The Hunger Games in China.

I've been dying to see the Hunger Games. After scouring the Internet I have determined that the movie is supposed to play here in China, but no reference to when. Bummer. I enlisted my new Chinese friend Sky to help me try to figure out when it comes out here but no luck so far…

 

This, however, prompted the discussion, what is "The Hunger Games" about?

 

In case you've been living under a rock (or you are over 50), The Hunger Games is a trilogy of novels geared towards a teenage audience. The books are set in a post-apocalyptic USA, renamed Panem, consisting of 12 districts of people that are struggling to survive and a corrupt Capitol full of people living in abundance. Each year, two teenagers are chosen as tributes by a lottery system to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised event where the 24 tributes battle to the death for the entertainment of the Capitol. Only one person can survive.

 

The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers to fight in the games in place of her younger sister. Her male counterpart, fellow tribute from district 12, Peeta, happens to be in love with her. It's an interesting love story with strong themes of sacrifice and rebellion against oppressive governments. It's an easy read and moderately entertaining. I'd recommend the books.

 

I'm actually quite surprised that the Chinese government is going to allow a movie in which the main theme is "down with the Capitol." A book about a totalitarian regime in where the rich thrive in big cities while the masses in the outer regions are poverty stricken and oppressed kind of seems like a China no-no.

 

But while The Hunger Games is easy for me to explain to a fellow English speaker, it doesn't quite translate so well into simple English.

 

My explanation to Sky went something like this… Ummm… The Hunger Games are three books for teenagers. They take place in the USA, but it is very different from today. There was a bad war and everything was destroyed. In this new country every year teenagers have to fight and kill each other because the government is bad. It's kind of a love story. I liked the books very much. Yeah…

 

ANYWAYS… after that long and rambling explanation, the purpose of this blog – if you figure out if/when the Hunger Games is going to screen in China, please let me know.