Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Hunger Games...

Hey K2 Kanakuk Friends,
Well, the hubs and I went on a date night and saw The Hunger Games. We both LOVED it. I was sad that Shay hadn't read the books as the entire movie I loved knowing exactly what Katniss was thinking in that moment. I had to bite my tongue not to lean over every 30 seconds to tell him. All in all I thought it depicted the book very well, outside of just not being able to do every page of the book. Here are my thoughts:

1. The movie (and book more so) are "brutal." I have read some reviews by christian folks and agree to this point. I do however think the movie didn't glorify this by showing the bodies or the details...I thought they showed it without being grotesque.

2. I would not allow a 13 year old to this movie without the parent seeing it first and deciding for their child. I think 16 is the age that I would go to the movies with my littles to see this one. I have said this before but when something like this book series and now movies is this big I would much rather ME be the one talking to my daughter about it and reading it/seeing movie with her than the hallways and locker rooms and gossip circles of junior highs and high schools. I want to the voice that walks through the topics of these nationwide crazes.

3. I think these books and movies have great conversation to them. I loved reading that the author wrote them after channel surfing and finding so many reality shows where we (representing the capitol) watch these shows and find entertainment from these people's hurts, tragedies and mistakes. Perfect example is Toddlers and Tiaras. I have never watched this show (I hate reality shows like this...I can handle the Voice and that's it...oh and the hubs loves Discovery shows) but I think about the fact we find entertainment from 4-5 year old girls that their lives are being so distorted from reality. We laugh...just like the capitol laughs. I like that Suzanne Collins went deep into this even with the "killing" b/c big picture that is what we are doing by allowing reality shows to be a huge market...rehab shows, jersey shores of just chaos, backstabbing shows of alliances, small children made to look stupid...all for entertainment. I also think poverty and politics could also be a great discussion. I will never discuss politics but for my household there were some major takeaways with the capitol versus it's districts. wow! Then there is an underlying spiritual conversation I believe you could have from this book. The sacrifice...the courage, character's roles...it's there. Slight, but there. HOPE is a huge component of this book.

Okay, so there are my thoughts. Again, I am by no means condoning killing children...but the movie (again, it's a movie) had such messages in this. The books give so much more details and the second movie isn't coming out till November 2013 I heard so you have plenty of time to read the 3 books. Go!

Be awesome & Love Jesus, 



kanakuk ashley robbins
ashley@kanakuk.com

2 comments:

J. Coxie said...

I agree with you, Ashley. I also loved the books and the movie. I agree with all your observations – about reality shows where we as a society hold each other up for ridicule instead of encouraging each other to be better. (There are a few good ones out there, but more negative than positive, I’m afraid.) I watched the Today Show this morning and saw a report on North Korea with its dictatorial hold on its citizens and thought of the Hunger Games. I really appreciate the country I live in! But it was interesting that the characters in the Hunger Games, living in an oppressed land, really seemed to understand what was important – love for each other and loyalty. They weren’t obsessed about what they were wearing or what kind of car they drove (since they didn’t own cars anyway), but were busy working to put food on the table and pitching in to contribute to the family.

As I read the last book, though, I felt a sense of hopelessness. Why did I feel this way? Though the ending was relatively hopeful, I still felt let down. I finally realized why. Despite all the goodness in the hero/characters, they were as empty as the villains because they didn’t know God. Even people who strive to be good and do the right thing have no real hope without a relationship with their Savior. The author chose to leave out any type of connection with God and it left me with a sense of sadness.

Despite this, the series was the best fictional reading I’ve done in a long time. I just heard about a girl who was reading the book while walking and she ran into a pole. They are that hard to put down. (But, please don’t read while walking, driving, or using heavy equipment.) Though there was violence, the author left out any sexual content (thank you!) while adding an interesting “love triangle.” I liked both the guys, but I have to say I’m a Peeta fan. He was so loving, sacrificial, patient, humble . . . and did I mention cute. And, he loved Katniss with an unconditional love. My kind of guy.

Thanks, Ashley, for talking about today’s topics!

Ashley Robbins said...

julie! you are awesome! amen to your evaluation...you should come write kanakuk ashley :) haha!!!

the 2nd book was my favorite and i agree the 3rd book just felt a bit hopeless even with things ending with a little bow on everything. there are some great spiritual connections with this movie and i'm sure great conversation with teenage daughters about all this.

ashley