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Hunger Games

gerald.parson

Troubadour
Organizing a rebellion is not an easy thing to do. Communication is suppressed. The first person to poke their head up gets it blown off. The last district to rebel was bombed off the map and the earth salted. People under that sort of repression are not going to fight back until they are at the point where they are ready to die, since many of them surely will.

I'm not really sure what your point is. I agree that organizing a rebellion, or at least an organized rebellion, is not an easy task given certain circumstances, I just don't see, or agree, that the circumstances in the movie proved that to be the case. There are two districts that train their children ( future combatants ) that in itself throws a wrench in the "All mighty oppressive tyrannical government". Again, as stated above, when Rue was killed, her district rioted. Was it organized? No. Was it effective? Who the hell knows. Point is 75 years of Hunger Games, nearly 2,000 combatants, I find it hard to believe this would only be the only occasion people reacted as such. You know what, it's not that important. It is a Y.A. book and was written and created as such. Not my cup of tea. No big deal. It is full of wholes but that doesn't matter, its selling point is a "strong female character", and that's cool. Keep in mind my only perspective is that of what I saw in the film, I have not read the books and have no intention of doing so. But I give the movie over all a D+ or C-
 
There are two districts that train their children ( future combatants ) that in itself throws a wrench in the "All mighty oppressive tyrannical government".

How so? The districts are not uniformly poor; some of the districts produce electronics and luxury goods, and the quality of life is correspondingly better there. They still have to provide tributes, but they can afford to train tributes who then volunteer and have a much higher chance of winning. Training a small corps of future tributes is not the same as organizing a rebellion.

Again, as stated above, when Rue was killed, her district rioted. Was it organized? No. Was it effective? Who the hell knows. Point is 75 years of Hunger Games, nearly 2,000 combatants, I find it hard to believe this would only be the only occasion people reacted as such.

Who said that the riot in District 11 was the only time in the history of the Games that a riot occurred? The movie didn't make that claim. It's not even in the first book; the whole book is from Katniss's perspective and she has no idea what's going on in 11 while she's in the arena. For all we know, there have periodically been riots in this district or that. Nothing in the movie says this was the first riot ever.

Nobody's insisting you like the movie; I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. It's just that your arguments about why it "makes no sense" aren't really supported by evidence.
 

Kit

Maester
I'm not really sure what your point is. -

My point is that you seem to not sympathize with how scared and beaten down people will get when they are repressed to this degree. You seem to think it's surprising that people don't fight back more. They are being viciously slaughtered for the insurrection of whistling a five-note tune. The only way you can make the tiniest token protest and have any hope in hell of *not* getting viciously slaughtered is if a whole bunch of other people do it at the same time. (And for the district that got nuked off the map, even THAT didn't work.) To make even the tiniest protest, you have to be already resigned to throwing your life away for it. A lot of those people have families who are barely surviving, and throwing your life away probably means your family will die too.

I'm sure that there were individuals and small groups uprising all along the timeline- and they were immediately and viciously slaughtered.
 

Rikilamaro

Inkling
So I finally saw the movie. Took me long enough. Let me just say that I was ok with the actress for Katniss. I was extremely disappointed in Peeta! Too short, too wimpy, not nearly charismatic enough. Bad casting choice.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Well, yesterday I finally went to watch this Hunger Games movie at the Mall to see what all the fuss is about... and now I must say that I really loved this movie!! It was great, very exciting even though it gets a little boring sometimes, and I was on the edge of my seat until the very end of the story =)

The only part of the movie that I disliked was that the people in the capital city looked really stupid wearing those clothes and strange styles in their hair and beards, like it was a comedy movie... also, why are the Games called "hunger" games??

Why are the Games supposed to be an intimidation tactic by the government if only two teenagers from each district take part in the battles? The Games remind me a lot of the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and also Susan Pevensie from the Prince Caspian Narnia movie: Susan would win the Hunger Games in no time =)
 

Rikilamaro

Inkling
Susan would win, hands down!

The costumes of the capitol are meant to portray their frivolous lifestyle and disregard for the people starving in the Districts. They are called the 'hunger' games because during the revolution when District 13 revolted the people went hungry. Not just the districts, but the Capitol too.

The intimidation factor comes from the fact that these children have no choice (unless they train like Districts 1 and 2) and are sacrificed. It's a control/power play. The difference between the triwizard tournament and the hunger games is that the children die. They're not supposed to die in the TT.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. The book is better, and fills in a lot of the gaps. :) Next movie June 2013!
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I saw the movie but haven't read the books. I enjoyed it, but to be honest, if it wasn't for the production value and the high-impact concept, I would've said it was a weak story. As it is, I'll say it's a good experience.

The things which bothered me most were the decisions of the people behind the scenes. Messing with children, historically, is a sure way to cause massive uprisings (like the Visgoths who sacked Rome), although I could believe that it might take a long time. And with the end, wouldn't it have been better for them to let it play out? - or else to force the outcome they wanted? The rule change seemed weird given her unlikely chances of survival at that point.

I have real doubts about the plausibility of the games before the "careers" developed. It seems like the kids would've just run around playing pretend and having fun, dying by accident. Or else sit in a circle singing kumbaya in protest - something which, incidentally, could still be coordinated with volunteers. But I suppose the careers could have been part of the plan.

Also, a few of the deaths and some of the main events seemed contrived to whittle down their resources and conveniently maintain the MC's status of "good-guy," which I think is a little strange because she loses that status a bit on the relationship level. I would've liked to see her kill even one of the villains like the sniper she should have been.

And as I saw mentioned in the one review I read, there was never even an effort to suggest the worst possible outcomes.

Despite all that, I mostly enjoyed the movie quite a bit.


I was extremely disappointed in Peeta! Too short, too wimpy, not nearly charismatic enough. Bad casting choice.

I thought he was very charismatic during the two interviews, but not elsewhere in the film.
 
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Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
@Rikilamaro: Thanks for your answers!! I have been researching about the universe of The Hunger Games series since I watched the movie, quite interesting as a world, and it really sounds like reading the books would be much better than just watching the movies... Anyway, I still disagree with the idea that the Games would be a good punishment or intimidation tactic by the Capitol against the Districts:

The loss of two teenagers every year would not be a shock for each District, think about it: In those twelve months, many more teenagers or children would die from other causes like illnesses, accidents, starvation, infected wounds or suicide, especially considering the very low quality of life in these districts!! In my opinion the Games would need to take many more tributes to really be effective as a psychological weapon, like claiming a thousand of them from each district every year and making them fight as a team in several large battles.

Surely, not all of them would die and many would return home at the end of the Games (many of them crippled and psychologically scarred for the rest of their lives) so the Games would be far more effective and entertaining this way...

What is the name of the song in the credits of the movie?? I loved it! XD!!
 

topazfire

Minstrel
The things which bothered me most were the decisions of the people behind the scenes. Messing with children, historically, is a sure way to cause massive uprisings (like the Visgoths who sacked Rome), although I could believe that it might take a long time. And with the end, wouldn't it have been better for them to let it play out? - or else to force the outcome they wanted? The rule change seemed weird given her unlikely chances of survival at that point.

This part was better explained in the book. Since it is written in first person, you only experience what Katniss does. However, they are in a 'reality tv show' and creating the outcome that the gamemaker wanted was really about the entertainment value for the citizens of the Capitol - which was also the reason for the rule change - the people wanted to cheer for the 'starcrossed lovers' - all for entertainment.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
However, they are in a 'reality tv show' and creating the outcome that the gamemaker wanted was really about the entertainment value for the citizens of the Capitol . . .

I picked that up from the movie. What I don't understand is why they would use children when it would inevitably lead to revolt, and why letting them both die would have been so bad for the games. Tragedies make good TV, too.
 
I thought he was very charismatic during the two interviews, but not elsewhere in the film.

I have to agree. I like Josh Hutcherson and I think he's a really good actor (he was great in The Kids Are All Right). I saw the movie before I read the book, and in the movie he seemed weak and ineffectual. In the book, Peeta isn't particularly spectacular either but you at least get the sense that he's kinda tough. Josh Hutcherson doesn't seem tough at all.
 

Rikilamaro

Inkling
@Rikilamaro: Thanks for your answers!! I have been researching about the universe of The Hunger Games series since I watched the movie, quite interesting as a world, and it really sounds like reading the books would be much better than just watching the movies... Anyway, I still disagree with the idea that the Games would be a good punishment or intimidation tactic by the Capitol against the Districts:

The loss of two teenagers every year would not be a shock for each District, think about it: In those twelve months, many more teenagers or children would die from other causes like illnesses, accidents, starvation, infected wounds or suicide, especially considering the very low quality of life in these districts!! In my opinion the Games would need to take many more tributes to really be effective as a psychological weapon, like claiming a thousand of them from each district every year and making them fight as a team in several large battles.

Surely, not all of them would die and many would return home at the end of the Games (many of them crippled and psychologically scarred for the rest of their lives) so the Games would be far more effective and entertaining this way...

What is the name of the song in the credits of the movie?? I loved it! XD!!

I don't know the name of the song. I loved it too! I'll find out for you though.

You're thinking of the districts in a much bigger scope. There aren't thousand of people in each district. The Hunger Games is set in a post WW III time frame, humanity has killed off a lot of itself, and are struggling to survive as a species. There are only about 500 people in District 12.
 
I don't know the name of the song. I loved it too! I'll find out for you though.

You're thinking of the districts in a much bigger scope. There aren't thousand of people in each district. The Hunger Games is set in a post WW III time frame, humanity has killed off a lot of itself, and are struggling to survive as a species. There are only about 500 people in District 12.

No, the population of District 12 is about 8,000. ("The square's quite large, but not enough to hold District 12's population of about eight thousand." - The Hunger Games, Chapter 1)
 

Leif GS Notae

Closed Account
I haven't bothered watching it myself, but I read a few pages from the book. I see the reason why there is a huge debate on whether or not the author was inspired by the Japanese movie from the 90's or not.

All I know is that the conspiracy theorists are looking at this movie as the blueprint for modern society in ten years.

On the book side of things, I talked to a few people about it over drinks and they say they were less than impressed with the books themselves. Lots of premise issues and leaving out critical details until the last book (when they could have been used as hooks in the first one)...

I think I'll wait. Never was a movie watcher myself, I think that might be another way that I am broken...
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
Just came back from watching the movie. Went in sceptical, came out liking it quite a lot. There are some bits here and there that I wasn't thrilled with, but overall I can see how this story is reaching a lot of people. If you strip away the details, the emotional core and the foundation everything is build on is rock solid. Going to check out the books now.
 

Rikilamaro

Inkling
Just came back from watching the movie. Went in sceptical, came out liking it quite a lot. There are some bits here and there that I wasn't thrilled with, but overall I can see how this story is reaching a lot of people. If you strip away the details, the emotional core and the foundation everything is build on is rock solid. Going to check out the books now.

I'm glad you waited to read the books until after seeing the movie. I wish I had. Perhaps the movie wouldn't have been a let down for me.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
I had no idea that the Districts had such a low population!! Well, considering that they are just a few thousand people each, then taking two teenagers yearly from every district is indeed a serious blow =(
 
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