What Disturbed Me Most About The Hunger Games

I saw the Hunger Games with my two oldest daughters (ages 13 and 11), and 3 of their 13-year-old friends.

ALL of whom had read all the Hunger Games books and “liked” every possible Hunger Games-related page on Facebook, and had named themselves – and their entire class – after Hunger Games characters. And, of course, they were wearing various Hunger Games paraphernalia, from t-shirts reading “District 12 Tribute” to gold eyeliner.

We saw the movie the day it opened, March 23, which also happened to be Hope's 13th birthday.  Nothing disturbing there, except that I actually have a 13-year-old. A teenager. I swear I'm not old enough to have a teenage daughter, but here is evidence to the contrary.

The basic story line of the Hunger Games is somewhat disturbing: 2 kids from each of 12 oppressed districts are forced by the tyrannical Capitol to compete in a fight-to-the-death competition, with only one winner at the end. Not exactly a light-hearted movie, but I was up for the challenge. I figured it had to have some redeeming points about it, or the kids wouldn't like it so much.

It turned out to be quite a gripping movie (when I wasn't closing my eyes to avoid spastic-camera-induced motion sickness.) So gripping, in fact, that I ordered the books online the very next day because I really wanted to know what happened next, and I just knew there had to be a rebellion looming. They couldn't just sit back and let the Capitol keep being so tyrannical, could they???

I read all 3 books in less than a week, while we were up north during spring break.  I'm usually a short story / anything Dave Barry kind of girl.  I normally do not read novels – the last novel I can remember reading was Where the Red Fern Grows when I was in 4^th grade, and I remember bawling my eyes out – but these completely captured my attention, so much in fact that I couldn't put them down!

So, even after I read the entire trilogy in less than a week, I went back and read little snippets of the books over and over again, to glean more details that I might have missed.

And then I looked on the web for discussions about the books.

I looked for information about the actors who played the characters in the Hunger Games.

I looked for any and all things Hunger Games.

I now have Hunger Games wallpaper on my laptop.

 

So, what is so disturbing, besides the fact that I'm totally obsessing over this movie? 

This:

I have a crush on Peeta.

And I “liked” Josh Hutcherson on Facebook.

That's just not right. I mean, I'm old enough to be his mother much older sister. To have a crush on a book character is one thing. But to be crushing on a character. . . in a movie. . . .who is played by an actor. . . .who is only 19 years old. That just ain't right.

Damn you, Hunger Games for making me such a fanatic!

Pretending to be Someone I'm Not

Mama Kat's Losin' It


I love Mama Kat's blog.  It promises hilarity every time!

Today, I'm choosing one of Mama Kat's writing prompts:  Write about a time when you pretended to be someone you weren't.

OK, this should be easy.

I pretend that I'm someone I'm not all the time.  I might be labeled delusional by the psychiatric community, but I don't care.  They can't catch me.

What I mean is, to make everyday life more exciting, I often pretend to be someone famous.  While I'm stumbling into the kitchen to make my coffee in the morning, I imagine the cameras are rolling and some deep-voiced male is narrating my every move:  what is it like to be Jen Yarrington?  She drinks ordinary coffee like everyone else, but there is something so "unordinary" about her.  She's humble, yet beautiful and successful.  Never mind the fact that I am 40-something, over 40-something pounds overweight, cut my own hair, had a pedicure in, let's see, December, I believe.  Oh, yeah, I'm not famous.  And it depends on what you mean by successful.  I've led quite the auspicious career as a school secretary for the last year and a half.

Sometimes when I'm driving, I will crank up the music and pretend I'm in a music video. And then I'll strut into the grocery store, imagining that another deep-voiced fellow is singing about how beautiful I am. And then I'll flip my hair provocatively while thumping melons.

I imagine that some day, Dave Barry himself will stumble across my blog and be so in awe by my writing that he immediately sets me up with a publisher and a publishing contract for the rest of  my life.

And then I get to be on the Dr. Phil show.  Maybe to discuss how I "used" to imagine that I was rich and famous, and now that I am and how does it feel?

Dang!

Yep, I'm workin' and it's consuming more of my time and brainpower than I thought. Hence, the several-week gap in blog posts once again. Well, that, and the new Sims 3 expansion pack that my husband bought for me. Gotta quit playin' that stupid game!

I really enjoy my job at the school, and it's a nice break from home (hee hee - it's a guilty pleasure). However, I am still unsure of the permanency of the job, since Mr. Principal won't make a final decision until August. Until then, I'm trying to figure out how to balance home, work, and blogging life! Actually, the kids have been doing a fabulous job keeping up with house chores - with the babysitter's help, no doubt - so that hasn't been too stressful. But I have been fielding a variety of questions about when I have to work again and how long and will I be doing this forever? It's a bit of a challenge when I don't have regular work hours yet, so the kids are feeling a bit apprehensive about the whole situation.

So, just another quick check-in. In the meantime, I've been reading up on my favorite funny guy, Dave Barry, just to inspire myself to get back into the blogging groove - he's the one who makes me laugh more than anyone else on the planet. And I, in turn, want to make others laugh. Sorry I haven't been doing that much lately though.