Hunger Games

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Just saw it, read the 3 books. IMO right on, first time I can remember a movie actually "resembling" the book.

[JohnR]

Never read the book - but saw the movie - good enough to see at the movies

[Joe]

I didn't grasp the scope of the popularity until I started talking to my son about it. From what I gather from talking to him, the books emphasize using your time wisely and the importance of being in physical shape.
It's a good counter to the passive vicarious nature of the gaming culture. The designation of a person as a "gamer" has become a derogatory term among teens.
It's nice to see that books still hold the power to influence young people. It would appear the death of young-adult literature has been greatly exaggerated.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Joe

I It's nice to see that books still hold the power to influence young people. It would appear the death of young-adult literature has been greatly exaggerated.

did you miss the last 10 years of Harry Potter?

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

did you miss the last 10 years of Harry Potter?

Or Twilight?

[Joe]

I don't know if tales of wizardry and vampirism count as much as this one. This seems to be more serious.

[The Dad Fisherman]

All 3 are rooted in Fantasy, With Teen Characters....no difference.

[Joe]

Mainly because children serving as killers is really going on in the world. Whereas nobody really flies on brooms and vampires don't really exist. And then there's a portrayal of a dystopian future and the chasm between class distinctions being highlighted. But, hey - you'll probably say I'm full of s_it, and there's no difference.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by Joe

And then there's a portrayal of a dystopian future and the chasm between class distinctions being highlighted. But, hey - you'll probably say I'm full of s_it, and there's no difference.

You mean like in Rollerball or Logan's Run or Metropolis......I think its been done before

[RIJIMMY]

You said - It would appear the death of young-adult literature has been greatly exaggerated.

In the last ten years young adult literature has been dominating book and movie sales. Who has said there is death of this genre? It seems to me its bigger than ever.
Now, if you're saying hunger games is a more involved concept and has deeper meaning to today's teens, I cant argue that as Im not too familiar with the book/movie.
When my wife was reading it, it seemed to remind me of the short story "the Lottery" and also that Arnold Schwarzenner movie where he was fighting in a game show. It didnt seem to be very original but I really have no clue.
I dont get why kids arent just reading Lord of the Rings and screw anything else.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

that Arnold Schwarzenner movie where he was fighting in a game show.

The Running Man....loosely based on a Story by Stephen King as one of his Bachmann Books (Book Much Better). Almost the same principle as The Hunger Games from what I've read....I haven't seen The Hunger Games so I can't say it definitely is.

And when I was a teen Stephen King was the "It" writer of the time...a lot of kids were reading his stuff.

[Joe]

Everything's been done before.
When evaluating the seriousness of art, good criticism asks where does the work fit within the context in which it was created. (I'm not just pulling this out of my a__, this is really how it is done.)
Is the work prescient, does it have parallels in contemporary life, is in concert with current societal dynamics or trends in the media?
The more times you answer yes to these questions, the more the story bears significance. In this light, the Hunger Games is a considerably more serious work than Harry Potter or Twilight.

And Jim, I was speaking more to the seriousness than the popularity. Everyone is aware of the fixation on vampires and I didn't miss the Harry Potter series either, I have a 12-year old.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Joe

Everything's been done before.
When evaluating the seriousness of art, good criticism asks where does the work fit within the context in which it was created. (I'm not just pulling this out of my a__, this is really how it is done.)
Is the work prescient, does it have parallels in contemporary life, is in concert with current societal dynamics or trends in the media?
The more times you answer yes to these questions, the more the story bears significance. In this light, the Hunger Games is a considerably more serious work than Harry Potter or Twilight.

Joe did you read the Harry Potter series ?
A serious elemetn of the books was the battle of pure-bred vs mixed bred wizards. The "superiority" of some over others. Sort of a parallel of race. The books became very dark and violent. Opression, power, propognada, corrupt instituitons - I think its a lot more relevant to today's world than you think.

[RIJIMMY]

Yo -

There are many published theories about politics in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, which range from criticism of racism to anti-government sentiments. According to Inside Higher Ed, doctoral theses have been devoted to the Harry Potter books.[1] There are also several university courses centred on analysis of the Potter series, including an upper division Political Science course.[2]Time Magazine noted the political and social aspects of Harry Potter in their 2007 Person of the Year issue where Rowling placed third behind politicians Vladimir Putin and Al Gore.[3] Harry Potter's potential social and political impact was called similar to the 19th century phenomenon of Harriet Beecher Stowe's popular, but critically maligned book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which fuelled the abolitionist movement leading up to the American Civil War.[4]When asked about the politics and message in Harry Potter, Rowling explained, "I wanted Harry to leave our world and find exactly the same problems in the wizarding world. So you have the intent to impose a hierarchy, you have bigotry, and this notion of purity, which is this great fallacy, but it crops up all over the world. People like to think themselves superior and that if they can pride themselves in nothing else they can pride themselves on perceived purity. So yeah that follows a parallel [to Nazism]. It wasn't really exclusively that. I think you can see in the Ministry even before it's taken over, there are parallels to regimes we all know and love."[5] She also said, "You should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth."[6]