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Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Book is Always Better Than the Movie

As the magic hour for The Hunger Games movie draws near, I want to reflect on the book The Hunger Games before the book gets lost in the media movie hype. Or has it already faded into the background? Tonight’s midnight premiere is already sold out in many markets and the social media is all atwitter constantly updating followers on the movie, soundtrack and merchandise (!?) promotions. I don’t want the book to be forgotten, but without even seeing the movie, I know it is infinitely better.

I read the book about a year and a half ago at the urging of my sixth grade creative writing students. They promised I would love the book. And, of course, I couldn’t put it down and quickly read the entire trilogy on my Kindle – the first time I’d used my Kindle to immediately download a sequel the second I’d finished its predecessor. So that says something for the usefulness of the Kindle and other electronic readers. But it also tells you just how gripping these books are. The first one, The Hunger Games, was by far the best. But I liked it for probably different reasons than my students. I was struck by the themes of poverty and loss as well as the evils of mindless television propaganda.

Most of the people I know think reality TV is bad, even though many of us are still occasionally watch accidentally like our heads turning toward a horrible car wreck. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about extreme reality TV. It's about a dystopian future where reality TV literally kills children.

In this future society, the country that was once known as North America has been divided into twelve districts, each one charged with a specific role in society. Every year, each district draws from all the children’s names to choose two "tributes" - a girl and a boy - to "play" in the hunger games. This reality "survivor" show pits these chosen children against each other in a battle for their lives in a large outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol. Only one survives.

The main character is 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen (I'm not sure what’s up with the strange names in this book), as she takes her sister's place for the games from District 12, the most impoverished area of the country now called Panem. The story is told through her voice. Readers see her thoughts and her deepest feelings. I know the book is always better than the movie and this is why – the characters' motives are clearer when you read their thoughts and feelings. Katniss has suffered a lot in her life, but her memories of her younger life and her deceased father recall her happier moments. We are able to see Katniss' inner struggles as she is taken to the Capitol to prepare for the Games. A love triangle begins to develop in this first book as Katniss’ friendship with Gale Hawthorne, her best friend in her district, is challenged by her allegiance with Peeta Mellark, the other young person chosen from her district for the Games. From a wealthier family, Peeta has been a secret admirer of Katniss since they were young. Gale is from another impoverished family and he and Katniss became friends as they struggled to provide food for their families hunting in forbidden land in their district. The love interests and the action in this fast-paced book definitely held my interest and the unresolved issues in the first book spurred me to quickly read the next two books in the trilogy.

I recently read an interview with the author Suzanne Collins in the Observer, in which she stated what she wanted from her readers. "I want them to ask themselves questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives, such as, 'How do you feel about the fact that some people take their next meal for granted when so many other people are starving? What's your relationship to reality TV versus your relationship to the news?”

Be warned: the violence of The Hunger Games book is overwhelming at times. Children die and the conditions of life in some of the districts are harsh. But in this case, I think the violence is not gratuitous. I think it shows how people become immune to the horrors of death and violence on television. Collins says that today's youth are overexposed to overly managed “reality” on television. "Too much of people's lives are put on television and we're desensitized to actual tragedy unfolding before us." Regarding the combat violence and death in the books, the author observed: "You have to commit fully to writing violent or emotionally challenging scenes. You make that decision at the beginning and stick with it or you write another kind of book."

I’ll be seeing the movie in a few hours because I’m lucky enough to be invited to an exclusive advanced screening at 7 pm, hours before the midnight screenings. In many ways, I’m afraid to see the movie. I worry that the takeaway for most of the movie viewers will be the cute boys (are you a Gale or a Peeta lover?) and the destruction and death. Tomorrow everyone will be talking about the violence and the horror and the heartthrobs of The Hunger Games. That will be a shame because the book is about so much more – the real issues of hunger and poverty vs. greed and power. It’s also about the desensitizing of a nation of TV and movie viewers, who will sit slack jaw staring at a movie screen filled with violence and death and only remember the cute boys in the film.

1 comment:

  1. Trang tải nhạc chuông độc miễn phí lớn nhất, hàng nghìn bài nhac chuong doc đáo dành cho tất cả các dòng máy, tai nhac mien phi, tai nhac hay

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