Hungry for some Hype?



Oh hey that's me!

              Oh great, it’s another movie that EVERYONE is talking about.  Mmm, hmmm it was based on a book too? Yes, and which part of this am I to not have seen before? What is with these people deifying these things until they become a pandemic phenomenon? You know what I’m talking about, right? Was there any doubt in your mind that I was talking about the ever acclaimed “Hunger Games?” I know, with all the hype you expect the clouds to open up and the angels to sing a hallelujah chorus every time the name is uttered.  Seriously the Seraphim would have their vocal chords snap if they tried to fill such a tall order. Maybe someone should talk about it in Seattle, I’m sure they could use a dose of cloud opening.  A glimpse of the almighty, ya I’m sure Stanley Tucci could use a bit to get all that dye out of his hair.  Okay, so The Hunger Games doesn’t come with its own personal choir, but people talk like it deserves to. I’m sure the thing that people are dying for in these dire times is an elite indifferent journalist, one who will rise above the rubble on a golden chariot, and for once tell it like it is! Well, sorry to disappoint, but I’m biased. That’s right; I admit I’ve been tainted. I’ve managed to avoid almost every major pop culture epidemic to sweep the nation, but this one, darn it all, has me swept up with it.  Though, I promise to you that I have purchased NO merchandise. Not even a T-shirt. 



Pictured here: hype

                Honestly, it saddens me.  I can, as of right now, tell you a thousand ways why Twilight was stupid, or a hundred quips as to how Justin Bieber looks like a girl. This is because every cultural trend that is in a happy majority has a sub culture of people ready to tell you just how wrong you are. I had always been a proud member of the latter; determined to hate anything that could even remotely be popular among a group of people inexplicably and grotesquely called tweens.  And ok, seriously? What kind of word is that?  I would be more comfortable with people calling the nation’s youth hooloovoo (which is a hyper-intelligent shade of the color blue for you non Douglas Adams fans) than tweens. It really is just a contemptible word of utterly ridiculous and uninteresting origins. How would one establish etymology for a word like that… but I digre… ooh look a distraction! Sorry about that, little side track on the rant train, next stop: Sesquepedalia.    



Oh God it's touching me

                Anyways I did like both the book and the movie, and sometimes I have really silly reasons for likening things, as seen in previous articles. So I’ll skip telling you how much I liked it, and why, because chances are, you have already seen the movie or read the book and have already established your own opinion on each. So, the real question isn’t about its value to literary and cinematic forums.  No, the true query is if it’s worth the hype. Now, I know that America has a penchant for things with a gladiator theme, but is that the draw, the violence? In my experience people are horrified by the violence. Most say that that was their least favorite part. I heard more collective gasps in that theater than the emergence of a diving expedition. It was ridiculous, all the gasps and cringes were quite distracting. It was almost like taking a drive with my mother. So no, maybe not on a level people are willing to admit it wasn’t the violence. Maybe it was the high class society of the future, with all the high fashion and colors. Personally I found the colors to be eye numbing, and the costumes absurd. It’s also hard to romanticize a futuristic city when there is a dystopian wasteland right on the other side of “paradise.” So, no, I guess it wasn’t the glitz of the cities; after all, I would rather be neighbors with The Jetsons than live in Panem. 

Sup

                Nope, I think it really boils down to humanities love of an underdog story.  The characters are lovable. They inspire compassion in the audience without feeling weak. You want Peeta to save Katniss. You want Katniss to get back to her sister.  But goodness, they never really left any doubt that that would happen.  Really, they didn’t even pretend that Katniss was in danger of losing.  The audience cheers her on but, I think the fact is that there isn’t much real suspense. You get all the adrenaline of adventure without all the risk involved in the loss of a beloved character. Now you might say “ah what about Peeta!” Well, in all honesty he really isn’t beloved until they announce that Katniss has the ability to keep him, and at that moment the potential for disaster disappears because cliché endings make people happy, which lead to ticket sales.

                Without even realizing it the wave that swept the nation was really a wave of assurity.  People got to pretend that there was danger and angst when all there really was was a series of events that were captivating enough to intrigue the audience enough to get them through to the one and only eventuality that deep down everyone saw coming.  As to why other series reach this pinnacle of popularity, I couldn’t tell you, but the Hunger Games reached to unlimited heights only to smack strait into a wall of brazen unsubtly.