HUNGER GAMES

The movie is in town this week and to be honest with you, I’m totally excited—can’t wait for Friday, probably Saturday, to come. Ted is going to see it whether he likes it or not. He’s the one who is the political complainer in our house. He has not read the books as I have, nor had a sixteen-year-old granddaughter question his understanding of ‘dystopian’ stories. I had to check the dictionary for that word, a word opening my mind to the possibility that Suzanne Collins has a serious message for all of us in her saga of violence and sacrifice. She deals with societies’ development of classes, the rich verses the poor, and the danger of our tendencies to be always on the move.

I think Maria Montessori might relate the Hunger Games trilogy to a stage of humanity’s history of the survival of the fittest, a period in time when mankind’s brain was evolving to a realization of what is essential in life. The author’s protagonist, Katmis, honors the love of family above the usual romantic desires of love. The story reminds us of the necessity to hold on to our traditions in spite of our rapidly changing cultures and diversity of natures.

Maria writes of the six stages of man’s developing brain and our struggle to survive in a world of diverse intelligence and cultures. As Homo Concors, she says, we are striving to share our knowledge with the whole world; as Homo Politicus, we argue, discuss, and vote to hold onto ways that make us feel secure. It doesn’t happen overnight.

I think the movie, Hunger Games, is going to shake-up many adults. I hope it’s felt deeply by young and old and stirs their minds to appreciate that we live in a country where we can discuss, argue, discern, and vote for our political choices. Let us be thankful.

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