Chapter 15: The Hunger Games

In summer of 2008, I like many fanboys at the time waited with anticipation, purchased freshly inked tickets and stood in line to be amongst the first to watch The Dark Knight (2008). As the date got closer we coordinated with my ex's friends to make a big hoopla out of opening night. We raided Salvation Army and scanned local costume shops looking for anything that could be made into an appropriate costume. There was a Batman and Joker of course, in addition to a Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and Ridler. I, being the more portly of my friends came dressed as The Penguin complete with a humungous black umbrella and monocle. It was a hell of a show and kindled what eventually became a very fond memory.

I'm sure many of you have been to a midnight premiere but few have probably had to witness it from the other side. Oceans of people arrive clamoring for popcorn and drinks, waiting in line with three or more of their friends laughing and cheering. Meanwhile we theater employees are running around like chickens with our heads cut off searching in vain for the last Icee cap. It can get ugly.

The midnight show for The Hunger Games (2012) I would actually describe as anything but ugly. Sure working a double shift from 10am-1am can be a little daunting but its not like the lights went out. Plus the clientele for Hunger Games was much more subdued than the Harry Potter crowd; and way more attractive too. Seriously, hordes of gorgeous, sporty, college-aged women flooded the lobby. And with the weather being so unusually warm, I felt like I was in single man heaven. Though I'm not single, and I'm grateful for that...very grateful.

After everyone entered their theaters I was cut almost immediately which was actually a bit disappointing. In anticipation for a blowout I pounded three Red Bulls and was more alert than airport security when a man in a turban walks by. The problem was compounded further when you consider I had to open the next morning at 8am. So instead of doing the bright thing and going home hoping the caffeine would eventually leave my system, I decided to hell with it, I'm going to watch the 3:15am Hunger Games (yes we had a 3:15am). It is on the list after all.

Now for those of you who aren't familiar with the plot of Hunger Games let me be the first to congratulate you for finally coming out from under that rock. And for the record, that bright hot light in the sky is called the sun. The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian future where teens from various districts within the country/kingdom are picked at random and forced to kill each other in a wooded area for television. Katniss is one such "tribute" who volunteers to take her little sister's place and has to survive the onslaught.

For those out there that say this is just a sanitized version of Battle Royale (2000), you're concerns are slightly justified. But it's just different enough that you can enjoy it as a good mix of influences including George Orwell's 1984.

Now with the movie so fresh in my mind, and Red Bull still coursing through my veins, I can't quite give a concrete opinion. Chances are even if I said it was a flaming pile of goose droppings, if you're interested you're going to watch it anyway. I would however like to comment on a few observations I gathered while watching it.

Again, it could be because of the Red Bull but when the games actually began, my heart was racing. A few scenes were unbearably tense and emotionally loaded. That being said however, my experience seemed to run counter to a lot of people in the audience. At many points the blood just got too much for me but the audience seemed to eat it up, at points hooting and clapping at a few choice kills.

While discretion was made on the part of the filmmakers, the fact that this movie got a PG-13 is ludicrous. When a documentary like Bully (2012) can be slapped with an R for profanity yet this movie gets a pass for gratuitous violence says something very interesting about our culture as a whole. Don't get me wrong, blowing up a bus full of baddies can be fun but when kids are getting cut up and beaten the movie should be given a second glance; even if a big production company released it. The fact that people were reacting positively to such violence only reinforces my point. I'd like to see how this movie ends up playing to the families that are coming during the day this weekend.

I asked my roommate, who has read the book what the overall point of the story was. Her answer was to entertain and to warn that if things are left unchecked we would one day live in a draconian society. Two long hard fought wars, I’m more worried we’d be turning into a more violent society. One where dressing up to movie premieres was an invitation for a guaranteed ass-whooping.