Movie sparks thought

Everyone is talking about it, asking, “Have you seen it?”

Many have concerns, and rightly so. I saw “The Hunger Games” during its weekend debut and am still processing it. I left the theater feeling a bit dazed and needed time to think and ask myself, is it OK to like this movie? The real question, though, is what is this movie really about? What is it trying to say about our society? It has taken me days to digest what I saw, but as I explored these questions, some themes emerged from the initial haze of shock.

“The Hunger Games” exposes some vulgar warts spreading through our culture. I suspect the author, Suzanne Collins, has observed the shift in our country toward a growing fascination with violence as entertainment, our obsession with rooting for a contestant in a competitive setting and our developing voyeuristic tendency to watch “reality” shows that are apparently manipulated to increase ratings. When you combine all these things and extend them to their extreme — but logical — conclusion, it results in the type of scenario created in “The Hunger Games.”

My 86-year-old mother is asking questions about this movie. She hears it is a story about teens killing teens for sport. When presented in that manner, no one can defend that this movie has value. I decided to see the movie because I have teenagers who have read the books and seen the movie. The content does have some really disturbing elements to it, such as the government sanctioning the murder of 23 teenagers per year through a lottery selection that forces teens to fight to the death, allowing one “winner.” The manipulative, political elements to the movie are a layer that can’t be examined in this short of space. The cultural elements in the books and movie are what families need to help teens to process.

Many teens will leave the theater or close the book with a focus on the love triangle or the intensity of the main plot. Just like literary works by Shakespeare, a young person is going to need thoughtful, adult guidance to grasp the full depth of this story.

Some research shows that the human brain is not fully developed for advanced reasoning until age 25. Processing this story is going to take all 25 years, and some collective wisdom, to fully understand what this futuristic, albeit prophetic, tale is saying.

I’ll start the conversation publicly and hope others in the community will add to it, helping us all to know what to do with this new literature reflecting our cultural addiction to violence when it is allowed to grow beyond its current level.

Those of us who are connected to teen culture, whether as a parent or an educator, can’t avoid conversations about this movie, and we should base them on knowledge rather than assumptions. This requires reading the book or seeing the movie, thinking through our responses and communicating our thoughts intelligently.

The movie is best discussed in the context of our cultural trends of “reality” TV shows, the high tolerance we have for violence as entertainment and the addiction many teens have to violent games and content and how all this culminates in systematic desensitization. If it is approached simply as a movie about teens being forced to kill their innocent “opponents” (as I have heard some say), then yes, it is an awful movie. But if you are willing to examine and understand all the other layers to this story, you will begin to see some good elements, too.

Truly there are aspects of the movie worthy of praise. The heroine, Katniss, is stunning in character. She loves her family, she provides for and protects them; she is the ultimate responsible child. She is talented, caring, skilled, intelligent, humble, brave and just down right likeable. She enters The Hunger Games to offer herself as a sacrifice in place of her younger sister, who was selected as tribute. She hates the games and enters only in a desperate attempt to preserve her sister’s life. Because of her intrinsic sense of right vs. wrong, she finds ways to “win” without murdering. Yes, she does kill in self-defense, but she is not hunting her fellow human opponents as others do.

This story presents us with a futuristic arena that is reminiscent of ancient gladiator days. I’m not the first to point that out, but it does strike deeply when we realize people can become attracted to such violence in the pursuit of “entertainment.” We may not be sitting in a stony arena, but rather sitting on our couches and watching violence in our own homes hour upon hour.

The scariest next step I can foresee is a Hunger Games video game. Of course, it will have an “M” on the box for “mature.” That’s not enough. Can we talk to our kids and explain how these violent games are evolving our culture into a brutal and violent people? How much is it going to influence future generations, say, 100 years from now? Even if we don’t commit violence ourselves, we condone it when we allow others to practice it or portray it for our pleasure. I hope we can discuss what is relevant in the lives of our teens and give them a perspective that comes from wisdom rather than a reaction to rumor.

If I could insert a graphic here, it would be the sign of honor in District 12 from “The Hunger Games.” Even if you don’t agree with my critique of the book/movie, we can agree to honor and respect one another as human beings who simply think differently, but are ultimately desirous of a meaningful and lasting existence — for us and for our grandchildren.

Kim Ford is a mother who lives in the Wasilla area.