Hunger Game [Spoiler]
So, I finally watched this movie when I totally had no such time, but I had lots of laundry to fold, so I multi-taksed hahahaha~.
I knew its premise was very similar to the Japanese Battle Royale series.
After watching this, I wanted to say something about it, but since it's almost 5AM and I need to sleep, I'll just make it short.
As a movie, it was actually quite enjoyable. It was a well-made movie overall. But I don't know if they could've pulled it off quite as well without Jennifer Lawrence, though. She's just an outstanding actress.
But I do have qualms about it.
It totally feels like a story out of a parallel universe to me. And I felt the same thing with Battle Royale.
Just the simple premise that human beings, as society as a whole, will make a game (no matter how glorified) out of forcing children to kill each other for the purpose of....providing entertainment as well as maintaining fear in people is so inhuman to me, it just could not happen to our species.
I do know that crueler things have happened in the history of humankind. But never in the form of the entire society (OK, maybe just the ruling class in the movie, but still) enjoying watching children slaughter each other until there's only one left.
And I have a problem when people say things like "This movie is so scary because this could happen right now (or in the near future)!!", and believe me, I have actually heard this said.
I mean.... COME ON, how could you be living in a society where you really think something like that could happen without running far away into the deep woods and mountains and never come back? If I believed something like this could happen to us now, or even in the future hundred years from now, I would be so depressed, I couldn't even function normally. I would lose hope. (Ironically, the reason why they do this competition and have a 'victor' in the end in the movie is to provide people with just enough hope so they'd stay obedient. Uhhhmmm, nope, not working for me.)
I believe in the fundamental goodness in people as a whole.
I believe in the majority of humans having conscience.
I believe that most people would not tolerate such cruelty as 'entertainment', not now, not ever.
So, while I did enjoy the movie and did feel emotional connection with the heroine and some of the other 'tributes', it was as a complete fantasy that could never happen in reality.
No, this wasn't really a rant. X'D
I just wanted to express how flabbergasted I feel when people watch these movies and actually think it could happen in real life.
(I know, it wasn't that short, was it? =3=)
Ah. Bed. Why do I do this to myself... orz
Well, at least the clothes are folded now.
ETA: Since it seems I didn't make myself clear in the post, it's not the oppressed that have to live with Hunger Games that I find unrealistic. They are realistic. What I find unrealistic are an entire class of people where the majority actually 'enjoy' watching kids murder each other as a form of 'entertainment'. I know how minds can be manipulated, brainwashed. But even then, I cannot bring myself to believe in the existence of 'a large group' of people (meaning, not a group of psychopathic misfits) seeing that as entertainment. If that actually happened, I'd consider that society not one of our own, but of a group of beings born with mutated genes lacking in conscience.
I knew its premise was very similar to the Japanese Battle Royale series.
After watching this, I wanted to say something about it, but since it's almost 5AM and I need to sleep, I'll just make it short.
As a movie, it was actually quite enjoyable. It was a well-made movie overall. But I don't know if they could've pulled it off quite as well without Jennifer Lawrence, though. She's just an outstanding actress.
But I do have qualms about it.
It totally feels like a story out of a parallel universe to me. And I felt the same thing with Battle Royale.
Just the simple premise that human beings, as society as a whole, will make a game (no matter how glorified) out of forcing children to kill each other for the purpose of....providing entertainment as well as maintaining fear in people is so inhuman to me, it just could not happen to our species.
I do know that crueler things have happened in the history of humankind. But never in the form of the entire society (OK, maybe just the ruling class in the movie, but still) enjoying watching children slaughter each other until there's only one left.
And I have a problem when people say things like "This movie is so scary because this could happen right now (or in the near future)!!", and believe me, I have actually heard this said.
I mean.... COME ON, how could you be living in a society where you really think something like that could happen without running far away into the deep woods and mountains and never come back? If I believed something like this could happen to us now, or even in the future hundred years from now, I would be so depressed, I couldn't even function normally. I would lose hope. (Ironically, the reason why they do this competition and have a 'victor' in the end in the movie is to provide people with just enough hope so they'd stay obedient. Uhhhmmm, nope, not working for me.)
I believe in the fundamental goodness in people as a whole.
I believe in the majority of humans having conscience.
I believe that most people would not tolerate such cruelty as 'entertainment', not now, not ever.
So, while I did enjoy the movie and did feel emotional connection with the heroine and some of the other 'tributes', it was as a complete fantasy that could never happen in reality.
No, this wasn't really a rant. X'D
I just wanted to express how flabbergasted I feel when people watch these movies and actually think it could happen in real life.
(I know, it wasn't that short, was it? =3=)
Ah. Bed. Why do I do this to myself... orz
Well, at least the clothes are folded now.
ETA: Since it seems I didn't make myself clear in the post, it's not the oppressed that have to live with Hunger Games that I find unrealistic. They are realistic. What I find unrealistic are an entire class of people where the majority actually 'enjoy' watching kids murder each other as a form of 'entertainment'. I know how minds can be manipulated, brainwashed. But even then, I cannot bring myself to believe in the existence of 'a large group' of people (meaning, not a group of psychopathic misfits) seeing that as entertainment. If that actually happened, I'd consider that society not one of our own, but of a group of beings born with mutated genes lacking in conscience.