If you wanted to watch a movie in the theaters right now, "The Hunger Games" would be consider THE MOVIE to go to! Although I have not seen it yet, I do plan to go next week with my husband. I was sucked into Suzanne Collins' trilogy that the movie is based on, and read it in less than a week. These books have crossed all generational boundaries with it's plot and underlying themes.
As "The Hunger Games" hit the theaters this last night month, the theology behind the story as become very controversial, with many speaking out against it's violence and oppressive tactics. But using hunger and depriving a people of their basic needs to suppress them is not a new tactic. This became startling clear to me has I read "Gone With the Wind" by Margret Mitchell.
During the American Civil War in the 1860's, the main reason the North was able to beat the South was the blockading, burning and pillaging that the Union troops did to the common citizens of the Confederate families. The North basically played a huge "Hunger Game" with the South. The Union left the Confederates so starved, depleted, and without any resources to met their basic needs that they had no strength left to fight. This war almost wiped out a complete generation of Southern men.
Yet when we talk about the American Civil War in our history classes and books, we do not feel that starving the Confederates into submission was inappropriate at all. We had to do whatever it took to bring the South down on it's knees to free the black slaves. We as Americans, give our stamp of approval to the "Hunger Games" that were played on the Confederate Southern citizens.
Reading "Gone With the Wind" also brought to light how difficult the reconstruction of the South was. The North striped all Confederates citizens of their rights - to vote, to protect their families, to hold professional jobs and the right to have a fair trial in a court of law. The actual "Hunger Games" continued well into the following decades after the war was officially over. The North wanted to make sure that the South stayed down on its knees for years to come - and it work, they did.
If we do not learn from of our nation's past mistakes, history has a way of repeating itself. Why does this modern fiction of "The Hunger Games" cross all generational boundaries today? Because our current society in America is on a collision course to a major crisis. We all feel it at some level. What are we going to do when it hits? Will our freedoms prevail? Or are we destined to relive the horror that the South experienced in the 1860's. What will our own "Hunger Games" look like? Are you ready....
3 comments:
Hi,
I haven't read the Hunger Games books for the simple reason that I'm not sure I want to read them. :)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the book's premise that children (adolescents) are forced to fight to the death in order to eat for the amusement of others?
Sorta similar to the gladiators in ancient times, but this time around in the books we are focusing on children. Am I correct?
If so, I'm not sure we can compare a game of children killing children to war tactics employed by men so long ago. Don't forget that the civil war wasn't just about slaves. Also, slaves were not just black...they were also slaves of other origins.
I read a blog post about these books and the author basically said, "Look, we are commanded not to kill. We are commanded to seek out that which is wholesome and uplifting. These books go against the very teachings of the gospel." So...I've stayed away from the books because of that.
Now...that being said...perhaps you can shed some light on why these books might be a good addition to my mental library. I'm open for new books, and would appreciate another LDS perspective.
Thanks in advance.
OK, the real "Hunger Games" is not when the teens are fighting. It is what they live every day. They have no rights: to travel, to appeal for justice, to education, or to try for a career. The districts that these teens come from are all starving (except for two favored districts). They live under the rule of a dictatorship, with no rights. Because the main bodies of people are fighting to just stay alive, they cannot progress. These are political tactics, used today and yesterday. North Korea is far worse than these books are. The people there are in a living hell.
About the teens fighting each other for sport, (which is forced on them by the government.) In the end of the Civil War, especially in the South, boys as young as 14 went to war. They were placed in a position of "kill or be killed." Yes, their pains were not televised for a "Capital" to watch, but they suffered exposure and starvation, besides being forced to kill others. The Civil war nearly wiped out an entire generation of young men from the South. The "Hunger Games" takes issues of today and takes them to the next step - to help us realize that these problems are already here.
Also, we are a nation of sensationalism. We looovve reality TV! The more a person hurts, is in shock, or pain - the better. Is this not already barbaric? Yet we have become so desensitized, most of us really don't see it as such.
If you come to these books, well versed in the classics, I believe you can come away enlightened. To me they were not entertaining. I have no desire to read it twice. But I do feel they were beneficial. I know that civilizations cycle. Most Americans view our problems as linear. Everyone can't wait until things go back the way they used to be. I don't believe that they will. I believe that things will get a lot worse before they get better. What will that “worse” really look like? We can only guess. Let’s pray that it does not look like the “Hunger Games.” Or the Civil War. And especially not like North Korea today. God bless you in your courage and endeavor to find truth.
Hunger Games has opened up discussions of "what if?" What if your government held your family hostage in order to compel you to take an action you didn't agree with? What if the government was also starving you and your family by making it illegal for you to feed them by your skills? What would you do to save your family? What would it take to become truly free in that situation? Could these situations exist in our future, or do they exist in our past, or maybe even right now?
I think these are important vital questions, and they are questions that a lot of people are thinking about and talking about because of Hunger Games.
There are a lot of stories in the scriptures where people make wrong choices. Why are they there? For us to learn. I think we can also learn from fiction, because people learn best about moral decisions from stories. We should use our discernment and the Spirit to decide what books are appropriate for us.
As Emma said, I think that those who come to Hunger Games with a good grounding of the classics will find that it asks some important questions.
Are you reading ten books a year? Then Hunger Games might not be your best choice for three of them. But if you are reading fifty or one hundred books a year, I think the Hunger Games can easily find a place on your list. They can even be an uplifting experience that makes you think and leads to great discussions with your family and friends.
Post a Comment