Last weekend, millions of people around the country attended showings of the newest box office hit “The Hunger Games.” I was not one of them.
There is something in me that absolutely loathes the idea of buying into another book-to-movie fad, and that is exactly what “The Hunger Games” is: a fad.
By the end of last weekend, ticket sales had reached roughly $155 million, making it the third highest grossing debut in box office history. This did not really surprise me because this appears to be the trend in popular young adult fiction. It does not seem like it is even about the reality of the movies and books anymore. It’s about creating a story that everyone will buy into simply because everyone else is doing the same.
Almost every person I know has read the books and given them the highest recommendations, but I cannot bear to follow in their footsteps. Even Stephen King gave positive reviews to the book.
It appears that everywhere I look, the world is telling me that I should read the books and see the movie. Maybe it really is as good as people say it is. Then again, Stephanie Meyer enjoyed the book as well, and I generally don’t trust her opinion of what a good read is.
It’s not only the fad aspect of the series with which I have a problem — it’s the content. While I can understand that the plot is intriguing and catching, let’s not forget what is really going on here. Teens are killing one another in brutal ways.
Do we really need another series with this kind of violence being directed at teens? I don’t think so. While I don’t think that seeing the violence will necessarily encourage similar behavior, I do fear it is making us numb to brutality that should shock us.
Ultimately, I don’t think that I’m ever going to sway toward a more favorable opinion of “The Hunger Games” craze. To me, it is a fad that will eventually fade away, remembered as being better than “Twilight” but not as good as “Harry Potter.” Will I ever read it? Probably not. But who knows, maybe I’ll catch the movie at Redbox one day.
