Never have I lost faith in humanity so quickly.

[DWH]

This is going to be spoilery for The Hunger Games book/movie, so if you're not in the know and don't want to be, skip this rant.

So, it's opening day. I loved the books, so I was really excited to see the film adaptation, especially since I was wondering how they would handle the difficult adaptation of a first person narrative to screen, and the highly sensitive subject matter of teenagers killing other teenagers. It's rough subject matter in a book; putting it on a screen is an entirely different matter and must be handled with delicacy and a fine directorial hand.

My rant is not about the movie. All in all, minus the overuse of the shaky cam, I thought it was a good adaptation and handled the subject matter well.

You know who doesn't handle the subject matter well? Teenagers.

I should have known I was in trouble when they started making noise at Gale for being little else but hot. Hell, I should have known I was in trouble when the movie was about to start, and they weren't quiet yet. But nothing really prepared me to watch on the screen as Thresh grabbed a girl and pounded her against a wall until she died, only to hear the thunderous applause and cheering of the audience. I may have actually yelled out, "SERIOUSLY??" Then, of course, they also cheered when Cato was thrown to the wolves and to his death, after a poignant speech about how he may as well die there, because all he knew how to do was kill people. I facepalmed so hard, I probably missed some good stuff while I was doing so.

The Hunger Games is an upsetting series. You know what makes it extra upsetting? Knowing that there are actual human beings who can go to a theatre, watch the film, and cheer for something that is clearly meant to be tragic, because it's a spectacle. Because it's a show. Because they missed the gorram point of the entire thing. Children killing children is always and can only be a tragedy. I wanted to stand up while they were cheering and just yell, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? STOP CHEERING." But I didn't want to be that person at the theater who's all noisy. Except the whole problem was that everyone else was reacting in a completely inappropriate manner.

I am fully prepared to say that if you cheered for any of the deaths in that arena, even though it's fiction, you are a horrible person and should feel heartily ashamed of yourself. I have never been to a movie where the audience upset me more than the film, and the film was already pretty damn upsetting.

So much faith in humanity destroyed. I can only hope they one day understand the entire point of the series, and realize what asshats they were being.

[Eravial]

I saw the film today and though I've never read the books, really loved it. It took me through so many emotions, but underlying all of them is the understanding that everything that is being depicted is part of a horrendous dystopia. At all times the audience should be appalled that the film's society considers real, brutal murder to be entertainment, even when the likable characters defeat the deliberately unlikeable characters. It can be tempting for someone to think they're witnessing justice in these cases, but unfortunately it seems to me that the teens you encountered couldn't pick up the pretty obvious theme that none of it is just as long as it follows the rules of the game. That's discouraging.

[monk]

I havent read the books or seen the movie, I'll likely wait till all the movies are out and watch them marathon style.

I am sorry your world view was disturbed. Welcome to mob mentality and group unconsciousness. Take most of those cheering monkeys out of the tribe and they will likely be just as caring and sensitive as anyone you know. But together as a group, with the ability to glorify in violence without experiencing the pain of it? I am not surprised at their reaction at all.

Remember the Romans? We used to do that kind of stuff for real.

If you want some faith restored, watch the show on TV called "What would you do?"because of where you live I believe it's on channel 7 on thursdays or fridays. It always makes me glad to see that there are people who will stand up for others.

[Sonic#]

I've hated audiences for this very reason before. It's like they were part of the dystopia, it sounds like. That's really disappointing.

[edit the sad parts]

Huh. I went to the midnight screening which was about 85% teenagers, who pissed me off in the 2 hour line up. However, during the movie, the theatre was completely silent accept when appropriate to laugh or cheer. It was a really good movie-going experience. I loved the adaptation, too. I went with my sister, brother and S.O. My S.O and brother had not read the books and they both agreed it was one of the best movies they have seen in a long time. I am sorry your experience was soured. I actually cried in the scene with Rue. I am kinda sick that people were cheering during those scenes. I guess Bret Easton Ellis is right.

[Aum]

I don't see movies in theatre anymore for the very reasons outlined in the OP.

[Storage and Disposal]

I don't see movies in theatre anymore for the very reasons outlined in the OP.

Yeah, if I'm interested, I see them a week or two after opening night and in the middle of the week. That's only because I watch them for free at the theater, I fucking hate theater audiences.

[branchpattern]

I think it's worth mentioning that teenagers don't see people from 12-18 as 'children' like adults do. None-the-less cheering violence like that is just strange.

[drunken dragon]

I think it's worth mentioning that teenagers don't see people from 12-18 as 'children' like adults do. None-the-less cheering violence like that is just strange.

Yeah. Like Gladiator. (I'm speaking very generally here, mostly drawing from young adult psych discussions.) Teenagers' brains are wired differently during that point in life, in that they're not readily able to empathize with others. They understand the violence, they just don't really care. It's a game to them.

[dwarp]

I saw this movie twice yesterday. (It's a long story about how I spent the entire day in the movie theater, but that's for another time..haha) What I realized though is that the movie is set up in a way so that you feel as though you're watching the games. With that in mind, it was interesting for me to see how different people reacted, and yes, scary at times to know that people enjoyed the movie as a "sport". I kind of think that's the point of the whole movie (the book too, but the movie really makes you feel like you're a part of the Capitol), to show how our society isn't actually that far off from Panem.

One of my friends absolutely hated the movie. We left and she complained the entire time saying it was "too violent" and I was just so disappointed. Yes, it was violent, but that was kind of the point.

[Mathmo]

One of my friends absolutely hated the movie. We left and she complained the entire time saying it was "too violent" and I was just so disappointed. Yes, it was violent, but that was kind of the point.

I thought the violence was really well-handled, in that (to me at least) it came across as fast and disorientating and mostly you couldn't quite tell which way was up or who was at an advantage and then suddenly it was over and (often) someone was dead. As opposed to it being slow-motion and ultra-cool, like fight scenes in some movies.

[dwarp]

I totally agree! Personally I felt like the camera angles actually were my one huge complaint about the movie. (I wasn't mad about the lack of violent images, I just get motion sickness kind of easily, so all of that whipping around wasn't that great for me.) I thought it was a good way to keep the movie PG-13 though.

[cob]

I lost more faith in humanity when they gave Jersey Shore another season.

Sounds like these people just missed the point. Teenagers are interesting like that. Some of them get it, and some of them are not old enough yet. It's funny to look back on the things I missed when I was a teenager.