Watch The Hunger Games (2012) Online

[cwillamn]

The Hunger Games definitely seems to be an allegory about society. It occurs in the foreseeable future dystopian nation of Panem, with an all-powerful Capitol that subjugates its 12 districts to slave labor and an annual event named Watch The Hunger Games, where 24 district youngsters are tossed into a death pit as a way to maim and kill 1 another. The citizens of Panem watch the games unfold each year as entertainment, awaiting one victor to emerge from the carnage and stay championed the hero. You'll find obvious, inherent parallels you can draw between this type of setting plus the present-day - the glorification of violence, the wholesale auctioning of human despair for TV ratings, the exploitation of the disenfranchised by a privileged few - yet, what's this film really telling?
 
The most important criticism from the book was that this favored describing the experience in great detail over checking allegorical potential inherent in the story plot. It leaned more towards (and, I suspect, for most readers acted as) spectacle, where we cheered and gasped at the twists and turns of death, destruction, and betrayal, instead of confront the unpleasantness built into the book?s themes. In the end, reading about kids yielding deadly weapons against 1 another sure sounds additional fun than political and philosophical ramblings, doesn?t it?
 
In the novel we?re a minimum of experiencing our planet through the mindset of Katniss Everdene, the plucky 15 year-old protagonist through the poorest district in Panem, who can occasionally use a critical thought or two with regards to the world she lives in (mostly, though, she just wonders what boy she likes more). As the universe of The Hunger Games dictates severe punishment at even a whisper of dissent, any possible reflection with regards to the implications for these your global is completely lost in the film translation. Since it?s incapable of exploring criticism of this world (or, by extension, ours) in the direct manner, the film must make use of images to impart any kind of message; images that, typically, got down to thrill instead of enlighten us.
 
And that?s the greatest challenge with the film adaptation, directed faithfully by Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit). By their nature, films ask us to participate at a distance, as voyeurs. Here, we end up playing the role of the Capitol: glued to the screen, anticipating the following action set piece, riding the ride of success and failure of the sacrificial children with bated breath. But where?s the catharsis, the reflection, the lesson? There was clearly tremendous chance to turn the lens around, show us the irony of playing spectator in the film where the spectacle of death is glorified to a terrifying degree. Unfortunately, that irony will likely be lost on most in the audience, who will leave the theater feeling more pumped up than enlightened.
 
Many fans will be satisfied. The film adapation certainly works as summer entertainment: the action is slick, the actors were suitable for their roles, the relatively slow build-up is commendable, and also the world building is finished using a subdued but effective visual style. On the outside, it seems like to have more to express than your typical blockbuster, but what is it really saying? It denounces exploitative entertainment, yet invites its audience to enjoy the exploitation of that characters. It condemns oppressive government, yet portrays its oppressive government inside a seductive manner, and insinuates utilizing enough determination, those most oppressed can triumph - or perhaps, in the world from the Hunger Games, can be made to think that winners, grateful to emerge from their struggles alive. So we, too, leave the theater feeling like winners, grateful that people had a way to be thrilled so effectively.