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There was something that intrigued you about it, which is why you keep discussing it. Not saying you liked it, but it has kept you intrigued enough to continue discussing it. All I know is when I hate a movie and find it not entertaining at all, I feel no need to discuss or think about it an further. Apparently you do so.
There was something that intrigued you about it, which is why you keep discussing it. Not saying you liked it, but it has kept you intrigued enough to continue discussing it. All I know is when I hate a movie and find it not entertaining at all, I feel no need to discuss or think about it an further. Apparently you do so.
LOL...I was intrigued by how a lame movie such as Hunger Games becomes a hit. Of course, that's not the first time it has happened nor would it be the last. Just a commentary on how advertising influences herd behavior.
Another reason I discuss it is that this thread open for discussion. So why shouldn't I discuss it? Since when did I need to ask your permission to participate in a thread of my choosing?
LOL...I was intrigued by how a lame movie such as Hunger Games becomes a hit. Of course, that's not the first time it has happened nor would it be the last. Just a commentary on how advertising influences herd behavior.
Another reason I discuss it is that this thread open for discussion. So why shouldn't I discuss it? Since when did I need to ask your permission to participate in a thread of my choosing?
When did I ever say you couldn't discuss it? Don't put words in my mouth. I am just interested to know why you are STILL discussing it at such length. It's been more than 2 days now. Admit it you are hooked, , it has intrigued you in some weird way.
As for me, I really have nothing else to say about the movie, so I am pretty much done with this thread.
Nope the changing of the rules was not predictable.
Sure it was. The only hard and fast rule in the entire story is that each district gives up 2 sacrifices once per year. It's a lottery, but in Act 1, we see that a volunteer can take the place of someone chosen by lot.
I guess the story could have spent 10 minutes explaining all the legal ramifications and giving us a long history lesson of every rule and every exception. But that's not what the story is about. That's what gives internet message boards stuff to nitpick for years.
It's evident throughout the story that the entire reason for these "games" is for the state to keep the masses pacified. The state can do whatever it wants to whoever it wants whenever it wants. That's what the story is about. Not only does the ending not contradict that, it enforces it.
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Originally Posted by ndfmnlf
It was a deus ex machina device.
No it wasn't. Just to be clear: I'm not objecting to your dislike of the ending. All art is subjective, and your view is no more or less valid than anyone else's. You are entitled to your own opinion.
But you aren't entitled to your own facts, and you are misusing the term "deus ex machina," trying to make it mean something it doesn't. You can argue that you don't like the ending. You can argue it's a juvenile story. But you can't make this a deus ex machina because NOTHING about it fits the definition. Words means things.
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Originally Posted by ndfmnlf
Are you saying that the tributes and the audience should have expected the rules to have been changed arbitrarily? The rule I'm talking about is the one allowing 2 survivors. Are we supposed to believe that in the 74 year history of the games, the rulers never thought about creating a love angle to make the games more interesting?
Yes, on all counts. Absolutely! This was set up throughout every scene of the movie. The only "rule" is that the state makes the rules, and the masses get in line.
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Originally Posted by ndfmnlf
Why did they think about it only now? The love angle obviously was never tried before, otherwise Haymitch who had competed in the games in the past should have known the history of winning strategies and would have suggested that strategy to katniss and Peeta before the games even started.
Who's to say it didn't? This story isn't an overview of the entire 74-year history of these games. It's about 1. The romantic element had OBVIOUSLY come up before. Why else H's note: "You call that a kiss?"
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Originally Posted by ndfmnlf
For fiction to work, it should be believable. It is believable if the plot shows fidelity to its own internal logic. If elements that are discordant with the plot are arbitrarily introduced just so certain characters can survive and the story can move forward, it weakens the story tremendously.
Agreed. But I just don't think this story did that. I'm scratching my head at every one of your complaints, because every one of them was well covered throughout the plot.
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Originally Posted by ndfmnlf
HG is popcorn flick intended to entertain the minds of 13 year olds.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
There's a big difference between saying, "This isn't the greatest movie ever made," which it isn't, and saying, "This is a horrible movie," which it isn't.
I can think of lots of science fiction movies that cover big ideas and did a much better job of it. Blade Runner, Minority Report, T2, etc. But I have to give HG credit where credit is due. It wasn't just a mindless action flick or a sappy teen romance. It had elements of both action and romance, but it also tried to ask some pretty big questions — the devaluing of human life, the have-nots living to serve the haves, the hollowness of popular entertainment. Did it always do so perfectly? No way. I certainly had my complaints with the flick. But I still think it's a very good movie with flaws rather than a bad movie.
When did I ever say you couldn't discuss it? Don't put words in my mouth. I am just interested to know why you are STILL discussing it at such length. It's been more than 2 days now. Admit it you are hooked, , it has intrigued you in some weird way.
As for me, I really have nothing else to say about the movie, so I am pretty much done with this thread.
You'll be done with this thread when you stop responding to it. The fact that you're responding to it means you're not done with the thread.
My review of the movie and its box office success is germane since it is after all a MOVIE THREAD on a forum discussing a CURRENT movie. Or maybe you are missing something?
I have got to say I have enjoyed reading all the discussions on The Hunger Games more than the actual movie lol. Thanks to Mark S. ChikidII, PineTreelover, ndfmnlf and everybody else for their participation/forum-war and a stellar performance !! Let's keep it going !! Few more threads like these and I can cancel cable and just watch this in my free time !!
As it turns out, I'm not the only one who noticed the deus ex machina technique being deployed in Hunger Games. This blogger Deus ex Machina and Foreshadowing: Advice for Writers | The Spectacle noticed the same thing.....about the book itself. The blog is for sci fi writers. Unfortunately, it's no longer active, but the link above from 2009 discusses Hunger Games and why deus ex machina is a "pathetic plot device used by amateurs". Ouch.
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Deus ex machina is now seen as a pathetic plot device used by amateurs who don’t plan for the ending of their book (ask me how I REALLY feel about it). At the last minute, when it seems doom is imminent for the main character, suddenly…they realize they have the ability to fly! And they escape the bad guy. The End.
Sure you can give all these cheats big fancy names like deus ex machina and say it's a solid and viable literary device and that even the Greeks used it to get out of tight jams in their plays. But for me? It just derails the whole book when used with too heavy a hand. Collins cheated by having President Snow proclaim (when there was still something like seven players remaining) if two tributes from the same district survived at the end both lived. I wanted to jump up and shout 'HE DIDN'T GET OUT OF THE COCKADOODIE CAR!' Right then I knew I'd been robbed of any sort of heart wrenching climax.
As more characters die it drops down to just three. After a brutal death it's just two. Of course it's Katnis and Peeta. This is the part the whole book has lead up to. But it's taken from me either because Collins is a wuss or because the publisher had a weak stomach. Either way it was a giant let down.
What made me cringe was the fact that the little black girl (Rue?) was killed by someone else and it was an accident...SO predictable. It would be cool if Rue, Katleen and the lover boy were the "final three"...and there were no sudden surprises and Kat had to choose between the little girl and the lover boy and she would just stick a sword through the little one's neck...that would be unpredictable/unexpected and much more realistic I think.
I think I will write a novel myself about a post-apocalyptic world where the children are not sissies and are destructive,twisted and ruthless ba&tards that go around killing others for survival without batting an eyelash, just like one would expect a post-apocalyptic world to be
What made me cringe was the fact that the little black girl (Rue?) was killed by someone else and it was an accident...SO predictable. It would be cool if Rue, Katleen and the lover boy were the "final three"...and there were no sudden surprises and Kat had to choose between the little girl and the lover boy and she would just stick a sword through the little one's neck...that would be unpredictable/unexpected and much more realistic I think.
I think I will write a novel myself about a post-apocalyptic world where the children are not sissies and are destructive,twisted and ruthless ba&tards that go around killing others for survival without batting an eyelash, just like one would expect a post-apocalyptic world to be
LOL...good points. I really do like films about moral dilemmas and how to resolve them. Hunger Games had an opportunity to do this and it bungled it big time. The zero sum game the players were thrust into would have been the perfect opportunity for the writer/director to creatively show how the dilemma could have been solved without resorting to deus ex machina (i.e. by arbitrarily declaring that the zero sum nature of the game is no longer in force). My own solution would have been for Kat and Peeta to commit suicide on live TV. It's elegant, it is a moral victory for Kat and Peeta for not surrendering to the State, and it may plant the seeds of future revolution.
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, it has intrigued you in some weird way. 
!! Let's keep it going !! Few more threads like these and I can cancel cable and just watch this in my free time 
!!
