# Hunger Games \[Open spoilers\]
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 9, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266 "2012-03-09T14:23:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Everyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Everyman)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/1 "2012-03-09T14:23:47Z")
What are the hunger games? Why have I never heard of it until last week? đ
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### Author:  [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/2 "2012-03-09T14:28:05Z")
What are the hunger games? Itâs a pretty popular trilogy of books for Young Adults, movie soon coming out.
Why have I never heard of it until last week? Because you donât follow YA books?
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/3 "2012-03-09T14:29:39Z")
I am far from a young adult, and I admit I enjoyed the books a lot. Iâm looking forward to the movie.
Iâm not sure how I tripped across them - I think someone recommended them to me. Anyway I was having insomnia one night. I finished up the first, and downloaded the second off Amazon. THAT is what I love about my Kindle - freaking 3 am and I was curled up on the couch enjoying a brand new book.
That day I didnât fall asleep until 8 am either. :eek:
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### Author:  [@Everyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Everyman)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/4 "2012-03-09T14:31:48Z")
Okay, but what is it about?
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### Author:  [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/5 "2012-03-09T14:36:02Z")
Without spoiling much, itâs a dystopia where a central city rules over the outlying districts and forces them to submit 2 children every year to deadly combat for the amusement of the cityâs population.
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/6 "2012-03-09T14:36:34Z")
The Hunger Games is a young adult novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published in hardcover on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic.[1] It is written in first person and introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, holds absolute power over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.
From Wiki.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/7 "2012-03-09T14:43:33Z")
See also:
Battle Royale
The Condemned
The Running Man
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/8 "2012-03-09T14:48:40Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **Everyman**. Since it turns out that this is about a movie based on some popular books, Iâll move this to Cafe Society, our arts forum.
**twickster** , MPSIMS moderator
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### Author:  [@Everyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Everyman)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/9 "2012-03-09T14:48:44Z")
Hmmm⌠I should read this. Generally, I donât like reading; but, this sounds interesting.
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### Author:  [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/10 "2012-03-09T14:49:49Z")
> [@msmith537](#):
>
> See also:
> Battle Royale
> The Condemned
> The Running Man
see also: [The Long Walk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Walk) by Richard Bachman (pseudonym for Stephen King)
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/11 "2012-03-09T14:55:47Z")
> [@Everyman](#):
>
> Generally, I donât like reading
:eek:
đ Really, when people say they donât like reading, I just assume they havenât found something they like yet. Hope you try it and enjoy it.
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### Author:  [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/12 "2012-03-09T14:56:34Z")
> [@Everyman](#):
>
> Hmmm⌠I should read this. Generally, I donât like reading; but, this sounds interesting.
Have you considered audio books? Great for commuting or long car trips.
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### Author:  [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/13 "2012-03-09T14:56:36Z")
I generally donât like YA books but I thought these were entertaining and MUCH better than Twilight.
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### Author:  [@Everyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Everyman)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/14 "2012-03-09T15:03:12Z")
> [@PacifistPorcupine](#):
>
> Have you considered audio books? Great for commuting or long car trips.
Too young to drive.
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### Author:  [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/15 "2012-03-09T15:25:23Z")
> [@Everyman](#):
>
> Hmmm⌠I should read this. Generally, I donât like reading; but, this sounds interesting.
Maybe. . . it reminds me of Holes. . . itâs pretty juvenile and kinda stupid, but where Holes has a sense of humor about the whole thing, Hunger Games, takes itself very seriously. It also reminds me of Coyote a little.
If you like kinda juvenile literature, like Holes or Coyote, then you might like it.
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### Author:  [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/16 "2012-03-09T15:51:28Z")
> [@Everyman](#):
>
> What are the hunger games?
The _Hunger Games_ may describe either the first part of Suzanne Collinsâ speculative fiction/post-apocalyptic trilogy, or the entire trilogy. The first movie is to be released on the 23rd of March.
The series follows the adventures of Katniss Everdeen, a young girl living in the poor nation of Panem, the blasted remains of what was once the United States of America in a not-to-distant future where war and natural disasters have taken their toll on the world and the human race at large.
Panem is divided into âdistrictsâ of varying size and population that each concentrate on producing a specific resource (Katniss lives in District 12 - formerly Appalachia - where they mine coal) for redistribution under the harsh totalitarian regime of The Capitol, a shining metropolis nestled in the mountains of what used to be Colorado.
Approximately 75 years prior to the first novelâs beginning, The Capitol brutally put down a rebellion by the thirteen outlying districts, reducing one of them to a charred, uninhabitable wasteland and enslaving the other twelve. Thereafter, each year, The Capitol forces the remaining districts to surrender a young man and young woman as âtributeâ for participation in a nationally televised gladitorial battle (_royale?_ - see msmith537âs link, above) to the death in a specially-constructed arena.
Katniss becomes the girl tribute from District 12. With all twelve districts contributing, that would make for 24 combatants, and the only way she can win is to make sure the other 23 die before she does!
Thereâs your setup. To whet your appetite, watch [the long trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfmrPu43DF8) and decide if you want to read the first book before the film comes out.
* * *
Iâm surprised there arenât more _Hunger Games_-inspired threads here in Cafe Society. I saw one that was obviously some kid who didnât read the book trying to get us to do his homework for him, but, câmon - not _one_ request for Capitol lamb-stew-over-rice or roast wild groosling recipes?
Yes, I am aware there is already an _unofficial_ cookbook out.
> [@PacifistPorcupine](#):
>
> Have you considered audio books? Great for commuting or long car trips.
Thatâs how I got through _The Hunger Games_ and _Catching Fire_ so quickly. Now that I have _Mockingjay_ on my iPod, I expect to have the entire trilogy finished before the film premieres.
I can make it through all three books on the way to and from the office and save my actual book-reading time for Atwoodâs _The Handmaidâs Tale_.
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### Author:  [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/17 "2012-03-09T15:53:46Z")
I think The Hunger Games is great for someone who generally doesnât like reading. Itâs a very easy and fast paced read.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/18 "2012-03-09T16:07:08Z")
The Hunger Games books are interesting: on the one hand, theyâre well-written (albeit not particularly original) juvenile science fiction with a well defined world and surprisingly effective action sequences; on the other hand, itâs very much from the Twilight school of teen girl romances, with a Mary Sue protagonist caught between two perfect boys who are madly in love with her. I enjoyed it pretty much in spite of myself.
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### Author:  [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/19 "2012-03-09T16:25:56Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan]
The Hunger Games books are interesting: on the one hand, theyâre well-written (albeit not particularly original) juvenile science fiction with a well defined world and surprisingly effective action sequences; on the other hand, itâs very much from the Twilight school of teen girl romances, with a Mary Sue protagonist caught between two perfect boys who are madly in love with her. I enjoyed it pretty much in spite of myself.
[/QUOTE]
That last point is (checks forum) not entirely fair. Katniss is not a Mary Sue, either in the popular or the true definition of that term. Think about it: what are the first two things we learn about Katniss? Answer: She loves her sister, and she has no problem drowning kittens. Thatâs not a Mary Sue.
Katniss is defines by her flaws, which a Mary Sue is not. She has one trait, one single trait, that veers barely into unbelievable territory, without quite crossing the border, namely her archery skills.
Quite frankly Iâm tired of people who think âCompetent young female characterâ=âMary Sueâ.
As for Gale and Peeta, sure they both love her. Describing either one as âperfect boyâ is patently ridiculous. Gale is quite consistently throughout described as an asshole, and Katniss hates the fact that he is in love with her. Peeta is a bit of a lovesick puppy, but quite a realistic one. The relationships between the characters read entirely believably to me. And she is never âcaught betweenâ them in the teen romance way.
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### Author:  [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-games-open-spoilers/615266/20 "2012-03-09T16:35:43Z")
I quite enjoyed the Hunger Games, and I do in fact read a lot - though I admit I have a soft spot for dark-themed young adult fiction. I thought it was pretty well written, if not exactly groundbreakingly original. A solid effort, entertaining, with an engaging main character set in a well-realized universe. Thereâs a good reason that it stands out in the market and has generated interest.
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