Would Jesus Watch The Hunger Games?!

[Winchester]

Murder is a mortal sin.

[mysisterisalittlesister]

I don't think Jesus would even watch "The Passion" He'd be like, "Dude, I'm not watching THAT again."

[Totus Tuus]

For some reason, people keep making the argument that the Hunger Games "is about killing." I never heard this argument until the movie trailer started to get popular, and then when the movie actually came out. However, I have no heard anyone who actually read the books make this argument. I think that for some reason the impression that the books/movie gave off is that they are about killing, but if you read them, you realize that's not at all the theme. In fact, the actual Hunger Games only take up like half of the first book. The rest is setting the stage and making the political commentary on the games very clear in various scenarios in which the main characters decry the outrage of what they are being *forced* to go through. If one of them would have refused, they probably would have been executed and others would have been chosen. There was no way out of it, and the morally good characters did not kill for any reason other than self-preservation, which is morally legit (actually, it's morally obligatory most of the time). So I would just say that to believe that the Hunger Games "is about killing" is too narrow, and that it's really worth reading the books to see what they're actually about. I think most people consider the moral a good one.

[Totus Tuus]

By the way, I don't think it was silly for you to ask that question. Even if there are misperceptions involved (which I don't know if there were), it's good that you're thinking about what is morally right in various situations. One thing I like about PM is that it makes me firmer in my beliefs, because I see both good and bad arguments for various moral issues, and it forces me to think about my stance on things, which makes my conscience more well-formed.

[Totus Tuus]

[quote name='Winchester' timestamp='1332961045' post='2409740']
Murder is a mortal sin.
[/quote]

Not to exhaust this ad nauseam, but the main characters did not commit murder; they only killed in self-defense. There are characters who were morally bad in the books/movie who killed out of spite and would definitely be classified as murderers, but that's not the case for many of the characters. The whole point is that those characters were wrong and were influenced by a corrupted government.

[Era Might]

Would Jesus pay $13 for a movie ticket? (Or whatever movie tickets are going for these days...back in my day it was around $7).

Edited March 28, 2012 by Era Might

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Era Might' timestamp='1332970141' post='2409807']
Would Jesus pay $13 for a movie ticket? (Or whatever movie tickets are going for these days...back in my day it was around $7).
[/quote]

Back in my day, they were $2. (You are too young to have a "back in my day" moment.) Fwiw, They're still around $7 where I live.

[Totus Tuus]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' timestamp='1332971341' post='2409814']
Back in my day, they were $2. (You are too young to have a "back in my day" moment.) Fwiw, They're still around $7 where I live.
[/quote]

I'm not too young for this moment -- we had $2 movie tickets when I was a kid, too.
They're $8 for matinee and $11 for evenings here

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='IcePrincessKRS' timestamp='1332960455' post='2409735']
Yeah, but the whole point is that the killing is wrong.
[/quote]
srsly
I didn't care for the movie, but the point of it wasn't "check out how razzle dazzle it is to watch a bunch of kids fight to the death!"

[MissyP89]

It's actually pretty solid morally, I think. It's pro-life, pro-family, anti-war ... the whole thing starts at all because of global famine and nuclear annihilation. The later books are about self-empowerment, courage in the face of opposition and danger, and standing up for what's right.

Sounds a whole lot like the Church's teaching on social issues, if you ask me.

[i<3LSOP]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1332949307' post='2409664']
LOVE Fr. Barron.
[/quote]
Just wanted to tell you that our Priest knows him personally! They where in the Seminary together and played harmonica together LOL!

[Jaime]

When I was a kid, they were a nickel! And an old man played piano as we watched the moving pictures. Then the infernal talkies came and it all went to hell in a handbasket!!!


Stupid talkies

[mysisterisalittlesister]

Srsly dude

[Jaime]

[quote name='mysisterisalittlesister' timestamp='1332988004' post='2409888']


Srsly dude
[/quote]

It looks like you had a vowel movement

[the171]

Fr. Starkovich from apriestlife.com made a comment on Katie Prejean's blog post defending HG (katie-prejean.blogspot.com):

I do like the self-sacrifice angle of the story, but I think it is a bit more complex in its moral scope. I will admit that I haven't read the books, and at this point I don't really have the intention to do so. I did see the movie, so I can only comment on the film.

The concept of self-sacrifice in The Hunger Games, I believe, is an expression of a much deeper look at morality. In dystopian works, we usually find a critique of moral and social norms, and I find the same to be true here. The entire premise of the games is built around a supposedly air-tight system of rules and operations that dictates the outcome. The government is attempting to keep the rebellion down and preserve their power by forcing the people of the districts to behave according to the rules that they set. In essence, it's an attempt to stamp out moral creativity.

The human spirit, though, is never content with isolation. And this, I believe, is why Katniss has become a popular character. When faced with a set of rules, she finds a way to accomplish goodness outside of the rules that they set. She accomplishes this through her first act of self-sacrifice, of self-gift when she stands up for her younger sister.

This is a really important concept, because it's a necessary critique of morality. I would argue along the lines of some moral theologians that following the moral manuals and finding a great impetus with Ockham, morality was reduced to casuistry: it is a set of rules to be followed. Even in moral discussions and debates, casuistry generally reigns supreme. We come up with a supposedly air-tight scenario, then we try to judge and create morality based off of the, "What would you do in this situation?" In essence, it becomes situational ethics. (Example: You are in a room with 1 hostage and a terrorist who has a nuclear bomb. If you don't kill the hostage with the pistol on the table, the terrorist will set off the bomb and wipe out a city. What do you do?)

I argue that virtuous thinking (and an authentic Catholic morality at that) rejects casuistry completely. It makes room for the seemingly infinite creativity of the human spirit to find a way to love in the midst of great suffering and difficulty. When put in the situation of A or B, Christian morality sees and opts for option C that includes charity.

I think this is why Katniss is popular in the eye of the audience. In a dystopian world, she rejects casuist moral reasoning and reveals the light of human creativity in the sphere of charity. In the film at least, she does this rather well without actively choosing to kill anyone unless it was self-defense (I really, really regret that she euthanizes the character at the end. Without that instance, she would be a rather bright moral light. It was an action that wasn't necessary whatsoever for the plot of the film. It only hinders her moral goodness). In the face of a world without choice, she inserts the creativity of sacrifice in certain elements, and shows that the human spirit can always be creative. And, her moral, charitable creativity has many ramifications: the relationship with Rue and Peetah, and the resulting rebellion of district 11. They intuited Katniss' actions and thus decided to be creative in their actions. And finally, the ending scene with the agreement to mutual suicide: "They must have their victor." "Do they really?" She creates another option, although a less than moral one.

So--sacrifice yes, but I think the element of self-sacrifice is only the expression of a much deeper moral theme that needs to be explored. Is the work's exploration perfect? Not at all. But it moves us in the general direction and gets people thinking.

To sum it up: love is creative.