Post by artraveler on Dec 5, 2019 17:55:39 GMT -8
Hunger Games 1, 2, 3, & 4
The Hunger Games is a look at a dystopian future of North America. With the end of a future war North America is divided into several districts called PanAm. The districts are governed by a single autocratic president, played in the creepiest Obama fashion by Donald Southerland. In celebration of the reunification of the districts each year two people are conscripted for the hunger games.
These games are the highlight of the season. The 24 recruits compete to the death on national television with commentary on the manner of killing and the manner of death. The 12th district is on of the poorest in PanAm and no one has ever won the games from that district. Katness Everdeen, Jennifer Lawrence, volunteers to take the place of her sister.
This calls back to the 1987 movie The Running Man, in which convicted criminals are sentenced to death in game show fashion. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, does not take seriously the role and the entire movie is satire on popular television culture. Much in the same tone as 1993s Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone. Both of these movies did not take themselves seriously and were good, unbelievable fun.
Hunger Games lacks the satire and the fun, shows what 30 years of Hollywood progressivism can do for art. Hunger Games is 4 movies long, call it about 10 hours and it should have been done in no more than two movies, maybe 4 hours. The one person who has it right is President Snow, Donald Southerland. He is also the best actor in the entire series of movies.
The game show aspect of these movies is the most disturbing as it takes the 70s Gong Show to its logical, deadly and absurd conclusion. However, given the trends for media driven narratives in our everyday life I wonder how long it will be until we find that voting someone off the island is a death sentence. We already have a Discovery series, Naked and Afraid where two people are dropped in the wilderness naked with only a few survival tools and expected to survive for three weeks while filming their efforts.
I am reminded of an old joke about Texas and Alaska. A Texan was in a bar in Alaska bragging about how great Texas is. An Alaskan tells him that to be a real man in Alaska is to drink a quart of the rye, wrestle a grizzly and rape an Aleut woman. The Texan drinks the rye whisky and leaves. A few hours later he comes back. His clothes are torn, he has scratches all over and both his eyes are black. He asks the Alaskan, “now where is that Aleut woman you wanted me to wrestle?”
If you choose to watch Hunger Games watch movie one and four. They are mildly entertaining and not overly objectionable. More than that and you might want to drink a quart of rye and that can lead to confusion.
