Lost My Appetite

I begin by freely admitting I am an old fuddy-duddy. Not so old or fuddy that I cannot appreciate good adolescent literature anymore. I loved Harry Potter, books and movies. I am not so crazy about the Twilight series, but I can see the attraction, and the author is skilled. Lord of the Flies is not really adolescent literature as far as I am concerned. I think the Marvel comics, Star Trek and Star Wars are much more appropriate jumping off spots for important dialog with young people about good and evil, right and wrong, powers and how they are used, etc.


Now, Hunger Games. I saw the movie last night and awoke still disturbed. If you have neither read nor seen Hunger Games what follows may perhaps pollute your experience with my perception. This then is your spoiler alert.

Among the most noble of themes in literature is love conquers all, sacrifice for and commitment to our humanity, and good versus evil. Each of these themes plays out in a macabre reversal in Hunger Games. Imagine a world where parents willingly sacrifice their children to participate in a reality TV show that leads to virtually certain death for the contestants. I cannot and remain a human. Imagine a world where our children numbly allow themselves to be selected to participate in such an event. I cannot and remain a human. Imagine a world where parents become spectators for the brutal killing of their children and others who are randomly selected to die to support an autocratic regime where wealth is centered on the few and the vast majority work as peasants to support the system. I cannot. This was science fiction feudalism and the basic premise does not work. It is nightmarish. It is much more like an America fashioned by the likes of Rick Santorum than the democracy I know and love. The rebellion I longed for never really happened. The kids died.

Worse, I never connected with the actress selected to play the lead. Though an attractive young lady, she never convinced me that she was a poor huntress from a starving outlying district. She never sold me on her willingness to fight for what was right. She looked more at home in the pomp and wealth of the capital than in the woods with bow and arrow fighting for survival. Where is a young Jodie Foster or Sarah Michelle Gellar when we need them to show us grit, show us athleticism, show us prowess, show us determination, show us some emotion? Even the farewell to a fallen tribute that we are to believe she cared for left me empty. Her kiss of another player in the darkest moments of the contest left me empty. No pathos, no passion, no guts, no glory. There were multiple opportunities for this young lady to engage me in her cause, until I sensed that her cause was simply to win the game, to be as guilty and complicit in the corrupt world as the reapers. This was not a show about good vs. evil. This was a show about evil vs. evil and the roles we agree to play in such a conflict.

I left sad. If these books and now movies are speaking to our children I wonder what they are hearing. If you are to be a sheep, at least be good one? A make believe world could be as dark and feudal as the world of Hunger Games. Reality TV is a good thing, and the real winner is the game show host. Ally with anyone, lie to anyone, if winning is the result. The human spirit can be defeated with political power and technological gimmickry.

I wanted to be inspired. I left depressed. I wanted to be hungry for more. I lost my appetite.