Hunger Games

Jess: Wes and I went to see the Hunger Games at midnight when it came out. I've never been to a midnight showing before, so I was pretty excited about the possibility of finally seeing the awesomeness that is a movie at midnight. It was pretty fun, and the mass of high school/middle school kids didn't even bother me that much. I'm not sure if I need to ever go see a movie at midnight again, but it was definitely a fun experience. 

*****Spoiler alert*****  Don't read past this if you haven't read/seen the first book of the Hunger Games (and don't want it ruined). 



So there we are, watching the basically fabulous screen version of The Hunger Games. I really think they did a great job translating the book into a movie, which is a rare compliment from me. Part of that might have something to do with the fact that I read the book last summer and don't remember all of the minor details. Most of the changes were pretty necessary, like the fact that there are some extra interactions among the game masters, to point out what Katniss discovers by thinking through the events of the Games in the book. Cato, the last character to die, doesn't die in misery nearly as long as in the book, and he has an extra speech, both of which made me kind of happy. There was a missing character, and I believe she becomes important later on, so I wonder how they'll work that out. The only major problem I had was that I really didn't think Haymitch was characterized correctly. He didn't seem like someone who had been drinking his life away for 24 years. The Reaping was perfect, the Games were well done, and the killings were handled with grace.

What upset me about the movie was that the people (i.e. high schoolers and middle schoolers) seemed to completely miss the point of the book. Perhaps there were people in the theatre who hadn't read the book, but the movie made the themes very clear. Wes and I have been deeply disturbed by the themes in The Hunger Games, particularly the idea of the government keeping its citizens subdued by forcing children to fight to the death. Beyond that, there is the great disparity between district 1 and district 12. We're well aware of the reality of poverty in America, and although we are not divided into districts, there is a clear difference between the rich and poor areas of the nation and cities. As terrifying as this book and its themes are, it's not as if we're THAT far away from this potential. We like to think that we're safe in our democracy and that we'll be fine. Sure, 9/11 and the recession have dealt us some blows, but haven't we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and fixed it all?

Maybe the problem I have with the reactions of the kids in the theatre is unfair. I honestly thought that maybe they just didn't get it, that the themes were too far-reaching and over their heads. Then I talked to the freshmen in the Confirmation class the following Sunday, and they didn't seem to have any problem grasping how terrifying the themes in the books really are. Maybe they don't get just how fragile our balance in the US is, but they definitely didn't see the books as something to laugh off. Yet the kids in the theatre cheered when kids died. CHEERED. Kids between the ages of 12 to 18, kids their age, were dying bloody, terrifying, ugly deaths at the hands of their peers. All because of the adults who forced them into this situation. And the kids in the theatre clapped and cheered when they died. 

Most of the kids in the books are not bad people. They are not killers, excited at the chance to win victory for their district. Most of them are hoping not to die slowly--they know their chances of surviving are slim. Yes, there are a few kids who have been trained for this, and are excited for the chance to kill their peers. But even they are the victims of a terrible system. As readers/viewers, we live in the tension of wanting Katniss to win the Games, yet knowing that she will have to kill other kids to do so. She is not the noble character Peeta, who simply doesn't want to lose his identity in the course of the Games. She wants to win, to get back to her family, and if she has to kill someone to do that, she will--and does. Yet should we cheer when she is forced to kill someone else for the sake of her own survival? Should we be glad that Cato, who finally realized how he has been manipulated for his entire life, dies an awful, bloody death?

I was appalled by this reaction. How did everyone miss the point? One of the articles I read about the Hunger Games was about whether to take kids under 13 to the movie. The author pointed out that, unlike in Harry Potter, there is no clear line between good and evil in the Hunger Games--at least not in this book. In Harry Potter, even kids can say "that guy is bad" or "that one is good." In the Hunger Games, each character is a mix--Katniss has the good characteristics of wanting to care for her family, of caring about Rue's safety, and of not hunting people down to kill them. Yet she DOES kill, she manipulates Peeta, and she breaks the law with Gale. How can we just call her "good"? In the same way, we can't call the other tributes "bad" just because they're not the protagonist of the story. It's a tough situation--and the kids missed the point completely. 

Overall, the movie was great. I wonder what we're teaching kids, though, if they're unable to grasp the meaning of these books/movies. They're not just fun books. There are some really deep, terrifying themes in these books. I've heard that some teachers are having the kids read these books in class. First, I hope that that doesn't ruin them, like most books were ruined for me in school. Second, I hope that they talk about the themes, about how this isn't just another teenage love story, about how that's not even the point! If we don't recognize the truth behind these books, how will we avoid a future like this?


Wes: So, after having a couple weeks to ruminate on this experience, here are my thoughts on the Hunger Games:


As far as books to movies go, this was superbly done. As we saw with the Harry Potter books, it is a pretty difficult task to take a book where a large portion of the plot is driven and explained by a character's thoughts and turn it into a great movie. To do this well, the Hunger Games movie had to add in certain scenes where the main character, Katniss, is completely absent. I thought that these cutaway scenes really added to the plot, as well as showed us some depth in certain characters that the author, by necessity, had to leave flat. 


Other added-in lines of dialogue really hit home for me and gave a side of the Games that could easily be missed. The first of these was when Caesar Flickerman is commentating on a previous Game clip, and he says something along the lines of, "This is when we see the tribute turn from killer into victim." He wasn't talking about a fallen tribute, but the change in one of the youths that was forced to kill another. This showed me that even those in Capital (other than Cinna, of course, who's just awesome) see the horror in this at times. The biggest one of these added-in lines for me, though, was when Cato, the brute tribute who most likely killed more than any of the others, makes the comment that he finally understands what's going on and that it doesn't really matter who lives or dies in these games as long as they are entertained. The horror of the situation was not lost on even him. 


All that to say, I thought the movie was great. 


But my viewing experience was ruined during that midnight showing, and it had nothing to do with the film itself. First, someone up in the projector room forgot to actually turn the projector on, so for the first five minutes of previews, all we got was the sound. I don't really care about this, but you should have seen the theater full of high schoolers flip out because the screen was blank during the previews. It was unbelievable. People were screaming and yelling about it, getting visibly mad about the lack of previews! 


I turned to Jess at one point and asked her, "Capital?" Our theater was close to becoming the very society that Suzanne Collins' book rails against. Because of a mistake in the projector room. 


To add injury to injury, every time one of the tributes died, the theater would erupt in applause. Now, I know that we as the reader/viewer are supposed to root for Katniss and Peeta. That's just how it goes. But this book was written and this movie made to show the horrors that can happen when we place our own entertainment above the lives of others. Yes, this was a movie. Yes, the heroes won. But the bad guys were not the other tributes. The bad guys are Capital, and the government and society that annually forces adolescents to fight for their very lives in a sick and twisted game. 


Cato was not the bad guy. 


Rue was not the bad guy. 


Thresh was not the bad guy. 


Fox Face, Glimmer, and Clove were not the bad guys.


President Snow was the bad guy. Seneca Crane was the bad guy. The peacekeepers were bad guys. To a certain extent, even Effie Trinket was a bad guy. 


But those high schoolers that night cheered over the deaths of innocent children. It still gives me chills to think about it today. 


I don't know if anyone else had a similar experiences while watching the movie. From what I've heard, this might have just been a midnight showing thing, where everyone was bursting with anticipation and could not wait to see their new favorite book up on the silver screen. I hope no one else had to experience that, and I hope no one I know was one of the ones cheering. 


It was scary. 


It was Capital. 


So now we want to hear from you! What did you think of the movie? What was your experience while watching it? How close do you think we are to being the Capital portrayed in Suzanne Collins' heart-wrenching books?


Let us know!


You stay classy, World Wide Web!




-wes and jess