The Hunger Games

THE HUNGER GAMES

 

The word h--- appears once. In this tale of 24 teenagers forced to kill each other, readers follow a number of gruesome, bloody and otherwise disturbing scenes. One tribute murders another by snapping his neck. Other tributes are killed by spears, arrows, blows to the head with rocks and the stings of mutated yellow jackets. Wounds ooze blood and puss, and the wounded smell festering flesh. One of the final tributes is mauled by a pack of rabid dog-like creatures for hours before he dies. Katniss also mentions how, in previous games, tributes were killed by venomous snakes, went insane from thirst or froze to death. One previous contestant tried to eat the tributes he'd killed, but the Gamemakers stopped this because it didn't play well with the audience. Leaders in the Capitol cut out the tongues of those who disobey them. Despite the many alarming images, readers find little if any gratuitous gore. The descriptions emphasize the horrible plight of the tributes and the gross desensitization of the Capitol dwellers.

 

Kissing/Sex/Homosexuality

Katniss and Peeta kiss a number of times and snuggle together for warmth in a sleeping bag.

Mythology: The book's plot was influenced by the Greek myth in which King Minos requires 7 boys and 7 girls from Athens to battle the Minotaur in a labyrinth.

 

Alcohol: 

Haymitch drinks constantly. He is often drunk and humiliating himself, like when he vomits all over the floor of the train en route to the Capitol. The prep team gives Katniss wine at a dinner, but after drinking half of one glass, she feels foggy and switches to water. She says she can't understand how Haymitch can stand being in a fog all the time. Instead of observing Katniss and rating her pre-Games performance, the intoxicated Gamemakers ignore her and sing drinking songs.

 

Gambling: 

The Hunger Games are a hotbed of gambling, not unlike big sporting events of today.

 

Nudity: 

The prep team examines Katniss in the nude, and she's often naked in their presence as they prepare her for TV appearances. The mentions of nudity, neither graphic nor sexual, emphasize how Katniss is viewed as an object to be modified rather than a human being.

 

Illegal activity: 

Katniss and Gale hunt illegally. They sell some of what they gather and/or kill on the city's black market. Nearly all District 12 citizens rely on the black market for survival.

 

THE HUNGER GAMES portrays a godless world that throws its children and teenagers into a large but confined arena to kill each other as the society watches. 

 

THE HUNGER GAMES has a strong humanist worldview with violence that no child should see.

 

THE HUNGER GAMES is an exceptionally dark movie where the audience literally watches as children kill each other in a bloody maniacal fashion. The movie portrays society as wanting this sort of killing, which implies the same thing for real human society, including the people who might watch the movie or read the book series on which it’s based. Though this is a point the movie is making, it only has a negative impact on society. In the Sudan, for instance, children are being taken, desensitized by watching violence, given a gun, and killing. So, why would you want to watch the same thing happening in a Hollywood Blockbuster?

 

Taking death so lightly will desensitize the audience in a very dark way.

 

With a strong humanist worldview, THE HUNGER GAMES has no depiction of God or the supernatural world. It’s all up to the movie’s heroine to win the game, but, eventually, she too has to hurt other people to win. Thus, there is no solid depiction of good and truth in THE HUNGER GAMES and no implication of a greater Hope. Ultimately, the story seems overly cynical and dehumanizing.

 

THE HUNGER GAMES is a science fiction thriller with a big budget. This is doubly saddening because it means even more children will see the behavior depicted in the movie. Those susceptible to violence will want to reenact it. Those children who are not as susceptible to movie violence will come out traumatized or fearful, or, worse, desensitized to the violence around them in real life.

 

Ultimately, MOVIEGUIDE® finds THE HUNGER GAMES unacceptable viewing due to its violence and dark, secular, humanist worldview. The director is Gary Ross, who’s directed and/or written a couple other humanist fables, PLEASANTVILLE and DAVE. Reportedly, the original author of the story envisioned her story after watching Reality TV games and TV coverage of the Iraq invasion after 9/11. Maybe she should have watched a Sunday sermon on Christian TV at the same time to gain a larger perspective. THE HUNGER GAMES is one movie that parents might want their children to avoid.