The Hunger Games Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: The Hunger Games

Year: 2012
Country: U.S
Language: English

I have decided to re-review The Hunger Games as I believe my first review, in which I gave the film a 1 out of 5 rating, was a bit too harsh. I denounced it not because of the quality of the film, or the film’s message, but because I personally did not like it. I felt that it lacked intelligence and depth, it failed to discuss anything about the nature of humanity. After much research and thought, I realized that I was wrong. Hunger Games not only is an important film, especially to teenagers, that presents a very intelligent conversation about humanity, but the plot is extremely plausible.

After the existing nations of North America are destroyed by catastrophe, a civilization named Panem rises from the ruins. It's ruled by a vast, wealthy Capitol and surrounded by 12 “districts. As the story opens, the annual ritual of the Hunger Games is beginning; each district must supply a “tribute” of a young woman and man, and these 24 finalists must fight to the death in a forested “arena” where shaky hidden cameras capture every move. The result is a television production that  holds the nation spellbound and keeps the citizens content. The story centers on a Romeo named Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a Juliet named Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence). although one or both are eventually required to be dead, romance is quite possible.

We are supposed to read The Hunger Games as a parable for the present. In which the rich, brilliantly satire in this film, are careless and greedy. Human lives do not matter to them, as long as they get their paycheck by the end of the day. The masses are hooked on television, drawn to it and numbed by it. They have bloodlust in their hearts and do not seem to care that 24 teenagers are sacrificed every year. Indeed WE are hooked on television, especially reality tv. People  are obsessed with the idiotic antics of Jersey Shore and various other shows. We also have a bigger blood lust than ever before. Films like Saw would never have been released in theatres thirty years ago. Is Hunger Games a prediction of what could happen when our love of violence and reality tv combine?

A great read!

A very important theme in Hunger Games is the issue of resistance to dehumanization. The main characters got almost through the whole”game” without killing anyone and did not turn on each other like they were supposed to. They also did not participate in the bloodlust many others fell into. This is a pretty strong message, especially in today's world. No matter how bad or extreme things get, we still have our values and we do not have to do things we believe are unethical. There is always a choice. Indeed, in real life resistance to dehumanization saved many Jewish people in the concentration camps during Hitler’s reign.  The Nazis subjected the Jews  to great humiliation and tried everything they could to  rid them of a “self”, to make them feels like animals. Those who were not strong enough eventually acted like animals and therefore died. The Jews that kept their humanity were able to observe the world around them in an intelligent matter and thus could make intelligent decisions that would save their lives. An Italian-Jewish man named Primo Levi did not fall victim to dehumanization techniques and therefore could rationally distinguish between the right line and wrong line (the ones sent to the gas chamber).

A dislike I had from my original reviews is that I felt the “evil” dystopian society was either not so evil or unrealistic because they let two teenagers bend the rules instead of killing them outright and because they did not have complete control of their population. However, I was reminded again of Nazi Germany, I bring them up because they’re probably the closest thing to a “dystopian society” we have had so far. In some cases there was some dissent in Nazi Germany. In the mid 30’s the Nazi regime drove its euthanasia program underground after thousands of Germans protested against it and there was a small group of German women who took to the streets in Hitler's Germany and managed to get their husbands (who were Jewish) released. These actions didn't make a huge dent in the colossal atrocities of the regime but showed that in some cases it was willing to bend, or at least show some mercy. Like Panem, (the society in Hunger Games) Nazi Germany also didn’t have complete control of their citizens. There were many underground groups dedicated the  destruction of the regime and ultimate assassination of Hitler. There were over 300 assassination attempts against the Fuhrer, many people didn’t buy into the Regime and fled, others didn’t agree with the anti-Jew policy and kept Jewsih people to keep them safe.

Perhaps there is more action than discussion, but in a society that thrives on “action” films I suppose the best way to get these messages across is by action. I’m not sure if it’s good to make a very violent film that has a very anti-violent message but I guess it’s too late. As long as people gain something from this, and see the morals within it, then who am I to argue?  The film does feel too long but it does have decent acting. 3.5/5