The politics of “The Hunger Games”
When a movie catches lightning in a bottle like The Hunger Games has done exhibited by on opening weekend of perhaps $140M in domestic box office, you can be sure that everyone in Hollywood will have an opinion about it. Here are a few of them:
THR: “In an extremely partisan atmosphere seven months before a presidential election, Hunger Games has the great advantage of being a movie with subtle political overtones that appeal to conservatives, and others that appeal to liberals. Evidence that both ends of the political spectrum have embraced the story of a dystopian future where reality TV pits children against each other in a competition to the death, in fact, is all over the Internet.”
LAT: ““The Hunger Games’” author Suzanne Collins has said that the myth of Theseus inspired her story of Katniss Everdeen bobbing, weaving and slaying for the entertainment of a depraved public. But Collins’ novels, and the Jennifer Lawrence film that will mint gajillions from it this weekend, call to mind plenty of more modern properties. Which one does it most, um, pay tribute to?”
Grantland: “Perhaps not since the publication of Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal has a nation been so abuzz about a popular entertainment satirically advocating the institutionalized murder of children, but with The Hunger Games finally arriving in every multiplex in America today, we can now officially move on from the interminable months of pre-release hysteria to an opening weekend of post-release relief. Tracking indicates the film will likely pull in anywhere from $130 million to $487 trillion dollars in the next three days, so there’s a pretty good statistical chance you’ve already decided to join your friends, neighbors, and junior-high-age babysitters in rushing out to see the movie. But for those who require a little more information before ponying up for a ticket, we’re here to help you determine the wisdom of the expenditure. Read on, secure in the knowledge that by the time you reach the end of this piece, you’ll be fully equipped to make the right decision about the allocation of your weekend entertainment dollars.”
Steve Zeitchik [LAT]: “”The Hunger Games,” the teen action-adventure film that is opening to big numbers this weekend, is, without question, a parable of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It’s also a cautionary tale about Big Government. And undeniably a Christian allegory about the importance of finding Jesus. Or maybe a call for campaign-finance reform?”
How about business considerations: The Hunger Games fuels exhibitors’ stocks while Hollywood ponders what’s next for Lionsgate.
And more analysis: A 2010 New Yorker article by Laura Miller analyzing “The Hunger Games” trilogy and the boom in dystopian fiction for young readers.
Okay, I’ve never read the books. And I must have been the only person who did not see the movie this weekend. So I have no opinion. How about you? Is THG a liberal manifesto? An homage to the Tea Party? Or simply The Running Man with Jennifer Lawrence instead of Schwarzenegger.
Comment Archive