Blog 8: It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses a Life

Hunger Games is one of those books that you're reading and thinking, "OK, we get it. Times are tough, dystopian literature, yada yada yada, in-depth description of everything, when is this gonna pick upHOLY CRAP INTENSE VIOLENCE AND GORE YESYESYES". I hated putting it down when I knew something good was about to happen. I expected a little bit more tiptoeing when it came to how children died, but much to my surprise, there was barely any censorship at all. I actually felt like it could have been real because there were no euphemisms or language that was clearly added to make the book more suitable for sensitive eyes. I really enjoyed this book and (time permitting) I'd like to read the other two. Not surprisingly, Katniss got most of my emotion and responses. I love a good underdog story, and that clearly played into this novel. The government-controlled living space is a pretty common theme in the material we've been reading, most notably 1984. The Lottery, though shorter, is not unlike Hunger Games in most of its themes (embrace of brutal tradition and awareness of senseless violence). Dystopian literature is the core of most of our reading material this semester, and Hunger Games is no different.

One of the core requirements of a Computer Science degree is making Tron references whenever applicable, so you can imagine my excitement in posting this:

Look familiar? Newbie underdog fights a stronger character to the death for apparently no reason, much to the amusement of a huge audience, all while the game maker watches. If Hunger Games had LightBikes and featured multiple versions of Jeff Bridges I wouldn't be able to tell the two apart. The dashing young blonde gentleman named Sam is Katniss, and Lizor is one of the many unfortunate teens who fell victim to the power of irony.