Hunger Games… Too Much Like Reality?

Hunger Games has become a worldwide hit. The books, the movie, the soundtrack, it has all become an international sensation. Being the major movie fan that I am, it always excites me to try to figure out what it is that makes a movie such a success. Is it the actors? The directing? The wardrobe? The storyline? The character development? The special effects? For the Hunger Games, it is a combination of them all. But what really makes it a hit, I believe, is how much it actually resembles reality. The movie is completely fictional and is a horrifying tale of what happens to a society when their government needs to prove their power over the people. The Capital in the story, takes one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 from each of the 12 districts. The 24 tributes, as they're called, are forced to fight to the death on reality television for all of the districts and the Capital to watch. Obviously, we do not force minors into fighting to the death on reality television here in America, but we do have our own guilty pleasures that seem to relate far too close for comfort to the storyline of the movie. The parallels between Hunger Games and our reality, here in America, are countless. We, as a nation, are obsessed with reality television. We turn to desperate people fighting to win some sort of contest for a significant monetary prize. We turn to the citizens who are craving their 15 minutes of fame and are tricked into making complete mockeries of themselves in order to do so. They are willing to sacrifice their reputations and make complete fools of themselves for the opportunities of winning these competitions. In shows such as Survivor or Fear Factor, we watch people push themselves far beyond what the average citizen would be willing to do. They put themselves in physical, emotional, and psychological danger for our own entertainment. The game makers in the story throw in extra obstacles for the kids competing to keep the people entertained, just as they do on reality tv. The game makers create dramatic story lines or romances for their teenagers, just as the paparazzi do for celebrities and those who have achieved their 15 minutes of fame.  The people watching the competition in Hunger Games see it as entertainment, and are rooting for a certain girl and boy, usually which ever are from the district they live in, just as people in our society do when they watch sports teams compete or watch the Olympics. When our team wins, we cheer. When our team loses, we fret for a while, but move on and wait until the next season to see if they do any better, exactly as they do in Hunger Games. The point of the story, is that we watch people suffer or make fools of themselves for our own entertainment, and watch as they fight until only one is left standing. They may not be fighting to the death, but they are fighting until everyone's chances of winning and everyone's reputations are destroyed, with the exception of one. The Hunger Games are an extreme case of this, but are undeniably similar to our own nation and how we entertain our own people.

Gun Control In America

I have to admit that I waver back and forth on this subject, no matter how much I think about it. The trouble is, I see both the positive and negative sides to Americans owning their own, private guns. It is written in the American Constitution that all citizens have the right to bare arms. But does that mean that ever single man or woman with citizenship to this nation can be trusted with this deadly weapon? Does that mean it is a simple matter of paying a few bucks and signing a document claiming you are not a psychopath and that you are not a criminal. Should it really be this simple to get your hands on a gun? And that's only the legal way of doing things. If someone were to want to illegally obtain a gun, it would be even simpler. There are thousands of guns floating around on the street, being sold to teenagers or gang members. Hunters have no trouble buying guns. Once a person is of the age of 18, he or she has the right to a gun of his or her own. It is very simple. What is not so simple, is why this is necessary? Why do I need a gun? Why do my parents need guns? Why would my grandparents, who live in a sweet, little, sheltered community in Buffalo, New York need guns? Why do my theatre director or piano teacher need guns? We don't. We simply have no true need for them. The average American does not need a gun of his or her own. Those who could argue strong reasons for needing guns of their own, are those who need them for protection… but protection against who? Most likely, it's protection against those with guns of their own who pose a threat. But that begs the question, why do these threatening people have guns, which only require others to have guns of their own? If none of these citizens had guns in the first place, none of the others would need them as protection. That is why I am convinced it is only people of police authority or people working in security who need guns. Hunters could use guns of their own, but maybe they should only be allowed to rent, for hunting purposes and only for a few days at a time. This way, the guns would stay in responsible hands and would be tracked. Teenagers, gang members, and lunatics with bad tempers and short fuses would have no access to guns. The problem with this change that I propose, is that too many people who can not be trusted with guns, already have them in their possession. The government has already allowed them to have the right to guns. Is there any way that people can be forced to hand over their guns for public safety? Never. It would be unconstitutional. It would same millions of lives, there is no doubt about that, but it would be a violation of their rights. Therefore, it could never be a reality. The accessibility is too easy for any average Joe in society, and it seems that it may be too late for this to ever be reversed. Now it seems that the average Joe does need protection. We all need protection now. We need to know how to use guns to fight off attackers with their own guns. We are stuck in a revolving door of gun use now. And it seems too late to do anything. But then again, I'm an 18 year old senior in high school. I only know as much about gun control as I learn in school. There are plenty of people who should have the knowledge and authority to change the rules on gun control, to save these millions of lives that are being jeopardized by gun use in America. So I suggest that for once, they take a stand and make a change in the accessibility to these deadly weapons all across America.