I just started reading the series like yesterday (though I had bought it for my niece and it sounded up my alley, it took the movie coming out to kick my ass in gear). I am liking it, but not yet addicted.
I have read them and found them entertaining. I'm curious as to how they will handle all the violence and deaths of children in the movie. (spoilers lol) Great message in that movie about resistance of power though and about how economics and power are intertwined.
Yeah, they are really brutal. I didn't even consider the political aspect until I started reading editorials on them, at salon.com and whatnot. I am not that deep of a person.
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I read them a year or so ago. They were entertaining, and I really liked the political aspect, but IIRC, by the middle of the last book I was tired and glad to see it end. But, I usually feel that way with book series'.
My kids listened to the audio-books, and now and Mrs. KA is reading them in her new Kindle Fire. The story does have a way of drawing you in; I found myself listening to it when I really had more important things to be doing (headphones!). As far as how the movie handles all the extreme violence of kids slaughtering other kids, according to David Edelstein's review on Fresh Air yesterday, the director chose to edit the movie in such a way that the violence is hardly there.
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...the novel is written by a humanist: When a child dies, we breathe a sigh of relief that Katniss has one less adversary, but we never go, "Yes!" — we feel only revulsion for this evil ritual.
If the film's director, Gary Ross, has any qualms about kids killing kids, he keeps them to himself. The murders on screen are fast and largely pain-free — you can hardly see who's killing who. So despite the high body count, the rating is PG-13.
Think about it: You make killing vivid and upsetting and get an R. You take the sting out of it, and kids are allowed into the theater. The ratings board has it backward.
While Edelstien found much that was positive (such as the casting of Jennifer Lawrence Katniss and Donald Sutherland as the President), he found a lot more to be critical about besides his point about sanitizing the murder of children by children to pack more children into the theater. I try not to let negative (or positive) reviews dictate what I'll go see, but Edelstein raises some valid points imo.
We'll probably all go see it as a family anyway, and I'll try not complain out loud like I did through all three LOTR movies...
Saw it and enjoyed it quite a bit. Found some flaws when compared with the book and didn't agree with all the decisions made in translating it to film.
Still, it was a fun night with a fellow fan.
Also, I put shiny things on my face, painted a blue streak in my hair and painted my nails sparkly gold. Capitol Couture, donchaknow.
I haven't read the books, but I saw the movie tonight. For the most part, I liked it, and I may have to read the books now. Jennifer Lawrence was superb, as she had been in Winter's Bone.
Possible spoilers below:
I agree with David Edelstein's review; I think the film would have had a lot more punch if it'd done more to showcase the sheer cruelty and -- for lack of a better word -- evil of forcing children to kill each other.
There were a lot of 10 - 14 year-old girls in the theater, on the other hand. I guess they'd have lost a lot of their target audience if the movie had been rated "R."
In a weird sort of way, I thought that that the set-up for the games was done brilliantly. On the one hand, it's a really brutal reminder of the power that the Capitol has over the defeated districts. But they've set it up so that the only realistic chance the participants have for survival is to act like they're happy and/or proud to be participating. You've gotta admit that it's a brutally effective way to remind the districts that they're completely at the mercy of the government while simultaneously giving the People a bloodsport that they can enjoy while maintaining the illusion that their consciences are clean. Because after all, it may be that they're enjoying the spectacle of a bunch of kids being forced to kill each other in a breath-takingly cruel game, but those kids are proud to be representing their districts in these games, right? So that means they don't have to feel guilty about watching and enjoying the spectacle. Right?
Forcing the kids to act like they're happy to be participating in the Games really turns the cruelty factor up to 11.
The truly scary thing is that it isn't too hard to imagine just such a thing happening in the real world. After all, it's not that far removed from the gladiatorial games of old. And just like in the gladitorial games, some of the participants in the Hunger Games are there voluntarily -- hoping for fame and glory (and riches).
As an aside, being me, I couldn't help but pay attention to the geology, the flora and the fauna. District 12 clearly is in the Southern Appalachian region. That much is very clear from the geology, the flora and the fauna.
Oddly, so is the region where the games took place, even though the movie went to some effort to very clearly establish that the participants were taken to someplace far away from District 12. From the brief glimpse of the mountains (presumably CGI) in the background at the site of the Games, we are apparently supposed to believe that the Games took place somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
But as Katniss was wandering around, I kept thinking to myself, "Ah, that's Acer pensylvanicum, and that's Rhododendron catawbiense," and so forth. From the geology and the vegetation, it's very, very clear that the movie was actually shot in the mountains of North Carolina or Tennessee; perhaps Virginia, or maybe northwestern Georgia.
I know, I know; suspension of disbelief. Still, inconsistencies like that kind of bug me. The geology and flora of the Southern Appalachians do not resemble those of the Rocky Mountains -- not to anyone who's remotely familiar with the geology and flora of either region. Even worse, at one point they dubbed in the call of a nocturnal Whip-Poor-Will during broad daylight -- a bird that isn't even native to the Rocky Mountain region. That bugged me too.
And no, there's no such thing as a "Mocking Jay."
Still, I may have to go back and see it again. It was definitely worth seeing.
Cheers,
Michael
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Last edited by The Lone Ranger; 03-24-2012 at 06:00 AM.
I guess they'd have lost a lot of their target audience if the movie had been rated "R."
Or worse, the Kiss-of-Death NC-17 which means certain theaters simply will not show the movie, certain channels will not accept advertising, et cetera.
Though, in searching for more information on The Japanese Original [PBUI--Ed.]--I had heard horrid rumors that 'mericans would remake that film --I am glad to see it has had some showings recently in the US in independent theaters. Do not hold your breath waiting for a general showing. That film does change some details of the wonderful book--which I "spoiler" since it is and has, of course, Japanese Original Spoilers [Available on Special Edition Blue-Ray.--Ed.]:
In the book, the teacher is not at all sympathetic. He is simply a government functionary who enjoys his work and even boasts about raping the foster-mother of the principle character. It is clear that the government is sort of a crazy one like DearGreat Blubbery Leader of North Korea but just as repressive. The narrative off-handedly mentions that parents are informed of their childrens' "selection" and are expected to accept it. Those few who complain are simply executed on the spot.
The movie--which recreates this scene fantastically of a recent winner:
makes it a clear public spectacle. In the book, the news is more subdued. That section is from the point of view of the "hero" Shuya who basically has, like many teens, tried not to think about it:
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So Shuya decided to give in. That was how most of the third-year "reserves" from junior high school dealt with it, right? Okay, our special conscription system? The beautiful homeland of Vigorous Rice Plants? How many junior highs were there in the republic? The birth rate might be declining but your chances were still less than one in eight hundred. In Kagawa Prefecture that meant only one class every other year would be "chosen." Put bluntly, you were just as likely to die in a traffic accident. Given how Shuya never had the luck of the draw, he figured he wouldn't be chosen. So he'd never be chosen. So fuck off, man.
TLR, yes, District 12 is stated to be in Appalachia and the Capitol in "the Rockies". However the Arena itself is said to be a completely artificial environment, a created place under the direct control of the Gamemakers (think of The Truman Show)...including the weather/temperature and flora and fauna. Katness notes a full moon in the arena within two weeks of the full moon on her last night before the Games started, so even that was a controlled variable. Not sure if it's in the movie, but they completely drain the stream and ponds in a few hours to force the final players to the Lake in the book, and they have plants and animals from all different districts, so one Tribute may know that this berry is poisonous or that this bird is natural and edible (rather than a dangerous Capitol-made "Muttation"; created animals like Mocking Jays and Tracker Jackets*) while other Tributes may not recognize them at all.
Arenas from past Games are mentioned as being tourist spots for the Capitol people. Apparently past ones included frozen wastelands and barren deserts.
One can't help but think of Rome. In fact it hits you over the head with it..from the name of the nation, Panem (panem et circenses. Bread and Circuses) to the brutal "Careers" training their whole lives to be in the Games as did some volunteer Gladiators. They don't focus on the evil of it all because it's just how things are there.
When some Capitol people are talking about the Games to each other, Katness notices it's all about how they felt, where they were, what they were doing "I was having my nails done when such and such happened" and "Oh I almost fainted!" and no mention at all of murdered children. Not much of a stretch from chit chat about reality TV today.
*The Mocking Jays are a cross between Talking Jays- created birds used as spies during the Rebellion- and wild Mockingbirds. Tracker Jackers, created wasps with hallucinogenic venom
You were absolutely right about it being filmed in NC, though. It's been all over the news here lately. A lot of the District 12 scenes were filmed near the town of Shelby, The Capitol scenes were filmed in Charlotte, and much of The Games took place around Asheville.
I've read the books but haven't seen the movie yet, nor have I taken a drive out to Shelby (reportedly, some people are actually going there on purpose now).
TLR, yes, District 12 is stated to be in Appalachia and the Capitol in "the Rockies". However the Arena itself is said to be a completely artificial environment, a created place under the direct control of the Gamemakers (think of The Truman Show)...including the weather/temperature and flora and fauna.
That makes sense. We can see in the movie that the Arena is domed, and there are several times when we're shown that the controllers can change the times of sunrise/sunset, introduce animals into the Arena, etc.
I guess, being me, I just can't not notice discrepancies like those. If it's supposed to contain a sampling of vegetation from different districts, then why is it that all the vegetation (and geology) is from the Southern Appalachians? To me at least, it's as jarring as if the movie were set in 1950, but every automobile we saw was a modern one.
That having been said, it's not like it's practical for the movie-makers to create an entire ecosystem for the sake of the movie, nor are many people going to notice. It's not actually a criticism of the movie on my part; just something that I can't help noticing.
That the Mocking Jays might be a genetically-created species makes complete sense in context. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!
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One can't help but think of Rome. In fact it hits you over the head with it..from the name of the nation, Panem (panem et circenses. Bread and Circuses) to the brutal "Careers" training their whole lives to be in the Games as did some volunteer Gladiators. They don't focus on the evil of it all because it's just how things are there.
When some Capitol people are talking about the Games to each other, Katness notices it's all about how they felt, where they were, what they were doing "I was having my nails done when such and such happened" and "Oh I almost fainted!" and no mention at all of murdered children. Not much of a stretch from chit chat about reality TV today.
Yep. That's why the movie is (to me, anyway) unsettling. It's not at all difficult to imagine something like this happening in our world.
In fact, I had a little bit of that feeling while watching the movie itself. At several points in the movie, the audience (composed largely of young girls) burst into applause. And while we all wanted Katness to survive, I couldn't help but think, "You're applauding a depiction of children murdering each other!"
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I haven't rewatched the movie since I read the book because I've been worried about being disappointed. I agree the the book is fantastic, one of the best I've ever read. The main characters take Born to Run as a bit of a theme song and the first time I heard it on the radio after reading it, many months after, I started to well up a bit. Haven't even tried to listen to the song all the way through since. It's definitely a book that stays with you.
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