By Kelli Henderson/entertainment editor
Photo courtesy Lionsgate
Tickets sell out, teenage girls scream and theaters pump out collector cups. No, it is not Harry Potter or Twilight. It’s The Hunger Games, and it is the newest fad in mega-series.
The series of young adult books by Suzanne Collins is about Panem, a country where North America used to stand. Panem, ravaged by natural disasters and war, was broken into 13 districts and a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district were chosen to fight until there was only one winner. It has been a tradition ever since. The Hunger Games are controlled by the Capitol, the government of Panem, and President Snow (Donald Sutherland), its dictator.
The film revolves around Katniss Everdeen of District 12 and her fight to survive the vicious games.
With the games televised every year and the districts made to watch, George Orwell’s 1984 and the 1998 film The Truman Show have recurring similarities. Like the society in 1984, the districts are oppressed with few rights. They must work hard, and starvation is a big scare while the Capitol lives a privileged life of gold and gourmet meals. The games are controlled by people who work in the game control room. They can send supplies and announcements to the tributes, and they can manipulate the game. While Panem watches the tributes’ every move, the tributes can sympathize with Truman Burbank, whose life was televised from the day he was born without his knowledge.
The Hunger Games is an action-packed film. But as an outsider to the story, one could see teenagers viewing other teenagers fight to the death as quite morbid. The film shows just how animalistic humans can be, even 12-year-olds, when put in a dire situation.
The murders notwithstanding, the film will attract all ages with wholesome themes of never giving up, always having hope (“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear”) and believing in yourself.
Final take: A good film with great messages for the audience.
Those who would enjoy it: Fans of the trilogy, sci-fi and action film fans
