UIU Library discussion

"It's hard to choose one element that inspired The Hunger Games," says Suzanne Collins. "Probably the first seeds were planted when, as an eight-year-old with a mythology obsession, I read the story of Theseus. The myth told how in punishment for past deeds, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete where they were thrown in the Labyrinth and devoured by the monstrous Minotaur. Even as a third grader, I could appreciate the ruthlessness of this message. 'Mess with us and we'll do something worse than kill you. We'll kill your children.'

"Other early influences would have to include watching too many gladiator movies, which dramatized the Romans' flair for turning executions into popular entertainment; my military specialist dad who took us to battlefields for family vacations; and touring with a sword fighting company in high school. But it wasn't until the much more recent experience of channel surfing between reality TV programming and actual war coverage that the story for this series came to me".

Suzanne's answer to that question makes sense to me. It is easy to disparage modern culture by saying that televisiion shows like, "cops," "Jerry Springer," and all the other reality shows are proof that our society is degenerating. She points out however that, "misery has always enjoyed company."

Thank you for your great comment Christie! I always wonder when people say that things are getting worse -- are they really, or are we just more aware of things because of advances in communication? Have we become more civilized so when violence does happen it seems worse because it's outside the norm? I think of the early days of our country when it was commonplace to carry a gun, to solve quarrels by duels, to enslave or forcibly remove entire groups of people. Now one death can throw the country in an uproar because so many of us are aware of it, sometimes within minutes. How do others feel about this?

When you put it like that, the opinion people have that things are "getting worse" is sort of ridiculous. Over the last 500 years violence has gone down....kings, queens, other notable figures are no longer beheaded or burned at the stake, no forced slavery, etc. I think you're right - we are totally connected via the internet and the 24 hour media which HAS to find something to talk about.

Deb wrote: "When you put it like that, the opinion people have that things are "getting worse" is sort of ridiculous. Over the last 500 years violence has gone down....kings, queens, other notable figures are..."

Those are very good points. I've argued with people who think the internet is evil because of the immoral things that a few people use it for. I point out the educational and communication value that it has.