Because it's stupid.
There's been an extremely strange to-do among fans about the recent announcement that director Gary Ross will direct the screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins' tween rip-off of Japanese novel Battle Royale. And I'm not sure why.
Gary Ross has directed the borefests Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, and so I guess is directly responsible for the unattractive and completely unsuitable-as-Spiderman plague of Tobey Maguire that has fallen upon us, but all-in-all, isn't he as good a choice as any?
The Hunger Games was written by Collins as a YA dystopian novel in order to inspire fear and courage in her young readers. Here's the plot; in the not-so-distant future, humans live like starving peasants while the rich in the cities force the children of the defeated nations (there was some kind of huge WAR, or something) to fight one another to the death for their amusement (and a reward of food). Ok. How is this not Battle Royale, exactly?
Okay, let's read the official synopses:
Quote:
The Hunger Games: Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Quote:
Battle Royale: Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language.
Okay, how is The Hunger Games not Battle Royale, again?
Oh yeah! It's 'American'. And its in the future. And by the way, how can anyone be expected to enjoy reading something in which the protagonist's name is fucking 'Katniss'? Just name her 'Catnip' or 'KittyCat' and get it over with, Suzanne. You didn't fool anyone. I've read The Hunger Games, and I've read Battle Royale (and if you haven't don't embarrass yourself by pretending to have an opinion on the fucking issue, please) and frankly, I'd be willing to take the case to court, were I a lawyer. Which I am not.
But I'm really surprised at the rash comments by fans that some boring dude named Gary Ross is not the right guy for the job. So.. who is? Let's see. The kids these days seem to like - Michael Bay. Lots of money, lots of explosions. Etc. Or maybe an old man with depleted talent, like Wes Craven, could take on the job. Or maybe they want some Predators director, or something. All i do know is that the movie isn't going to be very good, because the story on which it is based is not very good. In a nutshell, Katniss survives only because of her dependence on men and her ability to work 'within the system' that oppresses her. She survives, but only barely, by engaging in a romance with one of her competitors, and it is only through his presence that she is allowed to live at all. Not only that, but while Katniss is in the wilderness dodging bullets, machetes and starvation, she finds plenty of time to think about the cute boy down the street and to wonder if the boy she likes likes her back. While she's starving.
The superficial tone of the novel does not say 'for young readers'; it says 'for idiots and for women who want to be rescued by men'. Sure, it's not as bad as, say, Snow White, but it's right up there with the tired, old, and rehashed versions of femininity we've seen for hundreds of years. Mixed with Battle Royale.
I call 'train wreck', and you owe me ten bucks after this pile comes out.
Thanks for crapping on this. I had been tempted to pick it up. The last time that happened with a popular YA title, I bought a book by Stephanie Meyer.