The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

By: Nicolette Karter

Popped with butter, delicious, but regrettably fattening

        I loved it. All the way around, fantastic movie. I read the book after watching the movie, and I loved that too. I think Suzanne Collins is a great and imaginative writer and the movie did the book justice (I hate when people make a terrible movie based on a great book). I understand that sometimes you have to take things out during adaption and put other things into the movie to convey the feel of the book without narration, and I feel that, even though it had to be adapted (especially to keep it PG-13) they did an incredible job with it.

        So it starts out with our heroine, Katniss, comforting her little sister, Primrose. (People in this movie have creative names, and that’s me saying that.) So, Prim is upset because the Reaping is today, and at the Reaping, people who range from 12-18 years old (or “Tributes”) are chosen. Then these people go off to fight in the Hunger Games, or the worst reality TV on the air in Panem (their country). So when Prim gets chosen, Katniss (making big sisters everywhere look bad) volunteers to take her place.

        Everyone is shocked, because they live in District 12. This Depression-era-esque District reminds me of the book 1984 (it was also made into a movie, but I heard it sucked). Others say this movie is a rip-off of “Battle Royale”, which I also haven’t seen, but I sense similarities based on the title alone. For me, it reminds me of a Greek myth with Theseus and the Minotaur monster. Whatever it reminds you of, I don’t think the makers were trying to rip anything off.

        Anyway, so in the destitute District 12, Tributes (one male & one female) don’t make it out alive. Part of this is because the Games are kind of a catch 22, where the rich Districts keep getting richer, because Tributes who win (called “Victors”) get money, and their District prospers for a while. So, District 12 hasn’t had a Victor in 20-something years, and they only have one (and a drunken one at that). The past Victors are supposed to train the Tributes each year, and pass down survival tips and such, so this District’s Tributes keep dying. Also, because District 12 hasn’t had a Victor in decades, they are, like I’ve previously described, not very rich. The people are starving and weak, so they go into the Games with a disadvantage, thus adding to the Catch 22. I think this is a bit of a jab at our country in the book, a metaphor for our diminishing middle class; having the 1% getting wealthier & the 99% getting worse.

This is something that had to be taken out of the movie because it was in Katniss’ thoughts, and since they didn’t have narration, was cut out. Another thing that was taken out was a lot of the gore in the Arena. I’m not much of a horror-movie fan (I don’t mind blood & guts & whatnot, but I can’t stomach Saw, for example); but the fighting was important to the story! It was supposed to show how brutal the people running this whole shebang (called the Gamemakers) are, & that they are trying to punish the people in the Districts for a revolution that happened almost 100 years ago.

        That being said, I understand why they had to cut the gore out, along with other things like an amputation and back-story for a certain character or two. Partly because of time constraints & adaption issues, but mostly to keep it PG-13 so the people who the books were geared for could watch it. I think that was really cool of the filmmakers to do that; but it gives me a love/hate relationship with the PG-13 issue.

The bottom line is, this is a fantastic movie. The acting, casting, special effects, & adapted script are superb. While I do wish they had left more gore in, I understand all the factors contributing to the adaption changes they had to make; and I would completely recommend this to people.