two thought-provoking hunger games reviews

"why hunger games is flawed to its core" by ND Wilson:

"One final thought: never read or watch a story like a passive recipient, enjoying something in a visceral way and then retroactively trying to project deeper value or meaning onto the story you’ve already ingested. Such projections have been making authors and directors seem more intelligent than they are for decades. As you watch, as you read, shoulder your way into the creator’s chair. Don’t take the final product for granted, analyze the creator’s choices and cheerfully push them in new and different directions. As we do this, the clarity of our criticism will grow immensely. Which is to say, we’ll be suckered far less often than we currently are. Lastly, Suzanne Collins can really write. It’s just that we can’t really read."

i don't agree with everything wilson says, but i really like his assessment of peeta's character.  peeta really isn't all that i cracked him up to be in my post about the books.

"amusing ourselves at their deaths" by mark meynell:

What got me really fired up about the books was the surprise of how political they are. There are cultural and mythological references aplenty, and Suzanne Collins clearly draws on a wealth of dystopia writing. But it was thinking about that fact that reminded me of Neil Postman’s great opening discussion in his seminal book Amusing Ourselves To Death, weighing up the cultural merits of Aldous Huxley’s dystopian vision over against George Orwell’s. And then it struck me. Suzanne Collins’ books depict a grim future world where BOTH got it right. Fascinating.

meynell gets it right: both of these dystopian novels are true in this fictional futuristic world.  it is interesting to see how this plays out.


also, make sure to read the comments on each article (especially wilson's), there is some interesting discussion in there.

you can also read my thoughts (not so much of a review, just random thoughts)