Hunger Games: Gender, Violence, and Of Course, Merchandise

After months of waiting, fans of The Hunger Games will be descending in droves on theaters this weekend, eager to take in the big screen adaptation of the best-selling young adult novel of the same name.
If you’re one of the uninitiated, the story goes like this: in a dystopian future, North America has been broken up into 12 oppressed districts and one glossy, privileged capitol. Each year, a boy and a girl from each district is selected by lottery. All 24 children are put into an arena the size of a city, where they must fight to the death. The whole thing is broadcast as a month-long reality show in all the districts.
But the movie is about more than science fiction and entertainment. Gender, violence, and, of course, merchandising, are at the forefront of the film adaptation. Our Movie Date team is here to discuss the Hunger Games. In addition to hosting the Movie Date podcast, Rafer Guzman is film critic for Newsday and Kristen Meinzer is producer for The Takeaway.