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IMPress Polly
08-18-2012, 02:04 PM
It's out on video now. Anyone seen it or read the book (or both)?

Personally, it's my favorite film of the year so far. It's not "fun" to view, but it's worthy of viewing in that it's very poignant. This is a film about so many of the problems in the world today. Too many people get obsessed, I think, with interpreting it in a narrow way that simply seeks to justify their pre-existing worldviews, as though this were simply an analogy for modern-day America: a simple endorsement of the Occupy movement or the "anti-government" Ryan budget or what have you. Nonsense! While the film is open to an interpretation like that, I encourage people to think more broadly when viewing, as in to say beyond their own borders. Outside this country, there is a whole world that is mostly characterized not by poverty in the sense that we here most likely know it (being dependent and whatnot), but poverty as in the older definition: actual desperation. Hunger. Disease. War (that actually affects you in a more direct way than via your taxes). Imperial domination. Most of this planet subsists on $3 a day or less, amounting to somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 to $2,000 in current American money a year; a fate often endured WITHOUT benefit of a social safety net. This film is, I believe, in no small part a critique of the imperial politics of a fraying, U.S.-centric First World. This is, I believe, in other words, a film not only about an exaggerated version of OUR status quo and/or OUR future, but also, and more fundamentally, a film serving as a sort of a metaphor for the shape of THE WORLD.

This film is also about the desensitizing and potentially exploitative nature of what we today call reality television.

In all of these ways it is like the original book. It differs primarily in that it is more sensitive and careful not to become the thing that it is protesting (a bloodlust fetish). The main critique I would have is that there is not enough stress on the actual hunger component of The Hunger Games in the film version, as compared with the book. Even with a considerable purging of that important aspect though, the movie is still very powerful and not just for tweens. Many adults (myself included) find very serious real world questions spoken to therein that they struggle to find spoken to anywhere else in our society.

Calypso Jones
08-18-2012, 02:07 PM
Read the books. haven't see the film. Probably will. By third book, i want her dead.

Chris
08-18-2012, 02:16 PM
Based on reviews*, I'd agree, it's a dystopian view of where the US is headed should we continue to pursue our current European-style social-democratic path, what Hayek warned about in his The Road to Serfdom, against which an individual rebels. But I won't see it till this evening so withhold full review till then.



* http://reason.com/archives/2012/04/10/hunger-games-doesnt-fit-tsas-dystopian-v, http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/03/is-the-hunger-games-libertarian

Calypso Jones
08-18-2012, 02:41 PM
I have a different interpretation of the book than the original poster i think. Not sure yet. I see it more as individual yearning for freedom in spite of the beat down of leftist idealism that wants to protect us from everything...even life.

Goldie Locks
08-18-2012, 04:49 PM
Liberal or Conservative...seems both sides see there cause in the movie.

hanger4
08-18-2012, 05:21 PM
Hey, can I watch the movie just for fun ??

Do I have to read something into it ??

Does it have a plot other than someones perceived political agenda ??

Goldie Locks
08-18-2012, 05:24 PM
Hey, can I watch the movie just for fun ??

Do I have to read something into it ??

Does it have a plot other than someones perceived political agenda ??

You can watch it just for fun..I try to do that sometimes, but my mind always see's the agenda...usually left from Hollywood.

Chris
08-18-2012, 07:18 PM
If you like romance, you might enjoy. Long long build to the actual game, then just when the game gets interesting, they bring romance into it.

Are the books any better?

roadmaster
08-18-2012, 07:44 PM
If you like romance, you might enjoy. Long long build to the actual game, then just when the game gets interesting, they bring romance into it.

Are the books any better?

I was going to see the movie because my sister said the book was great. She said the book was better than the movie.

Goldie Locks
08-18-2012, 08:02 PM
I was going to see the movie because my sister said the book was great. She said the book was better than the movie.

They usually are.

IMPress Polly
08-19-2012, 08:56 AM
hanger4 wrote:
Hey, can I watch the movie just for fun ??

No, NEVER!!! You don't have my permission!!! ;)

More seriously though, I can't imagine how anyone could find this a "fun" movie to watch. It's not really supposed to be enjoyable viewing per se.


Chris wrote:
If you like romance, you might enjoy. Long long build to the actual game, then just when the game gets interesting, they bring romance into it.

Are the books any better?

In the book, it's made clear to Peeta at the end that Katniss was feigning romantic interest. That is a qualitative difference between the book and the movie.


Goldie Locks wrote:
They usually are.

I'll go further and say that the same general rule applies to all artistic mediums. It's overwhelmingly the case, I believe, that an artistic product is in its best form in its original medium. If the original product was a book, the book version is probably the best version. If the original product was a movie, the film version is probably the best version. If the original product was a video game, the game version is probably the best version. Etc.

Peter1469
08-19-2012, 10:55 AM
I want to see it. I imagine that I would enjoy it based on what I have read about it. Sounds cool.

wingrider
08-19-2012, 01:03 PM
I have read all three books in the series... must say I was not prepared for the ending in the third book.. excellent series.

Peter1469
08-19-2012, 02:30 PM
What happened?

Chris
08-19-2012, 03:10 PM
No spoilers, please.

Peter1469
08-19-2012, 05:57 PM
Please spoilers.

Frogger
08-19-2012, 06:03 PM
Read all the books and saw the movie. As a conservative I saw a conservative message of individuals fighting against a repressive government. Even without the message the series is enjoyable and the movie was pretty good.

wingrider
08-20-2012, 07:58 AM
if you want to know the ending I guess you are gonna have to read the book,,, LOL I don't tell the endings , just tease you with it..

roadmaster
08-22-2012, 10:28 PM
Just watched it and wasn't a bad movie.

Goldie Locks
08-22-2012, 11:11 PM
Read all the books and saw the movie. As a conservative I saw a conservative message of individuals fighting against a repressive government. Even without the message the series is enjoyable and the movie was pretty good.

Yes, except in the end they basically give into the system. They cheer the winners, so they accept the system.

roadmaster
08-22-2012, 11:16 PM
Yes, except in the end they basically give into the system. They cheer the winners, so they accept the system.

Yes, they did. They all needed to fight the system and not let it happen again. Good point Goldie.

Chris
08-23-2012, 06:53 AM
Yes, except in the end they basically give into the system. They cheer the winners, so they accept the system.

That's true, but they also win on their own terms, in changing rules, and show the system vulnerable. (Movie, haven't read book.)

Goldie Locks
08-23-2012, 07:40 AM
That's true, but they also win on their own terms, in changing rules, and show the system vulnerable. (Movie, haven't read book.)

But what good did it do to change a few rules if people are still chosen every year and have to endure this...they're still gonna die. Of course the system is vulnerable, they all are...but they still lived under tyranny.

Chris
08-23-2012, 11:07 AM
Well, the next group might bend the rules more. The ruling class is just a facade to hide their debauchery--there's another thread around here about how all cultures/states collapse in time.

KC
08-24-2012, 01:57 AM
I wrote an extra credit assignment for my int'l politics class that the Hunger Games could serve as a revision of game theory's "Prisoner's Dilemma" from the Identity Constructivist's perspective. It contains many element of the original, although the original Prisoner's Dilemma was meant to explain why Realism correctly explains power balances in int'l politics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma)

Chris
08-24-2012, 08:26 AM
I wrote an extra credit assignment for my int'l politics class that the Hunger Games could serve as a revision of game theory's "Prisoner's Dilemma" from the Identity Constructivist's perspective. It contains many element of the original, although the original Prisoner's Dilemma was meant to explain why Realism correctly explains power balances in int'l politics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma)

You might be interested in The Emerging Revolution in Game Theory (http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428920/the-emerging-revolution-in-game-theory/?ref=rss): "The discovery of a winning strategy for Prisoner's Dilemma is forcing game theorists to rethink their discipline. Their conclusion? Winning isn't everything."

Jarlaxle
09-07-2012, 09:35 PM
Read all three books: I thought Hunger Games was very good, Catching Fire was spectacular...but Mockingjay was only fair. It alternated between feeling rushed with feeling slow. Suzanne Collins writes very well in a smaller scale, but not that well in depicting a continent-wide conflict.

I must ask: am i the only one that thinks the Capitol is Salt Lake City?

wingrider
09-07-2012, 09:40 PM
Read all three books: I thought Hunger Games was very good, Catching Fire was spectacular...but Mockingjay was only fair. It alternated between feeling rushed with feeling slow. Suzanne Collins writes very well in a smaller scale, but not that well in depicting a continent-wide conflict.

I must ask: am i the only one that thinks the Capitol is Salt Lake City?
really .. I thought it was denver

Deadwood
09-07-2012, 09:45 PM
It's out on video now. Anyone seen it or read the book (or both)?

Personally, it's my favorite film of the year so far. It's not "fun" to view, but it's worthy of viewing in that it's very poignant. This is a film about so many of the problems in the world today. Too many people get obsessed, I think, with interpreting it in a narrow way that simply seeks to justify their pre-existing worldviews, as though this were simply an analogy for modern-day America: a simple endorsement of the Occupy movement or the "anti-government" Ryan budget or what have you. Nonsense! While the film is open to an interpretation like that, I encourage people to think more broadly when viewing, as in to say beyond their own borders. Outside this country, there is a whole world that is mostly characterized not by poverty in the sense that we here most likely know it (being dependent and whatnot), but poverty as in the older definition: actual desperation. Hunger. Disease. War (that actually affects you in a more direct way than via your taxes). Imperial domination. Most of this planet subsists on $3 a day or less, amounting to somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 to $2,000 in current American money a year; a fate often endured WITHOUT benefit of a social safety net. This film is, I believe, in no small part a critique of the imperial politics of a fraying, U.S.-centric First World. This is, I believe, in other words, a film not only about an exaggerated version of OUR status quo and/or OUR future, but also, and more fundamentally, a film serving as a sort of a metaphor for the shape of THE WORLD.

This film is also about the desensitizing and potentially exploitative nature of what we today call reality television.

In all of these ways it is like the original book. It differs primarily in that it is more sensitive and careful not to become the thing that it is protesting (a bloodlust fetish). The main critique I would have is that there is not enough stress on the actual hunger component of The Hunger Games in the film version, as compared with the book. Even with a considerable purging of that important aspect though, the movie is still very powerful and not just for tweens. Many adults (myself included) find very serious real world questions spoken to therein that they struggle to find spoken to anywhere else in our society.

It was simple revisionism.

I think the whole gamut of issues was covered just as well in Stephen King's book and film "The Running Man"



Sorry, it was a short story by King......

IMPress Polly
09-08-2012, 01:59 PM
This book and film is WAAAAY better than The Running Man!

Jarlaxle
09-08-2012, 05:58 PM
really .. I thought it was denver

So did I, initially. (It's a big city in the Rockies...my--and I suspect most people's--assumption is Denver.) But the Capitol is in the WESTERN Rockies! Denver is EAST of the Continental Divide. The only truly large city in the mountains (as opposed to the foothills) and on the western slope is Salt Lake City.

Deadwood
09-08-2012, 06:19 PM
This book and film is WAAAAY better than The Running Man!


It was not my intention to rate the film, but to indicate that the theme was done 30 or more years ago. I

sparty
09-10-2012, 12:46 PM
No, NEVER!!! You don't have my permission!!! ;)

More seriously though, I can't imagine how anyone could find this a "fun" movie to watch. It's not really supposed to be enjoyable viewing per se.



In the book, it's made clear to Peeta at the end that Katniss was feigning romantic interest. That is a qualitative difference between the book and the movie.



I'll go further and say that the same general rule applies to all artistic mediums. It's overwhelmingly the case, I believe, that an artistic product is in its best form in its original medium. If the original product was a book, the book version is probably the best version. If the original product was a movie, the film version is probably the best version. If the original product was a video game, the game version is probably the best version. Etc.

Katniss did feign romance in the movie/book.


I have read all three books in the series... must say I was not prepared for the ending in the third book.. excellent series.

Yes, I flew through them, hubby read them, too.

Yes, except in the end they basically give into the system. They cheer the winners, so they accept the system.

Ah, but Katniss and Peeta beat the system, by using the berry card.


Read all three books: I thought Hunger Games was very good, Catching Fire was spectacular...but Mockingjay was only fair. It alternated between feeling rushed with feeling slow. Suzanne Collins writes very well in a smaller scale, but not that well in depicting a continent-wide conflict.

I must ask: am i the only one that thinks the Capitol is Salt Lake City?

haha.


It also reminded me of the book "The Giver", although I've never seen the movie, "The Giver".

Adelaide
09-11-2012, 12:17 AM
I saw the movie before I read the books. Found the movie to be okay but I wouldn't say it's the best thing I've ever seen.

I eventually caved and bought the actual books after everyone was ranting and raving about how great they were. I really enjoyed the second and hated the third book. I just couldn't get into the third book and I felt like the last several chapters felt extremely rushed. The ending of the series was disappointing, not because it was finished but just because of the way it was written.

Considering my favourite author currently is James Joyce, this series was a bit of a wash for me personally.

Calypso Jones
10-13-2012, 11:36 PM
I just can't seem to force myself to finish the Mockingjay. At this point i've lost interest in these characters. But since a poster said that the ending was a surprise i guess i'll finish it up first of the week and be done with it.

The movie was disappointing to me. Not even interesting on just the visuals.

Captain Obvious
10-14-2012, 02:04 PM
I'm by far a current movie buff, I'm into niche movies mostly.

I got home late one Friday evening and my wife and son were watching a movie. I watched a few minutes of it and guessed if it was Hunger Games, she said yeah. It was a part where this girl was shooting arrows in some competition or other and well before it happened, I told wifey that this girl no doubtedly is going to shoot that apple out of a roasted pigs mouth up in the stands. And sure enough...

Lousy movie - even my wife who gets caught up in corny over-hyped movies said that she thought it was weak.

But... my assessment of the movie is that it's targeted to the Harry Potter crowd, considering that Harry Potter is now at the end of it's run. Has to be Hollywood's attempt to keep this segment buying t-shirts and shit.

Crappy movie.

oceanloverOH
10-14-2012, 02:10 PM
The first two books were good, the last lost my interest. The movie was just tolerable, not something that I'd ever re-watch.

Calypso Jones
10-14-2012, 02:12 PM
I'm by far a current movie buff, I'm into niche movies mostly.

I got home late one Friday evening and my wife and son were watching a movie. I watched a few minutes of it and guessed if it was Hunger Games, she said yeah. It was a part where this girl was shooting arrows in some competition or other and well before it happened, I told wifey that this girl no doubtedly is going to shoot that apple out of a roasted pigs mouth up in the stands. And sure enough...

Lousy movie - even my wife who gets caught up in corny over-hyped movies said that she thought it was weak.

But... my assessment of the movie is that it's targeted to the Harry Potter crowd, considering that Harry Potter is now at the end of it's run. Has to be Hollywood's attempt to keep this segment buying t-shirts and shit.

Crappy movie.

that is of no interest to harry potter fans. Ill wager.

Chris
10-14-2012, 02:17 PM
The movie took way to long to get to the games, and then it was over.

Captain Obvious
10-14-2012, 02:25 PM
that is of no interest to harry potter fans. Ill wager.

I'm just guessing.

I've never watched any of the Harry Potter movies though I think we own all of them. I've seen bits and pieces of them and I detected a distinct similarity in a sense.

Could be way off tho.

Captain Obvious
10-14-2012, 02:25 PM
The movie took way to long to get to the games, and then it was over.

Kinda like Close Encounters?

Calypso Jones
10-14-2012, 02:27 PM
name that 30 year old movie. Im curious. I can't place the them other than running man. Logan's run maybe? I dont know. refresh my memory.

Larry Dickman
10-14-2012, 04:13 PM
Kinda like Close Encounters?


That one did NOT stand the test of time. I remember being a mesmerized teen lad watching it in the theater with great gusto, but saw it not too long ago again, and wow is it lame. Spielberg pretty much sucks if you ask me.

Peter1469
10-14-2012, 06:17 PM
Are you talking about special effects or the plot?