Posted on 11/24/2013 6:08:45 PM PST by Bratch
And as with its predecessor film from last year, The Hunger Games, this new film is a big hit. As a commentary on Obamas America, thats all the more revealing since movie audiences tilt young. In fact, Americans aged 12-24 represent only 10 percent of the US population, although they account for nearly a third of US moviegoers. So its the youngsupposedly a cohort of Obama loyalistswho are bulking up the audiences for this PG-rated film.
Yet it must be observed that the source material precedes Obama; the first novel, The Hunger Games, appeared in 2008. Indeed, author Suzanne Collins has said that George W. Bushs Iraq War was a major inspiration for the whole Hunger Games trilogy.
In other words, if American presidents, and their policies, are to be given credit for Collins dystopian fantasies, the credit must then be apportioned between the two parties.
[...]
So if we extrapolate these economic, demographic, and technological trends forward, do we get the Hunger Games? Who knows, but what we get wont be good.
Whats to be done? How do we defend ourselves as Americans while preserving the benefits of progress? Thats the mega-question of the century. Because we do know this much: weve been warned. And not just by Catching Fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
The first book in the series was written in 2008, year 8 of the Bush (the younger) era.
The simple fact is that dystopian novels are extremely popular in juvenile fiction, and have been for some time now. We shouldn't be surprised that when such a story (and a best-selling one at that) is adapted into a well-made film, that it would be successful.
Aye caramba!
Keep in mind the author wrote these books under Bush, it was meant to be a comment about HIS administration.
Whats great, IMHO, is that it unwittingly describes the Obama admin better.
I thought it was very entertaining. I didn’t want it to end when it did. When is the 3rd one?
I don’t know. I would suspect next year.
Yes, but in this latest movie a spark has ignited the beginnings of a revolution against the tyrannical government.
“Yes, but in this latest movie a spark has ignited the beginnings of a revolution against the tyrannical government.”
Jeez, I hope so.
I think the “inspiration” for the first book of the trilogy is complete BS. The story goes way deeper than that to simply ascribe it to the Bush Administration.
Not enough.
I also read all three books. Great reading.
Usually the movies as a rule, never follow the book.
However, i’ve heard that Catching Fire is as close to the book as it can get..... I’ll buy the DVD when i’ts available.
Hope i’m not disappointed.
The third one is scheduled for 2014 and the fourth 2015. The third book is being split into two movies.
But are the movies leading many left leaning young toward conservatism?
Don't know. I can say that anecdotally some are seeing the parallels and asking questions, but AFAIK, there is no larger population polling or data. Such information gathering would undoubtedly be attacked by the Administration and under reported, if it existed. The films, however, can serve as a basis for conservatives to initiate such conversations and to advocate against current government policies.
In book three, one of the rebel characters blatantly says that they want to make the country a republic like it was in the early days. I read all 3 books and it does not appear to have any pro liberal message at all.
read the books. Great.,
Ah, she is better than the dreaded “x”
I find that liberals are pretty stupid when it comes to recognizing forms of government.
I read the three books; I liked the story line, although the books are kind of juvenile; it is hilarious to me that Stephanie Mayer is often attacked for her writing in Twilight (partly because of the whole “girl falls in love with a boy” story), but Collins is praised when her writing isn’t any better.
But a lot of liberals see “totalitarian government” and think that’s republicans. They don’t understand that totalitarian is more often from the left — of course they think Hitler is “far-right”, so what do you expect.
The other hilarious thing is how “Catniss” is thought of as a female hero, when the real hero of the book is Peta; Catniss is really just a pawn who makes a really good pawn because she isn’t a weak person. But almost nothing that happens to her is something she thinks up. She is always being told what to do by some man.
The movies have tried to correct some of the bad messaging in the book, by making her stronger and more independent (the first movie anyway, I’ll have to see the 2nd movie to comment on it).
For example. The basis of the book is that there is a cruel game played every year where 24 kids are sent to fight each other to the death. Now, ethically, if an evil man puts you in a cage with an innocent person, and tells you “kill them or I’ll kill you”, does it give you the moral right to take a life? Not in my book, (although the TV show Criminal Minds they actually had this happen, and suggested the kid who killed another kid would get away with it).
And after two hunger games described, who is the one person who actually never kills anybody? It is Peta. Catniss kills people; the book struggles to suggest that the people she kills were “worthy” of it, in one case they have already killed someone and she kills in response, but other times she kills kids who have never killed anybody simply because they are hanging with others who kill — remember every one of them but one will end up dead, after all).
Anyway, the books are great to discuss how you actually defeat totalitarian governments.
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