Let the fan-damonium begin Niles West: “The Hunger Games” are out.
At midnight, movie screens across the America were full of the images of Mockingjay pins, Josh Hutcherson, Miley Cyrus’ boyfriend, a bow and arrow and a “girl on fire.” If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, then you must live under a rock. If not, that’s okay; you could always crash a freshman English class? Teachers here at West and in other schools have began teaching the best-selling book trilogy by Suzanne Collins in classrooms.
“The Hunger Games” is a story of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen living in a post-apocalyptic North America under the new government of Panem, ruled by the sadistic Capitol. Our once shining 50 states have turned into 12 Districts and once a year, each district must send a boy and a girl between the ages of 12-18 into an arena to fight to the death.
The three books, “Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire,” and “Mockingjay,” follow Katniss’ battle to stay alive. The first installment of the movie franchise has been released today by Lionsgate to “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” sized ticket sales. I’m sure everyone has seen one of the commercials on T.V; they have been bombarding the airwaves with the stars, including Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence (“X-Men First Class” and “Winter’s Bone”), Liam Hemsworth (“The Last Song”), and Josh Hutcherson (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”, “The Kids Are All Right”, “R.V”).
The books have had a huge following for years and many West English teachers have had their eyes on them for a while. Kristen Jackson has taught the book in her curriculum for two years now, with fantastic reviews from students.
“We originally were just going to read it at the end of the year, with not big project or essay. Just for fun, in the spring. But the kids loved it so much, they were begging to do a project. They wanted to do creative things like movie posters and things like that,” Jackson said.
This year, with the hype of the movie at its peak, students are even more excited about reading a book in English.
Freshman Khari Hanks said, “I had read them before, but I loved reading them again in class. Once again, I couldn’t put them down.”
The book does exceed the normal freshman curriculum from books like “Romeo and Juliet” or “All Quiet on the Western Front.” But this newer sci-fi thriller is not just about a love triangle or the gore of killings. It is actually extraordinarily beneficial towards the curriculum built throughout the year in these classes.
“The books focus in on the arch of the hero’s journey, which is especially great with a strong female protagonist. A lot of the things we read that year are male orientated stories, so I liked that Katniss was a strong character,” Jackson said.
Now the English teachers do have a dilemma on their hands, with the books becoming a series for the big screen. Jackson said, “We may take a break for a few years and let the hype die down, but I’d definitely want to revisit the books later on.”
The students are all in for a field trip after break to watch the book come to life, but Hanks doesn’t mind. “I will definitely see it more than once. Maybe twice or three times!”
Those loyal to the books for years and those just visiting the world of Panem or District 12 for the first time are likely to be thrilled with the outcome, but to double check, make sure you check back to the NWN for a review and see the movie over spring break!
