I read the book and agreed with Taylor that the book was a warning and a critique of our society and did not glorify violence. That was until I checked out the Hunger Games website. There they offer games where players can see how they would do in the arena. That, to me, puts a different spin on things. It seems to encourage Hunger Games fans to relive what should be abhorrent to them.

I just can't seem to understand why we Christians would like to remain ignorant. This book is criticizing our society, saying this is the way we will end up if we do not do anything about the way we are behaving. Think about all the violent video games and movies that glorify violence. The Hunger Games is not an attempt to glorify violence, but to denounce it. This is no different than something like 'A Modest Proposal' by Swift. It is not a suggestion as to how our society could be bettered, but a critique of the way it already is. I can't seem to wrap my head around the controversy. It is a dystopian fiction. Maybe the solution will be this: do not let your kids watch movies like Sleeping Beauty, there is violence in them, do not let your kids read books like the Chronicles of Narnia, there is plenty of violence in them. What is comes down to is this: Do you have enough discretion, as a fully literate adult, to tell if a book is denouncing immoral practices or celebrating them?

Don't be deceived, the Hunger Games is a shameful thing. It's another attempt to de-moralize the public by wrapping gratuitous violence of almost the worst kind (there is worse) in a shroud of "morality" and intellectualism. This is another example of Social Marxism. Social Marxists work towards destroying the family unit through wicked means such as this type of film. The end result of Social Marxism may very well be a society like that depicted in the film; devoid of morality and eager to sacrifice children in horrific ways. Wake Up.

sorry forgot to say my name again! If admin could put my name Ann at the end that would be great! thanks

sorry forgot to say my name again! If admin could put my name Ann at the end that would be great! thanks

Sorry if I repeat myself 2-3 times in my response! I wrote a short response a couple days ago but then just wrote another response and then just put both together lol but they basically say the same thing so repeating! :) "I would also wonder how you go about teaching kids against violence without depicting violence somehow?" Violence in the bible, violence in history books and I also understand the place of some violence in historical records such as photographs, video recordings and from century old paintings is important as well. These are great tools for teaching about violence. I just dont agree with it being used in our entertainment - movies or video games. As a way to enjoy ones time. In nonfictional books is a blurry matter - I would say detailed violence certainly not and shouldn't be in any books to any degree in Children's books for entertainment purposes. Even The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe I have some problems with (the movie - have not read the book). But you can't be a 100 percent purist in this society as that is not practical and also God does call us to be IN the world just not OF the world. So kids are going to be exposed to violence and sex at some stage. So they do need to learn how to view and respond to these in an appropriate way. I believe you need to censorship it to a higher degree than is typically done in Christians homes - such entertainment and movies is seen so much as the norm to so many nowadays. So I think idealistically, children shouldn't watch violent movies or play violent video games but some slight exposure is okayish at certain times and in certain environments (depending on the parent/child) simply for the reason of helping them learn how to view, understand and critique from the bible such violence. But it should not become a norm or habit. Or used in entertainment as enjoyment. It is something that would be different for each parent and child. And only on the very odd couple occasions. And very limited. So for your very first question personally I object to all violence/sex in movies for entertainment full stop regardless if it is for adults or children or whatever the rating - but that is not the world we live in so the next best thing is to help teach adults as well as children (from Christian families) how to view these scenes from a godly perspective if they ever do happen to view them. I do not agree with fulling shielding children from the world as then they will not know how to deal with the world or the things they come across later in life. But I do believe in censorship as a christian parent to limit the access and viewing of such movies to a bare minimum. You wouldn't show a child a full on sex scene in a movie - same with violence. But when you do see some lighter violence in a movie (ideally on the one or two odd occasions) it is a good time for teaching and address the issues to help the children understand that violence/sex as portrayed in these movies is not how God wishes us to live our lives etc Ideally of course no violence and sex would be great in our entertainment but that is just not the world we live in and just not how Christian parents are bringing their children up. Many do let their children see these types of movies again and again with more detailed scenes as the years go by. So I do agree with your last premise that shielding kids totally is not ideal. But neither (in my opinion) is letting them enjoy as entertainment movies that have violence and sex scenes in them. But since this is not how many Christian families are living or doing at the moment the next best thing is to at least do some censorship as parents and the little violence/sex kids do see to be talked about from a Christian persepctive - that would be ideal. Children are growing up with so many wrong values from the movies and disney channels etc that are no good for them. Especially (a bit off topic now!) a lot of these teen movies that promote girl/boy teen ...

Sorry I haven't replied yet - had Easter break then no internet connection. Will reply within the next couple days! :)

"auguring to violence" should be "depicting violence". I-phone spell-checker strikes again!

@Ann ... You make a very persuasive case against kids not seeing HG, and in retrospect I realize I was probably not as "alive" to this issue as the seriousness of the subject demands, probably because my wife and I don't have kids and spend very little time around kids. But in that case, I have to wonder if it is the movie you object to, or the movie's availability to kids. Would you have a different view if HG had been rated "R" ... or even "X"? I would also wonder how you go about teaching kids against violence without auguring to violence somehow. If violence in the visual media is never OK, what about violence in books? In art? I think that if the only way violence is ever encountered, and the consequences thereof, is in the form of conversation, dialogue, and abstract discourse, that can have the effect of making violence and it's consequences as insufficiently immediate -- too bloodless, if you will. It seems that teaching kids about violence almost demands that -- somehow or other -- violence be shown, and especially in an "image-centric" electronic culture where reading is increasingly a lost art, that means shown visually, though there may be especially powerful texts that could do the job. If it is the movie itself and any / all depictions of violence that you object to, then I think it is a toss-up whether it is best to raise kids in a culture where violence is visually depicted, or in an artificially constructed cultural "hot-house" where depictions of violence are proscribed ... and the kids end up being ill-prepared to deal with the violence they will surely encounter, once they venture outside the "hot-house" and into a violence-prone real world. But as I said, my wide and I don't have kids, so what do I know? JC

Sorry my last post was as Anonymous - I forgot to put my name in! Very young kids don't get context - they just see violence. Older kids may understand some of the context but they are still just seeing violence. Violence in any context in movies or entertainment is no good. Regardless, full stop in my opinion. It is desensitizing people to it. Whether the movie is saying it is morally okay or not. Such as Saving Private Ryan where it is argued it is okay. It may be okay as in a historical fact. But is it okay for kids to watch it? Again and again and more so and more so in movies that come out? As a side note I see again no difference in a kid watching the violence in saving Private Ryan (which I even had to close my eyes to) and watching violence in the Hunger Games. It is both harmful to them. And then it also brings up moral arguments - does that make violence okay in some contexts and not others? Who decides when it is and or isn't morally correct? And every persons morals and ethics differs, but this real life question does not matter/ it is regardless as I don't see any violence in movies as good no matter what moral stance people on the film put on it. You may see the movie the Hunger Games as having an anti-violence message when in fact that is a portrayed lie and deceit in my opinion. Showing such scenes again and again to children desensitizes them to violence. It actually in fact in my opinion is pro-violence. Even though it is hidden under a nice story line of saying it is morally wrong. By actually showing kids killing kids - children watch it and get use to it... and in the extreme to some who may even have some warped emotional issues it may seem like fun. Just like showing a sex scene to someone who is a sexual addict would prompt them to have feelings that they could struggle with - as an extreme example. Re glorifying violence - I understand what you are saying but the glory isn't coming from saying it is okay and good to use violence in a movie for a morally right reason or not glorifying it by saying that this violence is no good (context etc) - which you are saying the HG's is doing - that it doesn't glorify violence because it shows it is morally wrong. I am not saying the movie does or doesn't glorify violence by showing it as morally right or wrong. Because yes you are right by saying it is morally wrong they are saying it is no good thus not glorifying it within the movie. But the glorifying of it comes when you buy a ticket to see a movie that has violence in it regardless if it portrayed as morally okay or not - there is still violence in it. And you paid for a ticket to see that movie that has violence in it. To be entertained by it. Despite it (the violence) being showed as either morally okay or not. You said "Regarding the issue of how you go about depicting violence without thereby pandering to violence ... I think HG did about as good a job with that as one could expect." Scenes of kids killing kids is not a good job in my opinion! Regardless of whatever moral spin you want to put on that violence in the movie. Or whichever context it is in. Or however blurred the shot may be. Just my opinion.... "but the anti-violence message also gets to more people with a less-volatile PG rating." I am sure the secular world would see this as a good thing! I see it as deception and as a way to get around getting a more younger audience to see violence. Ann