Never mind the not-so-subliminal class warfare angle, I want to focus on the violence in the movie. I have not seen it and don't plan to. I am basing this solely on the reviews I have read and their explanation of the film...
The movie, like the book, involves teens killing each other in a graphic assortment of ways, including death by spears and blows to the head by rocks. One "tribute," or teen warrior, kills another by snapping his neck. Another is stung to death by mutant yellow jackets, while yet another is devoured for hours by rabid dogs.
Sounds like a good family film.
The author states the book is a commentary on the horrors of war and violence...and she does this by writing a book which spawned a blockbuster movie depicting kids engaging in...war...and violence.
Oh, I get it! The absurdity of the children participating in such graphic activities is the message. The violence is necessary to the plot of the movie and ultimately the betterment of man through the realization that sometimes the ends justify the means.
So, the violence is paramount and can be overlooked because it is for the greater good.
Too bad the critics didn't afford the violence in "The Passion of the Christ" that same privilege.
2 comments:
John, I will always admire you. Thank you.
having read the whole Hunger Games Trilogy long before it became a block buster movie, I have to disagree with your (and apparently the critics) assessment.
The movie is about hope. And specifically, how one ordinary girl becomes the beacon of hope for a country whose working class are the definition of without-hope.
The violence illustrates the insane obstacles the working class face to work for a better life. Neighbours pitted against each other. "Favourites" given unfair advantages. The cards have been stacked against the masses. And yet this one girl beats those obstacles and begins a new hand with the odds only slightly less skewed.
Its a story of hope set in a world full of unspeakable horror.
Post a Comment