tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post3371625897895907546..comments2024-03-28T08:02:30.691-04:00Comments on The League of Extraordinary Writers: Are We Getting Close to The Hunger Games?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11431700962951592287noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-43276483279851571582010-08-29T20:28:17.592-04:002010-08-29T20:28:17.592-04:00One question that arises after reading this post: ...One question that arises after reading this post: if a person signs up to be on a reality show knowing that reality shows tend to show contestants in the worst light possible, is it fair for us to watch them be humiliated? If they were unsuspecting, that would be one thing. But they've signed on to be our clowns, haven't they?<br /><br />Okay, so I'm playing devil's advocate here. I think it can be detrimental to watch reality TV because the sense of superiority it lends us is a bit poisonous. But I do love to watch some reality TV shows!<br /><br />That's what I find intriguing about The Hunger Games--you know that it's wrong to watch kids fight to the death and yet do you put down the book? No way. What makes the reader of these books any different from the viewer of reality TV?<br /><br />--Parker PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-89736717201197014682010-08-25T23:03:17.275-04:002010-08-25T23:03:17.275-04:00Dude, I was about to go all reality TV crazy on yo...Dude, I was about to go all reality TV crazy on you. It was the first thing that attracted me to The Hunger Games. I adore reality TV. Now, to defend myself, not things like Jersey Shore and whatnot.<br /><br />More like Survivor and Next Foodnetwork Star. That's what I watch. It's great.Elana Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05877856005992028912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-40592684307999034962010-08-25T21:25:24.373-04:002010-08-25T21:25:24.373-04:00Hi everybody! Just wanted to pop into to say thank...Hi everybody! Just wanted to pop into to say thanks for the comments and that I'm a good ways into Mockingjay (since I have a Kindle I have no idea what page) now and am happy to say that Collin's really keeps up the whole reality TV angle in this one. At least where I'm at now, it's in a very different way than in the games but still super interesting. I like where it's going alot! Is everybody reading it? Any general thoughts?Jeff Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15358790876179003623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-21523875825871040302010-08-25T21:25:18.271-04:002010-08-25T21:25:18.271-04:00Hi everybody! Just wanted to pop into to say thank...Hi everybody! Just wanted to pop into to say thanks for the comments and that I'm a good ways into Mockingjay (since I have a Kindle I have no idea what page) now and am happy to say that Collin's really keeps up the whole reality TV angle in this one. At least where I'm at now, it's in a very different way than in the games but still super interesting. I like where it's going alot! Is everybody reading it? Any general thoughts?Jeff Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15358790876179003623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-42981241018563392942010-08-25T14:25:59.445-04:002010-08-25T14:25:59.445-04:00I love the commentary on our society and reality T...I love the commentary on our society and reality TV that's in the Hunger Games. It's interesting to see the mix of real and contrived involved in the Games, and what that says about the weirdly "real but not" nature of Reality TV. It's also scary to think about how dehumanizing the process is: the people of the Capitol view the Games only as entertainment, and in the same vein, it's easy to forget that the people in Reality TV are in fact <i>people</i> and not just the characters we become accustomed to seeing them as.<br /><br />But yeah, not a fan of most reality TV shows. The skill/contest based ones don't bother me as much because then it's not just mindless meltdowns and following people around while they go about their daily lives.Krispyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09492607213249874138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-69307083433827964002010-08-25T13:30:24.098-04:002010-08-25T13:30:24.098-04:00I'm so with you! These shows are so contrived-...I'm so with you! These shows are so contrived--a theme which Collins plays with as Katniss' public persona departs farther and farther from her real one. She has to pretend she's engaged and that she likes a deplorable country president, all to stay alive and keep the fans happy.JoLynne Lyonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029955836072785693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-44850826494582507852010-08-25T13:07:28.646-04:002010-08-25T13:07:28.646-04:00One reviewer called Hunger Games Gladiator meets P...One reviewer called Hunger Games Gladiator meets Project Runway. Collins was/is a writer for kids shows (Clarissa, Shelby Woo, etc.) I read she based some the Capitol characters on people she worked with in TV. <br /><br />The fact that the Games are televised plays heavily into how they're run. Ditto for train-wreck tv like Real Housewives or the Hills. The producers manipulate events and match up personalities (and edit) all in the name of "good TV." You know that couple that crashed a function at the White House? They're on the Real Housewives of DC.Angie Smiberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12192071262364730432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-82767876034715017912010-08-25T10:31:44.966-04:002010-08-25T10:31:44.966-04:00Project Runway and Top Chef are two of my favorite...Project Runway and Top Chef are two of my favorite shows. There are ones I'm less proud of watching, but I'm happy to know I haven't stooped so low as to watch some of the more vile ones.<br /><br />I thought a lot about reality TV when I read The Hunger Games. I also thought about the fights to the death in Rome. And public viewings of hangings in the US. People are drawn to such horrible public displays of violence and degradation.Theresa Milsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477761307315565259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-91280780579931170082010-08-25T09:13:53.736-04:002010-08-25T09:13:53.736-04:00Reality TV (most of it) is like a horrible train w...Reality TV (most of it) is like a horrible train wreck. I never choose to watch it, but when it happens to be on (usually my GF's pick) I cannot tear my gaze away. I hate it for that.<br /><br />I have not read the Suzanne Collins books (I know, I know), so I can't comment on them, but I certainly intend to read them soon, so don't yell at me!Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-37794756481865004282010-08-25T09:12:33.556-04:002010-08-25T09:12:33.556-04:00What I've found so fascinating about the serie...What I've found so fascinating about the series is the commentary on our own society and our obsession with violence as entertainment. Makes me wish I was still teaching about ancient Rome. The parallels are really amazing.Caroline Starr Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04597510685273079757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-3869209527357407762010-08-25T06:11:08.171-04:002010-08-25T06:11:08.171-04:00I do remember a few years ago that they had some s...I do remember a few years ago that they had some show on CBS about a bunch of kids having to take care of themselves in the wildness. It was a little bit scary to watch these sweet little kids have to fend for themselves. <br /><br />Also that new show, the Colony (which I haven't had the time to watch.) I feel like these are getting close to the Hunger Games. <br /><br />I guess the biggest question is would any one watch something like the Hunger Games because if it was a reality TV show, people might tune in like they do for things like Jersey Shore and ugh, Teen Mom (really hate this show)... which is kind of scary...Najelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03529650047480022627noreply@blogger.com