but I am concerned by this type of story that is immensely popular with young people. I heard that it is a triolgy and perhaps it will redeem itself in the next two movies as they hopefully show the horror of this twisted government.
Tell me what you think, pros and cons of this movie, if you saw it.
