A whole generation is growing up in dystopia now, I only hope they see that in this film.
President Snowbama
LS, Thank you for your review.
Sounds great. My only problem is I can’t stand Woody Harrelson.
I had this argument with my 9 year old daughter after watching the first one. I had told her that if she didn’t pay any attention to politics it can happen here as it has recently in other places.
Her previous school had student drawings of Obama plastered on the office wall. I asked her if she had ever seen student pictures of Bush.
I went to Google Maps and zoomed into all the Mediterranean countries with a search of resorts. I had the photo feature turned on. Then I told her which countries were in wars and regime changes. We went from country to country panning the beautiful coastlines and the resorts were absolutely beautiful.
That was a year ago. She doesn’t stand up for Obama anymore. If she does, I’ll tell her what Obama, Ayers, Dorhn, Evans, Clinton and Kerry are doing to the world.
Mexican violence, this one just might be too graphic for a young child
https://www.google.com/search?q=syria+resorts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DMmYUoWzJYLuoATn3YCwCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1455&bih=705#q=mexican+violence&tbm=isch
Afghanistan resorts
https://www.google.com/search?q=syria+resorts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DMmYUoWzJYLuoATn3YCwCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1455&bih=705#q=afghanistan+resorts&tbm=isch
Islamic violence against women
https://www.google.com/search?q=syria+resorts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DMmYUoWzJYLuoATn3YCwCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1455&bih=705#q=islamic+violence+against+women&tbm=isch
Then I’ll show her what communism does to a country
Cuban transportation
https://www.google.com/search?q=famine+russia&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=FNSYUuzhLsTpoASs6IDYBw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1455&bih=705#q=cuban+transportation&tbm=isch
Vietnamese boat people
https://www.google.com/search?q=cuban+schools&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=pNiYUpCBCdHyoAT6kYGwDA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1455&bih=705#q=vietnamese+boat+people&tbm=isch
Awesome. Fracking. Review.
Thanks for taking the time! I’m going to share this to the max, dude, and I say that in the good way that means you have tapped into a youth crossover appeal that I missed by a mile.
Thanks for the review.......
bttt
What pleased me was seeing Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Bank's character) reveal that she wasn't the Obamabot she pretended to be.
I haven’t seen or read the movies or books, but could you answer a question? Would a liberal see it, as you say, as a commentary on THIS government, the 0bama government? Or would they see it as a commentary on government in general? The reason I ask is because my big-lib sister-in-law went to see Catching Fire with my niece on Thanksgiving night. I think she saw the first one, also. I would love it if she could relate the movie to the 0bama administration. Thanks.
Fantastic review and very topical as Obama resembles President Snow more every day and Washington, DC becomes more like the Capital District with the endless infusion of money taken from the rest of the country and filled with companies and sycophants who are draining the life from the US.
Just remember this book was written in 2009. From what I’ve read Collins wrote the books based on her reaction to GWB not Obama.
"The Hunger Games" is largely a Rorschach test, where those who's sympathies tend with "Occupy Wall Street" map movie villainy to real-world players quite differently than Patriots.
While there is some overlap between the sets (crony bankers), most of the OWS types will view this as a call for more socialism, rather than less. They haven't realized yet that "voting to help the poor" is in reality "voting to make the ruling elite more powerful".
That being said, I watched the movie and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Thanks for the review! I loved the books, and while I only found the first film ok, I will definitely see the next series. The anti government message is much stronger in the books, so I’m hoping many of the movie fans will also read the trilogy.
Jennifer Lawrence is headed for a position as the one of those generation-defining actress.
I knew nothing of Jennifer Lawrence when I saw Silver Linings Playbook. Aafter seeing it I knew that she would win the Oscar.
She is by far the best actress of her generation. She is simply amazing.
She is a down to earth Kentucky girl -- which shows in her self deprecating interviews.
Can’t a movie just be a movie?
It’s a movie. It’s not real.
I got the same message that you did.
However it has worried me that, as sensationally popular as the books and movies have been, especially among young people, I have seen very little comparison with contemporary politics--a comparison that is STRIKING to me!
What gives?
"Oh, and did I mention that the primary reading audience of this was teenagers? It is just the message they need to be hearing right now. But the theatrical audience has crossed all boundaries, and the theater was as full of adults as teenagers and young people. (Analysis of ticket buyers confirms that the movie is reaching all age and demographic groups.) So if "Atlas Shrugged" the movie hasn't caught on as well as some of us would like, there is a film out there that speaks to the dangers of big government, the romance of resistance, and the value of standing up to 'the Man.' "
You're right, LS, of course. I just hope the public gets the message.
Note the tagline I've been using for some time now.
Anyhow, it's a minor point, but as an old fan of historical costume epics, the bloodier the better, I was interested in how the Hunger Games folks would get a new twist on what is, essentially, a gladiator flick. I think they succeed remarkably well.
The mental state of the gladiators is of interest. All of them, the reluctant participants as well as the professionals, seem to accept the reality of the arena without question. It is an utterly pagan attitude, all the more effective for being underplayed. Of course most would rather not be there, but they are very matter of fact about their fates. And some of them, the careers, are preening professionals eager to fight, even though death is the overwhelmingly likely outcome.
When last in Rome, our guide at the Coliseum said off-handedly that only about five percent of the professional gladiators survived the arena. That's not unlike the odds in HG/CF. And the rewards for those who survived, won their freedom, and went into the bodyguard business could be substantial. Many of the survivors, in fact, volunteered to go back into the arena as free men. The mental state is interesting.