Hunger Games

    We went to see the movie "Hunger Games". If you are hungry for child abuse perpetuated by the government, don't miss this movie.  If you are hungry for a movie with violence and blood, it's a must see.  I noticed as the sold-out crowds of people left the theater, that no one was smiling.  I wasn't the only one that felt a bit melancholy. Don't take me wrong, I read the series when they first came out, and it is very well written, meaning the author keep my attention from page to page.  Should a well written book be my criteria?

   The books made me think, and think hard...about where we've been and where we're going as a global society. Similar atrocities for sport, gambling and entertainment has happened in the past. A symbol to its violence still stands today: The Roman Coliseum where victims who were killed for fun while their fellow human beings watched on. 

     Good and evil are everywhere: the world is full of it.  I was reading the book of Abraham just yesterday and I was reminded that child abuse was prevalent thousands of years ago as they sacrificed young virgins to their many Idol worshiping Gods.  Or in the end of the Book of Mormon when the men were killed by their enemy, then fed their husband's bodies to their wives and children to eat while in bondage.

     Opposition has been with us since the beginning of time and has been recorded in the scriptures, as well as other documents. Evil is in the world we live in, I just don't need to see it in a movie. It's hard enough to keep life light and uplifting.

    It is definitely not for children.  I remember seeing the move "King Kong" as a 10 year old and being frightened to be alone anywhere in my house for over a week.  I still remember the emotions I felt from that movie over 50 years later.  But children killing children is just too much for me.  What is a movie like this doing to our young people?  What do they think?  Can it happen in real life? You bet it can.  Do we need to fill our minds with it? Definitely not. I know I felt dark inside after the movie and it will take some time to remove it from my mind.

The show depicts these points of control:

 • Control over food: Residents of the 12 districts are not allowed to eat more food than they are allotted 
    by the government. Being caught catching a squirrel for food results in severe punishment.

 • Control over land: The 12 districts are fenced off with high-voltage power lines, much like you might

    find in North Korea today.

 • Control over the media: The government controls all media, and every broadcast is a staged

    theatrical event, completely fabricated by the government to serve the interests of the government itself.

 • Control of DNA: Residents of the districts are identified through the taking of DNA blood samples.

 • Control over life itself: The government toys with human life and seems to be amused by 

    expressing   heartless power over the masses.

     In the film (and the book), the government is obsessed with total oppression of the people, denying them food and resources and carrying out mind games against them that sap their courage and convince them they have no personal power.

     I can't help comparing my night at the movies to the dinner party we had at our home the evening after.  It was as different as night and day.  At the the dinner party we laughed and enjoyed getting to know everyone better, it was fun and uplifting. 

     It's not just this movie, this movie made me wake up, and I must speak up against evil. Satan uses media to deceive me by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or exciting.  He tries to mislead me into thinking that breaking God's commandments is acceptable and has no negative consequences for me.  I know better than to view anything vulgar, immoral, violent or pornographic and I feel bad I didn't walk out of the theater.  Why? Because it drives away the spirit, and I need the spirit to direct me 24/7, as the Liahona directed Nephi's family.

The choices of media can influence  
thoughts and actions now and in the future.