英語每周一文，The Hunger Games對青少年的啟發有哪些？論述性文章要有梗才是王道。
What The Hunger Games Can Teach Tweens
Yes, it's violent — but The Hunger Games series can lead to discussions about a number of important issues
By Eliana Dockterman
The films — both are rated PG-13 — are based on a young-adult fiction 青少年小說series by Suzanne Collins in which a totalitarian regime極權主義的統治 holds games every year in which children are forced to被強迫 murder one another. Some have argued that no amount of good filmmaking or positive messaging should justify taking an under-13-year-old to films with such a violent premise無論影片拍得多好，所傳遞的訊息有多麼正面，這部給青少女看的影片，也不該以如此的暴力方式呈現. Others say that the link between violence in films and real violent behavior is shaky站不住腳, at best可能, and the films are actually far less violent than the books themselves.
The films — both are rated PG-13 — are based on a young-adult fiction 青少年小說series by Suzanne Collins in which a totalitarian regime極權主義的統治 holds games every year in which children are forced to被強迫 murder one another. Some have argued that no amount of good filmmaking or positive messaging should justify taking an under-13-year-old to films with such a violent premise無論影片拍得多好，所傳遞的訊息有多麼正面，這部給青少女看的影片，也不該以如此的暴力方式呈現. Others say that the link between violence in films and real violent behavior is shaky站不住腳, at best可能, and the films are actually far less violent than the books themselves.
I’m not
a parent (nor do I plan to be
anytime soon), so I can’t speak to whether I would take my own 8-year-old to
see The Hunger Games. I can, however, say
with some confidence that很有自信地說 both the book and film series hold valuable lessons for youngsters — ones that, rather
than coming from parents, are perhaps much more digestible coming from a hyperpopular暴夯 pop-culture流行文化 franchise特權 represented by Jennifer Lawrence.
Here are four lessons tween10-13歲的女孩s
can take away
from從…獲得 The
Hunger Games: Catching Fire:
1. Women can be strong in a non-stereotypical
way以嶄新的角度呈現女性強者風範
Women in popular culture tend to傾向於 fall into familiar categories落入熟悉的類別. One is the damsel in distress陷入危險、需要被營救的公主. She has a pretty face, is relatively useless when the hero gets into a fight and is a prize to be won是男主角要贏得的獎品 at the end of the tale (think: most Disney princesses).
Then, even the “strong” female
characters are easily stereotyped. When they’re young, they’re tomboys 男子氣who just won’t wear dresses,
get into all sorts of trouble and usually are orphaned or without a mother: Lyra in The
Golden Compass, Becky “Icebox” in Little Giants, Scout in To Kill
a Mockingbird and Arya in Game of Thrones. When
these strong women grow up, they often become the fierce mother protecting
their child … or some random kid who is in danger: Ripley in the Alien movies,
Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies
But Katniss Everdeen — The Hunger Games’ heroine — is something
entirely new. She doesn’t need to be saved. Give her a bow and arrow, and she
can take care of herself. In fact, she tends to come
to the rescue of拯救 men男人, not the other way around.而不是被男人所拯救 She also seems totally ambivalent情緒矛盾的 in reciprocating the amorous advances of her suitors.對於追求者的愛意，並沒有給予明確的回饋或表示 She has more important things to
worry about: like surviving the game and keeping her family alive. In doing so,
she embodies both male and female
ideals同時擁有男性與女性的理想特質. She’s one of the most complex female characters心緒複雜的女性角色 we’ve seen in pop culture in a
long time. And that’s a good thing.
2.Boys
can look up to a woman as a role model
女人也可以成為男人崇仰的典範
For whatever reason, a girl looking up to male heroes like Harry Potter or Iron Man is considered perfectly normal, but female role models for young boys are scarce. But Katniss embodies both male and female qualities. She’s a hunter-defender that takes on the role of patriarch一家之主 of her family after her father dies. But she also exudes femininity散發者一股女性魅力 and uses her sex appeal善用自身魅力 and guile心機與盤算 to win her fans for the games. She nurtures培育, and she kills.
For whatever reason, a girl looking up to male heroes like Harry Potter or Iron Man is considered perfectly normal, but female role models for young boys are scarce. But Katniss embodies both male and female qualities. She’s a hunter-defender that takes on the role of patriarch一家之主 of her family after her father dies. But she also exudes femininity散發者一股女性魅力 and uses her sex appeal善用自身魅力 and guile心機與盤算 to win her fans for the games. She nurtures培育, and she kills.
Male and female tributes貢品 are set on equal footing地位平等 at the
beginning of the Hunger Games. There’s a male and female tribute from each
district, and never does Collins imply that the females are at some
disadvantage in the brutal arena殘酷的競技場 simply because they have uteruses子宮. So boys can relate to認同/欣賞 Katniss just as well (if not
better) than they can relate to Peeta. In fact, if they want to idolize如偶像一般地崇拜 the strongest character,
they’ll choose Katniss
over any man
in the series.
3.War
— even when necessary — has real and dire consequences 戰爭，即便無可避免，也一定會造成真實且悲慘的結果
Far from根本離得很遠 glorifying violence, The Hunger Games shows the consequences of brutality. In the Hunger Games themselves, the “bad guys” are clearly the tributes who train to kill and enjoy violence. The “good guys” are the ones who kill only to survive. Outside the arena, the true “bad guys” are the government officials who created the violent Hunger Games. Even when killing becomes necessary in order to overthrow推翻 this totalitarian government and restore democracy to Panem, the violence has dire consequences.
4. Politics, race and class divide us
政治、種族與階級使人類對立分裂
Collins’ futuristic dystopia未來世界中的反烏托邦 taps into探討了 some very real racial and political realities現實面 all too familiar再熟悉不過 in this day and age. The government spies on its people. It uses a reality-television show on steroids變相加碼 — the Hunger Games — as progovernment propaganda以宣揚政府政令為主的媒體 and a scare tactic讓人民心生恐懼的操作策略. The divide分水嶺 between the lavish trappings of the Capitol奢華至極的首都城 and the poverty of more distant districts results in a clash衝突 between socioeconomic backgrounds社會經濟背景 — the haves and the have-nots有錢人與窮人 — and, inevitably, race has a place in upheaval動亂. Rue and Thresh, both described as dark-skinned in the book, come from District 11, which we see is populated with many (if not mostly) black workers. And they are the ones to start the rebellion when Katniss covers Rue’s body in flowers in an act of love and (perhaps unintentional) defiance. The other poorer districts are the first to join District 11 in the uprising.
Collins’ futuristic dystopia未來世界中的反烏托邦 taps into探討了 some very real racial and political realities現實面 all too familiar再熟悉不過 in this day and age. The government spies on its people. It uses a reality-television show on steroids變相加碼 — the Hunger Games — as progovernment propaganda以宣揚政府政令為主的媒體 and a scare tactic讓人民心生恐懼的操作策略. The divide分水嶺 between the lavish trappings of the Capitol奢華至極的首都城 and the poverty of more distant districts results in a clash衝突 between socioeconomic backgrounds社會經濟背景 — the haves and the have-nots有錢人與窮人 — and, inevitably, race has a place in upheaval動亂. Rue and Thresh, both described as dark-skinned in the book, come from District 11, which we see is populated with many (if not mostly) black workers. And they are the ones to start the rebellion when Katniss covers Rue’s body in flowers in an act of love and (perhaps unintentional) defiance. The other poorer districts are the first to join District 11 in the uprising.
Today’s
moviegoing tweens have grown up in the age of reality TV實境電視. They’ve also spent the past
few years witnessing (but not necessarily understanding) reports about Occupy Wall Street占領華爾街, upheavals and civil wars in the
Middle East中東的內戰 and controversies about the National Security Agency and surveillance of citizens國安局監視民眾妨礙隱私. Just as Collins suggested,
war is a tough subject to broach討論, so are
questions of race, class, totalitarianism, spying and civil war. Why not let
the movie lead to a conversation about these important issues?
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