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The Hunger Games: Fun for the Whole Family? The Big Debate. - Babble (blog)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 於 9:57 PM 張貼者： games

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The Hunger Games: Fun for the Whole Family? The Big Debate. - Babble (blog)
Mar 21st 2012, 01:49

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Strollerderby

The Hunger Games: Fun for the Whole Family? The Big Debate.

Posted by sunnychanel on March 20th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
02 300x200 The Hunger Games: Fun for the Whole Family? The Big Debate.

THe Hunger Games - Family Friendly?

Are you planning on going to see much anticipated movie adaptation of The Hunger Games? And more importantly are you taking your kids? This is a big question that many a parent is currently grappling with. Since Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series was released in 2008, it has been one of those Twilight/Harry Potter like cross-generational hits. It was published as a 'young adult' novel but has been equally enjoyed by the over 18 set.  It's a book that moms, dads, and their teenage kids are all are devouring with an equal passion.

It's always a wonderful thing when families can share a literary favorite, but when the blood shed and the merciless killing is brought to the big screen – with the whole teenagers trying to kill each other  thing- will parents opt not to take their children?

The film is being considered in the family feature category since it has YA roots. But some – and I'm sure they are in the minority – are worried about the realistic bloodshed and violence. But there are a whole slew of films for the youth of today that feature guts and gore.

Christopher J. Ferguson of Time.com is one parent who will be going and taking his kid, his eight-year-old kid, to the movie.

Ferguson cited a Wall Street Journal piece by Meghan Cox Gurdon (who called The Hunger Games "hyper-violent") who commented on this kind of YA fiction saying, "No family is obliged to acquiesce when publishers use the vehicle of fundamental free-expression principles to try to bulldoze coarseness or misery into their children's lives."  Ouch.  Ferguson defended The Hunger Games and goes on to pled his personal case saying:

"Parents are free, of course, to use their moral compass to decide which media is appropriate for their families, but some of my own research suggests that the best option is for parents to consume violent-themed entertainment alongside their children rather than to either shield kids from it or leave them on their own. Parental input seems to help children understand the context of aggression and violence and better prepare them for how to address it in their own lives. Aggression is part of the human condition, something most kids experience shortly after they age out of Baby Einstein. But parents can be assured that The Hunger Games is not going to harm their child." He ended it with a clever, "So, game on. May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Like Ferguson, there are other parents who are looking forward to sharing this filmic experience with their kids. The storyline of The Hunger Games includes some pretty deep subject matter than would liven up any dinner table chat time. The Christian Science Monitor in their piece entitled, "Hunger Games, is an Opportunity to Bond for Many Families" argues that the film should – indeed – be shared with the younger set. They quoted a family therapist that said the story deals, "with all kinds of important family issues, as well as larger moral and ethical questions."

Although I enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy and can't wait to see the film, I'm leaving my six-year-old at home and I'd probably wait until my daughter was over the age of 14 to see it. But I'm the mom who won't watch Bambi and fast forwards through the first fifteen minutes of Finding Nemo, so I come from a 'nervous Nelly-ish' place. I try to protect her and allow her to bask in the world of innocence and wholesomeness as long as I can, before the topics of violence, hatred and cruelty can touch her life in any form be it in life or on film.

I remember seeing a couple of violent films when I was under the age of ten or so and the images still haunt me to this day. Ann Margaret writhing in baked beans and eventually being shot down in Tommy, the human stampede in The Day of the Locust, or the totally creepy Zardoz – three movies that I can not and will not see ever again. Tommy gave me nightmares for months. There is no reason for my sweet girl to be exposed to the heavy storyline of The Hunger Games when she is 6, 8 or even 12. She can wait. I would like the odds of her not having nightmares be in her favor.

But, it really does come down to the family and child. If your child is ready to see it, The Stir had a warning and noted that although film is "quite different from the cartoonishly gory violence we often see in other movies… it's also way more intense. If you decide to bring your kids, you may want to have a conversation with them before and after the movie."

So if you go, make sure that you are there for your kids to help them digest the film. Or not! Hey, you could have one of those "been there, seen that," type kids that wouldn't be phased by anything.

Will you be taking your kids to see The Hunger Games? And if so, how old are they?

Image: Lions Gate

The Hunger Games: Fun for the Whole Family? The Big Debate.

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3 Comments

We're going!

Linda, T.O.O. commented on Mar 20 12 at 10:05 pm

Yeah, not appropriate for eight year olds. This is a movie that you're old enough to see when you've read and finished the book. If your ten year old wants to see them movie then he can read the book first.

Sara commented on Mar 20 12 at 10:25 pm

Check and see what classes the kids are reading for AR points, LOL! Our schools were reading it in the 4th grade.

goddess commented on Mar 21 12 at 12:03 am

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