Radford Girl Stef Dawson takes on The Hunger Games

johnboy said :

The neo-confederates also try to make out that there was no racial element in the civil war.

It was all states rights!

Then they complain about the economic damage done to them by Sherman when he freed the slaves.

No mention at all of black people because they don’t think of them as people at all.

It’s a similar vein to the rural nutjobs who describe themselves as “real australians” at the expense of the rest of us. (only we haven’t had to fight a war with those dingbats yet)

That’s fair, I still think you might be reading into it a bit far. I did mean to say that while most Proud Southerners weren’t racist, it doesn’t mean they’re not obnoxious, oblivious, insensitive and ignorant. That’s not to say there’s little to no racism in the South, just not as much as a lot of people seem to think. Anyway, thanks JB, it’s nice to have discussions that aren’t bitter and ideologically driven every now and then.

So I’m not wrong? Sorry, I’m not trying to bait you JB, and I don’t think what you’ve said is stupid, I just honestly don’t see what you mean about racism in HG. I remember there was some vague controversy about the film’s cast being “whitewashed” but that was mostly an internet beat-up, and certainly it beats out most other films in the YA genre when it comes to minority casting.

Twilight makes the Hunger Games look like Schindler’s List in colour.

johnboy said :

Twilight is oppressive to women certainly.

But hunger games as neo-confederate justification is racially oppressive IMHO.

Which is worse? Hard to say. Both pretty horrible.

Saying pro-confederate and pro-segregation are the same thing seems a bit much to me. I’m yet to be convinced that the confederacy themes in the series is anything other than coincidence anyway, but in the proud Land of the Free they tend to be very nationalistic. Southerners tend to have a patriotic pride in the history of their land and, yes, in the history of the confederacy. But not that many of them do it because they’re secretly racist, in fact I’d argue that thanks to the massive populations of different ethnicities, the South is actually a pretty tolerant place to be (as long as you believe in Jesus).

I don’t think race is even an issue in the books, so I’m not seeing where this theme of racial oppression comes from. The main theme is economic oppression more than anything. Is there some subtle nuance I haven’t grasped? Am I totally missing the point here?

johnboy said :

In many ways it’s worse than twilight.

Okay, fair enough, but now I think it’s reasonable to ask you to back up that opinion. In what way is it worse than Twilight?

Back in my day, vampires sucked blood instead of …

I think we can all agree though, at least it isn’t Twilight.

Propaganda? To who, about what? It’s about as lame and cliched as any other YA fiction series. The missus loves the Hunger Games, she still trying in vain to get me to read it, but I am taking her to see them all at the movies. A lot of the (IMO) silliest bits of the first movie were apparently in the book so you can’t even say that it’s Hollywood’s fault for messing with the source text.

I don’t understand your total hatred of the series, JB, especially having not read it, or seeing the movie. I mean, sure it’s stupid, but no more so than any other movie that’s come out in the last 10 years or so. At least the badly written bits in the movie are there because of the badly written bits in the book, rather than the result of focus group testing.

Since I have to watch them all, I’m just glad that Jennifer Lawrence is the main character.

I hope she knows how to act like a piece of wood, as I wouldn’t like to see too much emotion in the next film.

johnboy said :

Sparing me the need to articulate it because this bilge isn’t worth my time:

http://firstronin47.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/review-hunger-games.html

That is proof that people will see what they want to see.

I’ve read some nonsensical film reviews in my time. That one ranks right up there.

Ah! But we’ve let this take us away from the true point of the post: nice work, Stef Dawson! 🙂

Here_and_Now said :

johnboy said :

Hunger Games is a fantasy of unreconstructed confederates.

Well, at least that’s a change from the usual ‘ripped off Battle Royale’ effort.

Well that is exactly what hunger games is.

johnboy said :

Sparing me the need to articulate it because this bilge isn’t worth my time:

http://firstronin47.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/review-hunger-games.html

Hmm. Can’t say I agree. But the review has made sure to not that the alleged propoganda was ‘thinly veiled’, meaning those (many) of us who don’t see it are at fault for falling for such a flimsy cover, rather than it being that it’s not actually propaganda. Cute bit of ‘It’s not me, it’s you,’

I think that he’s drawing quite a long bow. Much like Katniss herself, so he’s entering into the spirit at least.

johnboy said :

Hunger Games is a fantasy of unreconstructed confederates.

Does this criticism apply also to the novel or only to the movie?

Sparing me the need to articulate it because this bilge isn’t worth my time:

http://firstronin47.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/review-hunger-games.html

johnboy said :

Hunger Games is a fantasy of unreconstructed confederates.

Well, at least that’s a change from the usual ‘ripped off Battle Royale’ effort.

johnboy said :

Hunger Games is a fantasy of unreconstructed confederates.

One last attempt: more information (in a coherent form) please?

Am I to understand that your objection is that the story portrayed in The Hunger Games is an allegory for certain states that would rather not be part of the United States government? i.e. The regions Katniss and other Tributes are from should cede from the union/republic/whatever that government with the crazy idea of entertainment is, as it is obviously not acting in the best interests of all in the union?

Ok, well this as as good a place as any to turn things over to Thursday Morning Book Club…

This is what I started humming when reading your post above JB.

So, “downright evil, pure poison” – What’s all that about?

Going to expand on that first-round Godwinning, or are you just mad at the book because they keep it in libraries?