Hunger Games

I know I'm not going to make any friends writing this and will probably offend some. For that I'm sorry. Last night I saw the Hunger Games with my son. I read the first book before I went and although I couldn't put it down, I was unsure about it. I understand the author's effort to get people thinking about what violence can do to devalue life. I get the whole uprising against inhumane government thing.

My son and I both had a hard time with the graphic images of kids killing kids. In a world where kids in Africa are taken from their families and forced to kill at a young age, why are we so indifferent that we are entertained by the brutal death of children? It was not a movie that left you feeling good at the end. I had a hard time rooting for the main characters to win knowing that in order to do that, they would have to kill.

Let me just ask, have you ever seen a real life hunger game? I don't mean kids being thrown in an arena, I mean people so desperate to eat they would do ANYTHING to get food? Have you ever had to choose between life and death for yourself? What about your child? Have you ever had to choose between watching your child die from starvation or allowing them to be adopted never seeing them again? THESE CHOICES ARE BEING MADE EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.

I just can't look at this as another story on the big screen. Whether we like it or not, the more we allow ourselves to be entertained by death, the less compassionate we are. I'm glad my son didn't like the movie. I'm glad I was shocked by the images on the big screen. I hope I never find myself rejoicing in the death of children--even pretend children from a story.