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Author
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Topic: The Hunger Games
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Adrian Winchester
Film God
Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004
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posted March 31, 2012 07:44 PM
I take the point that this thread is primarily about whether the film is suitable for 12 year olds, rather than about how good it is, but that hasn't prevented some from expressing extreme opinions regarding how vile they believe it is. And even on the matter of the certificate, anyone who has actually seen it would be at a great advantage when forming an opinion.
This isn't exactly a new issue in the USA where (e.g.) in the 1960s, some Hammer films that were X cert in the UK where G rated (open to all) due to the view that horror was generally for kids. On a Hammer forum I'm on, a USA member referred to when he and his schoolfriends, in 1968, were re-enacting Dracula's death scene in 'Dracula Has Risen From the Grave', in which he dies impaled with the top of a large cross through his body!
[ April 01, 2012, 06:29 PM: Message edited by: Adrian Winchester ]
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Adrian Winchester
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted April 01, 2012 03:59 AM
Michael.like the rest of us is entitled to hve an opinion on a film
he hasn't seen regarding subject matter that is deemed tasteless or harmful to the impressionable.This film isn't the first and it
wont be the last,but put it and them in the correct catagorie'
Would you want a child of twelve to watch a film like "Men Behind
The Sun" a very graphic and brutal account of the occupation
of China by the Japanese and some of the most horrific tortures
inflicted on human beings? Way back in the '80s during the
"video nasties" witch hunts, this film had been in video outlets
and escaped because no one on the film boards had seen or heard of it.I have a copy on video and wonder how many kids
had seen this.Back to my point,changing from "X" certification
was a step back,so if politicians can't protect the young, then
it must fall on parents to do it,you can't erase an image once
it's been seen,but prevention has always been better than cure.
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Terry Lagler
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 525
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted April 01, 2012 09:10 AM
It seems that this discussions on violence in films or (media) comes to personal viewpoints or ones moral stand. Which is fine.
What I find much more troubling than the alleged film content itself is the use of misleading “ expert opionions” to argue a point
The “Mail Online” tabloid article used to promote this Hysteria is a prime example.
Here is a section of the article that literally made me fall off my chair!
quote:
But writing about the film on her website, best-selling author and paediatrician Dr Meg Meeker said: ‘Kids process images they construct in their minds from written words differently than they process large, hyper-real images on a screen.
‘During the preteen and teen years, children’s minds are mentally pliable. They are being hard-wired... So, when an image comes into a teen’s brain it melds into that wiring and sticks.’
WHAT THE!…………… WHAT ! WHAT ????
My oh My, how much time did the authors of this article take to sift through the thousands upon thousands of best-selling author and paediatricians.“ to dig her up.
Let’s take a trip to her website
Yep, full of opinions and advice on mental and physical health but not once supported with credible peer reviewed studies.
Why? Because there aren’t any.
Oh wait a sec, what does her disclaimer say?
“
quote:
NOTICE: INFORMATION ON THE WWW.MEGMEEKERMD.COM WEB SITE IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and any information or materials posted on the web site are intended for general informational purposes only, and should not be substituted for personal medical advice, medical opinion, diagnosis or treatment. Any information posted on the web site is NOT a substitute for medical attention…………………continues
Now the real sad thing is, both youth and adults will read this and automatically believe it – “Well it must be true, I read it on the web”
Finger pointing at the latest Hollywood blockbuster (or Jazz music, or communist plots, or Elvis Presley, or Video games or women wearing skirts above the ankle) have all been used to explain a so called moral decay of society.
Well it is easy to blame…….and LAZY
So is it okay to barrage our youth with violent images ala Alex in Clockwork Orange?
Of course not.
Its okay to raise my child by only speaking Klingon to them?
Don’t be ridiculous.
But removing A Clockwork Orange (or any film you wish to blame) and Star Trek from existence will keep the like from happening?
Is this the belief?
Its interesting that, as I write this I have the local PBS station on that’s airing a fascinating documentary on World War 2 (in HD and Color to boot!) In the last hour I’ve seen a astounding amount abhorrent and violent acts perpetrated on men woman and children.
Maybe Howard Hawks, Fritz Lang or even Dwayne Esper were to blame.
A ridiculaous assertion? Of course.
A question asked earlier…. "Has our world really sunk so low"
It’s a much different place for sure. Much has changed since we monkies started walking around. The Global Village has indeed come true with 24hr a day acess to information and media.
We do good and we do bad……….. this has not changed.
But really? Hollywood and the film industry is to blame?
I don’t think so.
Or is it a mere reflection?
Now that I can believe.
It’s disheartening to read that we’re still only inclined to talk about censoring, government intervention and all out banning as solutions.
Yet, poverty, lack of education and mental illness awareness doesn't get a peep.
Terry
No I haven’t seen the film yet either.
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted April 01, 2012 09:35 AM
Terry with all respect,when you mention historic war footage,that
was provided by brave war correspondants to inform.War isn't an
entertainmemt.The dubious stuff that is reputedly passing as
entertainment,it is the SUBJECT matter that is questionable and
showing it to school children.Children see carnage every day of
their lives on news items etc and so regard it as the normThis is akin to Roman games,and here
some of us are trying to convince so called adults that it's morally
wrong.If you came across two children fighting in the street what
would you do,separate them or like some of the people I think on here, would urge them on and place bets.There have been instances in the UK recently of WOMEN staging fights for
children in their homes and recording it,and these were babies,
do you condone that,because it's the same principle,children
in combat as entertainment.I'm sorry but if this is your idea of
good cinema,what next,a grown man having sex with children
and the same old excuses will be rolled out......I only went to
see what all the fuss was about.This isn't that far away.
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Tommy Woods
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 146
From: Scouser
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted April 01, 2012 10:15 AM
Just dip my toe in again,
I am going to see this film later today,
One observation I would make tho',this seems to be a generation "thing".
The perameters that society sets itself continiously move,much to the chagrin of the generation before,as stated above,at one time, for a lady to show a bit of ankle was morally scandalous,rock and roll was going to be the ruin of everyone,things that are acceptable today wern't acceptable yesterday and vice versa,and society never learns from its mistakes it just adapts,and I ask myself "is this such a bad thing".
What we do know for sure is that fortunately very very rarely does life imitate art.
The censors have the advantage over us as they clearly viewed this film and demanded 7 seconds of cuts to satisfy themselves of the final classification.
By the way I'm no spring chicken and can feel myself pushing those daisies.
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Let there be light,so god created the projector
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Terry Lagler
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 525
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted April 01, 2012 10:48 AM
Hugh, you are missing my point.
I was not saying that the war footage was used as entertainment or meerly to shock. Nor would I ever downplay its horror or what those men and women went through.
The fact is that many people will draw unfounded parallels from horrific acts to Hollywood.
quote:
There have been instances in the UK recently of WOMEN staging fights for
children in their homes and recording it,and these were babies,
do you condone that,because it's the same principle,children
in combat as entertainment.I'm sorry but if this is your idea of
good cinema,what next,a grown man having sex with children
and the same old excuses will be rolled out
This is what I mean by misleading parallels.
Where do I condone this as entertainment?
A horrible event indeed, but to say Hollywood plays a part in the fact that this happened is as I said earlier, LAZY.
To leapfrog from movies to having sex with children is a wild and inaccurate assertion.
What does that have to do with violence in cinema? (to stay on topic)Is abhorrent behaviour something new to the last 100 years?
We are indeed rolling out the same excuses.
Because one thing exists (violent Hollywood Movies) does not automatically cause another (Violent Behaviour) to exist.
It may be a convenient answer, but sorry, far to simplistic.
Reminds me of the wild assertions that were made after the Columbine shootings and others. Some still believe Heavy Metal music was a contributing factor. I'm sure they all ate at Mcdonalds too but do we blame Ronald? In reality the only link that could be found in this and in other similar events was the shooters were male and depressed.
I do agree the answers to why these horrific things happen are difficult and I certainly don't have them. When we figure out the human brain maybe the answers will present themselves.
Regards
Terry
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted April 01, 2012 11:33 AM
The thing you were saying about war footage was that it was
horrific and rightly so.Hollywood isn't totally to blame for the
state of society,but it must take some of the blame in that it
glorifies violence,and the actions and dialogue of certain soldiers in foreign
climes reflects this,you could be forgiven for thinking they were
reading a film script.Standards of decency are continually lowered and sold to people as entertainment, cage fighting,
what the hell is that all about,wrestling in America where the
protagonists actually cut themselves to satisfy the bloodlust
of the audience,and yes we're still on topic.This kind of so called
entertainment panders to the lowest element,so does a film that
depicts kids killing each other,and we all know what happens in
America today,happens in the UK tomorrow.Like I've already
said,watch what you will but don't inflict it on children.Regarding my comment on child sex,that won't be too far off,if it brings money in,theres probably a producer securing the rights in LA right now.The standards of film making and subject matter have certainly hit an all time low and while people try and justify dross like "Hunger Games" it can only
get worse.There aren't any films made by America in the last
twenty years that I would care to own on S/8 except perhaps
"Aliens vs Cowboys"and that is a barometer I apply for entertaining film, would I want to own it.
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Terry Lagler
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 525
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted April 01, 2012 12:00 PM
Hugh
Something I want to clarify.
I do not discount what you say about violence in entertainment that we have available today. I don't have the stomach for most of it myself.
I have a nine year old son and worry about these things too. Of course there is no way I'll let him watch "SAW" or any such movie because I believe it has the right to exist.
But I do think we need to step back and question the rigid thinking and hysteria that surrounds these issues.
We, more than ever, have the power of history, real evidence and information at our fingertips to question a sensationalistic, misleading, and yes, damaging article like the DailyMail UK piece.
So for me I'll protect and do the best I can for my son. Eventually he will need to decide on his own moral base.
But he, (and yes, the youth of today) will be able to use these tools with a good helping critical thought and they will do allright.
Regards
Terry
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Mitchell Dvoskin
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 128
From: West Milford, NJ
Registered: Jun 2008
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posted April 01, 2012 12:43 PM
Geez, I have never read a thread consisting of so many self important and opinionated posts from people who have not actually seen the film.
I have seen Hunger Games. I enjoyed it, it was a good film but nothing special. It was not particularly gory, as films go. The ratings boards in both the UK and USA got it right, there is nothing in this film that would be harmful to a teenager.
If you haven't seen the film and have no intention on seeing it, the only comment you should be making is that based on it's reported content, you have no interest in seeing the film and therefore can't comment on it.
As to Censor/Ratings classification, from earlier in this thread:
1.Would you consider it OK for your 16 year old CHILD to KILL another 16 year old CHILD?
Of course not.
2. Would you consider it OK for your 10, 11,12,13, 14 and 15 year old CHILDREN to watch those 16 year old CHILDREN doing it?
In real life no, in a fictional movie yes. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but by the time I was 10, I knew the difference between what was real and what was fictional. I honestly think everyone here is underestimating children.
Of course their are always children who develop slower than others, who could possibly be effected by violent entertainment, but they are the exception. In all cases, it is the parents responsibility to judge whether they are ready for this type of entertainment. Judging what is appropriate for your child is part of being a parent.
The question of exposing children to violent entertainment has come up in every generation. Years ago there was controversy over cartoons, 3 Stooges, horror movies, etc. In the 1950's, the American congress held investigative hearings into horror comic books harming children. It made great political theater, but the critics of these comics were never able to substantiate their claims of harm. Many of us now cherish these childhood comic books as fond memories of our youth.
And last, Hunger Games is not about children hunting and killing children. It is about adults forcing children to hunt and kill other children.
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