I did not enjoy the movie...
Here are some of the reasons why I did not enjoy the movie:
1. Government control over children - this was really disturbing to me and reminds me of what is happening to a lot of our children in the public school system. How could any parent allow their child to be 'reaped' for the sake of the government? I know this is part of the plot line of the book, but we are already seeing the government take too many liberties with our children. The children belong to their parents, not the government.
2. Children killing other children - when did this become entertainment? Don't we see enough of this going on around the country that this needs to be part of what 'entertains' our children? What exactly does this teach our children? For the sake of the game, it is all right to kill other people?
3. Adults manipulating for their pleasure - during the 'game' portion of the movie when the children are roaming around the 'game board', I couldn't believe the manipulation that was going on by the adults who were 'controlling' the outcome of the game, basically so people would watch. This really bothered me, especially when their manipulation caused the death of some of the children.
I know that many people like to read these types of books and watch these types of movies simply to be entertained, but where do we draw the line.
Thankfully, the movie and its plot/theme were the subject of a long discussion last night. Sometimes, we need to discern ourselves whether these are the types of movies/books we want to watch/read. Just because 'all of our friends' are reading the books or watching the movies does not mean that we need to jump on the bandwagon.
I don't write this post to judge what other families have decided about the books and the movies. I write this post as an observer who has a different view which may not be popular. My view may be different than yours, and that is okay.
I understand your view on the books and the movie. I think that the author specifically wrote something like this to show people what our world is already like and how much worse it's going to keep getting if we don't do something about it. I think it's more of a wake-up call than it's meant to be solely entertainment.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, people will start to realize that they can make a difference by doing something rather than nothing. Thank you for sharing your comments!
DeleteExactly. I want to know if Matthew enjoyed (if that is the right word) the movie as much as he did the books. I read and appreciated the books but had decided not to see the movie since I like my own pictures better than most movie versions of books. Then my 10 year old grandson came home all excited after having seen the movie (!) after NOT having read the books and now wanting to. That really surprised me since it is PG 13.
ReplyDeleteI will let you ask Matthew on Sunday! As for your grandson, I am sure he was watching it to be entertained. He hasn't had enough life experience yet to be looking for those plot lines and themes that we would see. I was really surprised to see one mom in the theater with her probably 3 year old daughter.
DeleteIt was good to hear your take on things...we haven't read the books or watched the movie
ReplyDeleteI read the books for my book club. We had a really good discussion about what the author has to say about our current culture and where we're headed. But when the movie came out, I was not happy that it was directed at kids. I thought the themes that we adults took away from the books would be lost to the kids. And, I think, for the most part, they were. I wouldn't let my kids see the movie without me because I wanted to discuss it with them. I think it's important to teach them how to be discerning of our culture.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more on this Anne. I may have to take the time to read at least the first book one of these days. I know books like this are written by the author for a particular reason, but the movie really didn't sit well with me. I think because my kids are similar ages to the kids in the movie.
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