The Hunger Games

I just finished reading The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  Katniss is forced to participate in a televised - to the death "game show."  The author said Katniss is a cross between a modern Theseus and Sparticus in the Gladiator games.  Suzanne's inspiration for this story came after channel surfing between the war in Iraq and a reality show where young people were fighting for money.  The characters in the book who created the hunger games, their attitudes and absorption with the show they were creating, came from her experience with people she's worked with in her television career.

What would the author like for us to take away from the book?  How do you feel about the fact that some people take their next meal for granted when so many other people are starving in the world?  What do you think about choices your government, past or present or other governments around the world make?  What's your relationship to Reality TV compared to your relationship with The News?  Did anything in this book disturb you because it reflected and aspect of your own life?  And what can you do about it?

While the first book really drew me in and was sure a page turner, by book three I was a little bored and even tempted to just skip parts to get to the end of the story.  I didn't end up skipping and read through.  But by the end, I didn't really care who died, who Katniss ended up with, etc... and just maybe, that's just the point.

By the end of book three I was numb to the killings that were so shocking in book one... too numb to have any real feelings for the characters... And the thought of characters even suggesting holding 'one last hunger games to end them all'... well, I just lost interest. Obviously these were just characters in a book... but to think about how quickly I was numb to their feelings, their loss...  This is the reason it's so important we don't let ourselves become decensitized to the world around us.  Because media of all forms is so easily accessible today, I think this can happen quite easily.  And if we all become indifferent to what's going on around the world, because it doesn't seem to directly effect us, it will eventually be us who suffer.

Recently our family watched The Adams Family movie with our son. I remember thinking this was a fun movie when I was younger and seeing the old television reruns as a child.  We had popcorn and he seemed to enjoy movie night.  But afterwards he told us that this really disturbed him and he wouldn't want to watch it again. I felt bad for having subjected him to something I thought of as harmless.  He is so young, innocent and sensitive. I think allowing him to stay that way as long as possible will make him a kinder person in the long run. 

I am glad we have made choices for him about avoiding many popular video games, movies, and television shows that he just doesn't need to worry about right now.  And this leaves room for him to devour all the other good books, music, movies, art there is out there.  "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (LDS Article of Faith 13) 

Kenneth and Awsumb are reading Suzanne Collins The Underland Chronicles about a boy named Gregor and his adventures into the underground of New York City.  That series is aimed a younger audience and it sounds like they are enjoying it.  But since reading about bugs would freak me out, I think I will skip that one!  Because, as we all know, if you want to think about bugs, just grab a snickers!  (click to see previous post regarding spiders in candy bars...)

These books reminded me of my views on reality tv and mommy blogs...