Cover of The Hunger Games
On the eve of the The Hunger Games movie release, I am compelled to say a few words on the genius that is Suzanne Collins.
I anticipate hordes of young adults will hasten to the film, eager to satiate needs instilled in them in the lingering wake of the Twilight saga.
And – I hope – the masses will be sorely disappointed.
The Hunger Games is about war.
It will be violent. It will be painful.
Some of the characters you fall in love with will die.
Because that’s what happens in war.
Suzanne Collins is unforgiving. She will reveal a shred of kindness, but then she will kill it. She will not turn the totalitarian government into something it’s not. She will oppress, torture and terrify with social commentary.
She will shock you with the kind of evil that truly exists – the evil that is human nature.
I’m certain some of the violence will be ebbed for the film – it is rated PG-13, after all. And I’m certain the Peeta/Katniss/Gale triangle will be emphasized, in a play to satisfy the teenage hormonal crowd.
But I’m hoping the filmmakers haven’t lost what I feel is the central piece to the story – Katniss’ love for her family – her sense of duty, and the superlative courage to go to war to protect them. And her need to, as wielded by the tyrannical hand of the dictatorship.
Most adults I know don’t have the valor to fight the war Katniss fights.
And she’s sixteen.
I am a writer ... dangit. 
lizzie mcmizzie
/ March 22, 2012I so agree. My love for the Hunger Games stems from this very attribute – Collins’s unrelenting depiction of the brutality of war.
Lara Pitts
/ March 23, 2012I totally agree…this morning on the radio there were several discussions about the voilence and how this is not for teens…This is not Twilight people! This is not a love story! It is brutal, honest, and in your face………..and that is why I love it
Mamas
/ April 18, 2012Thanks lizzie and Lara. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard a mixture of reviews.