Tag Archives: hunger games

Tuesday Remainders

In honor of…Tuesday, some interesting links from the past week or so:

1. Bono’s Effervescent Wisdom:  The rockstar never ceases to amaze, even if the article’s author seems a little trite.

2.  NYC Saves Civilization:  Apparently, some very offensive words are appearing on standardized tests.  Words like “dinosaur,” “television,” and “religion.”  Fundamentalists, Luddites, and secular humanists must have been enraged by these words poisoning their children.  Unfortunately for them, NYC schools have decided NOT to eliminate them from their exams.  Finally.  Now students can enjoy reading about “rock n’ roll” on their Scantron tests!

3.  The Hunger Games is Deviant: Apparently, it has become a “most challenged book” by those who object to its themes.  As a friend of mine said on Facebook, don’t people realize that the book itself is a critique of our modern society rather than a blanket endorsement of violence and the like?

4.  Last but not least….my favorite picture of the week:

Review: “The Hunger Games”

After months of waiting, I was finally able to see The Hunger Games last night.  As a fan of the books, it was rewarding to see characters and settings I had heretofore only imagined in my mind come suddenly to life.  The costumes, makeup, and set design were superb.  The world of Panem–and especially its ostentatious Capitol–came to life in brilliant high definition.

The actors selected for the various roles were uniformly quite good, with Jennifer Lawrence a real standout as the lead character Katniss Everdeen.  Lawrence has already proved her acting chops elsewhere, and she is more than capable to carry this franchise

Stenberg as Rue.

on her shoulders.  Amandla Stenberg was also brilliant as the  actress who plays the young Tribute Rue.  Additional kudos to the often hilarious yet nuanced performances of Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy and an unrecognizable Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket.  I was impressed not only by the casting decisions made here, but also the many great performances in the film.  Twilight should stand up and take notice!

Crazy ol' Effie.

For a fan of the novel, no movie adaptation could ever do The Hunger Games justice.  The pacing of the film was, for whatever reason, too quick for me.  I missed the psychological depth of the books and at times felt that we were forced too quickly through the various dramatic setpieces of the drama.  Much like the early Harry Potter film adaptations, too much attention may have been given to faithfully replicating scenes from the book and not enough to artistically interpreting the source material.  For instance, I felt the film could have done more to establish the depressed state of District 12, build up the Katniss/Rue relationship a bit more, and make the “berry” scene as powerful as it could have been.

This said, I may be asking the film to do too much.  The basic story is compelling enough by itself, and the movie tells it quite directly.  Further, nestled within the cinematic narrative are some deeply powerful moments: 1) Katniss calling out her mother on behalf of her sister and telling her to never again slip into the debilitating depression that almost destroyed their family in the past, 2) the wordless scene where a painfully oblivious Capitol family allows their ignorant children to play at “Hunger Games” with fake swords, and 3) the scenes regarding Katniss, Rue, floral arrangements, and District 11 (you’ll have to read the books or watch the movie to understand this one).  The extra screen time for President Snow was also a plus, as was the ever-present and magnificent beard of Seneca Crane.

All in all the film is a good one, and by most accounts will do very well for itself.  I look forward to the sequels continuing this powerful story of emerging adulthood, oppression, and freedom, and loss.  Hopefully in the midst of this now multimillion dollar enterprise, the deeper questions at the heart of the story will continue to resonate with teens and adults for some time to come.

I highly recommend the Hunger Games and encourage you to see it soon!

Grade: B+ (great performances, excellent design, and compelling story; marked down only for its pacing and the fact that nothing could ever live up to the book!)

Let The Games Begin

After a long absence combining spring break, out of town visitors, and a rather nasty bout of the flu, I am back…and just in the nick of time: The Hunger Games is released today!*

As some longtime readers are aware, I blogged on the books back in November as a part of a class exercise for my “Foundations of Youth Ministry” course at Northwest University.  The following are the links to those discussions:

1.  “The Hunger Games and Adolescence”

2.  “The Hunger Games Meets God”

3.  “The Hunger Games as Practical Youth Ministry”

Today, I’ve also guest blogged with youth ministry organization Interlinc about the new film.

My wife and I will be seeing the movie tonight, and I look forward to offering a full review tomorrow.

In the meantime, a brief word about the place of pop culture in youth ministry.  One of my students offered a little pushback in class yesterday, asking why things like The Hunger Games should be a part of youth ministry conversations or youth group lessons in the first place.  Moreover, he wondered, what are the bounds of culture and ministry?  Are there appropriate limits we should follow as we pursue these ends?

A few thoughts:

  1. Pop culture should make an appearance in youth ministry when not talking about it would make no sense.  Twilight or the The Hunger Games are BIG teen phenomena.  To never speak of them seems a little silly.  They are some of the (increasingly few) stories that most teens share, and as such they provide a platform for drawing out important points of conversation.
  2. The use of pop culture in youth ministry should be limited and precise.  Having a little fun with The Hunger Games or doing a series this month makes sense; renaming your ministry “Katniss’s Kids” is just sad.
  3. Along the same lines, remember that pop culture is just that: POP.  It makes a loud noise for an instant, but then fades quickly.  Use, therefore, what you can for the time…but don’t hold on to it too tightly.
  4. Remember that some cultural items are richer sources of teaching and reflection than others.  Transformers, probably not so much.  The Hunger Games, as I have argued passionately, has a panoply of issues tailor-made for discussion and theological reflection with students.
  5. Concerning the appropriateness of material, remember to take into account things like ratings (an “R” rating, for instance, legally excludes 5/6 of your students), parents (with whom potential controversial material should be discussed), and your church/ministry environment.
  6. In all of these matters, remember to keep in mind the matrix of cost/benefit that should be in play here.  Pop culture should not be utilized in ministry just because one can or in order to prove a personal point. Rather, in all cases the benefit of such integration should always outweigh whatever costs or negatives may be incurred in the process.

There are just a few thoughts, and not all of them unique to me.  Feel free to comment and add your own thoughts in these areas.

*Speaking of “the nick of time,” I look forward to weekly updates and thoughts on AMC’s Mad Men, finally returning to television for its fifth season this Sunday!