Monday, May 21, 2012

The Hunger Games are Evil


Okay - there was my catchy title... In all truth, I love these books, and I can't stop reading them.  I finished the first book last week, and then my coffee shop barista lent me the last two books in the series (we've actually decided to start a book club).  Lately, I'm not a huge reader, but these books are like the crack-cocaine or young adult fiction reading - I cannot put them down!  I feel like I've been a terrible mama - sneaking a chapter here and there while the boys play - I've stayed up until 1 or 2am a few night so I could get some uninterrupted reading.   I've been so immersed in them, that it's blurring some of my own reality.  I got a facial on Saturday (a Mother's Day gift from Jason) and I felt like I was in the Capital getting prepared for the games in the arena.   That's weird...
After watching the Hunger Games with a friend last month in the theater, I was really disturbed by the whole premise of the movie.  I mean the whole film revolves around teenagers killing themselves to a bloody pulp - WAY disturbing.   Many have commented that you actually don't "see" any of the real gore - but I think my imagination is 10x worse than any actual visual.   The image of a grieving mama sending her little 14 year old off to battle makes me want to die inside, whereas I don't think it had the same impact on me pre-mommyhood.

The film really focused on the actual Hunger Game, whereas I was more intrigued by the political situation - a autocratic government reigning terror and oppression over the twelve districts under it's thumb.  As a student of the Soviet Union, it's easy to draw parallels with Moscow and the Soviet districts it controlled.  The Hunger Games' books really flesh out the political story and obviously give a lot more depth than the film.  I loved following the revolutions in the former Soviet countries that broke out over the past decade - the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Rose Revolution in Georgia - and I find myself cheering for the rebels that face insurmountable odds as they try to defeat the Capital.  I'm about halfway finished with the third book so I should be done reading by tonight.  Unfortunately, Ukraine didn't fully realize all of the hope and expectation of the Orange Revolution... lots of solidarity in the fight, but one in power, corruption seems all too prevalent.  All that being said, these books would be so great for high school social science teachers.

Can't wait to finish Mockingjay (book #3) tonight...  I need to get back to reality!   Of course, the next book I'm reading in my book club with the nice coffee shop girl is Lord of the Rings.  I started it a few weeks ago and it's just great.  The other half of my mother's day gift was The Journeys of Frodo (LOTR map book) and The Atlas of Middle Earth (concordance on the origins of Middle Earth).  When did I get so dorky?   Please stop me if I start to learn Elvish or join the online Council of Elrond...

2 comments:

  1. Those last couple of sentences are fighting words sista! Hahaha

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    1. Ha ha!!! I was thinking entirely of you as I wrote that. Of course, you are my LOTR hero and I aspire to obtain the glorious heights of LOTR dorkiness! :)

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