Occasionally Hollywood offers a movie that, while presenting no Christian themes, still leaves us with enough truth that it forces us to think and hopefully bring our Christian worldview to bear in our lives and for the greater good of society. The latest blockbuster to hit the big screen, “The Hunger Games,” may give Christians – and especially parents (Deut. 6:4-9 comes to mind) – the opportunity to discuss the implications of some profound issues raised by the movie.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ young adult novel of the same title, The Hunger Games is set in post-apocalyptic America where the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the annual Hunger Games. A grim punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
“The Hunger Games” produces many topics for conversation. The idea of giving to someone who does not have the means to repay, the importance of trust – especially in God, the illness of depression and what to do about it, what the Bible says about fear and how young people should view the future are examples. But there is one, overarching idea advanced by the film: That of government watching our every move, controlling our lives to the extent where it orders its citizens to kill other innocent humans just to stay alive.
“The Hunger Games” is a thoroughly dystopian film. Indeed it is anti-utopian, much like the film “1984,” based on George Orwell’s 1948 classic novel. Written while he was dying, the liberal Orwell wrote his chilling depiction of how the power of the government could control the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning. It grimly shows how Winston Smith’s (the main character) individual personality is destroyed and recreated in the government’s image. “Big Brother’s” influence on his life is such that he moves from simply obeying to falling in love with a God-less government.
Christians would do well to wrestle with the profound idea of government control both films raise. It is as if freedom-loving Americans didn’t “get it“ when “1984“ was released. Now comes “The Hunger Games” at a time when an increasing number of Americans are dependent on some sort of government benefit (health care, food stamps, seemingly infinite unemployment compensation, student loans, welfare and the cost of managing it all with a bloated bureaucracy). The implications of ObamaCare, pat-downs at airports, cameras everywhere, efforts to restrict Second Amendment rights, forthcoming HD televisions with mini-cameras on them to watch our every move, satellite imagery of our homes, lack of privacy protections on the Internet should make us wonder if the evils portrayed in “The Hunger Games” and “1984” are closer to reality than we realize.
Government derives its authority from God, as Paul explains in Romans 13:1. But because sin has entered the world through Adam and Eve, everything is stained and in need of redeeming. Government is no different. Many tyrants in world history have established themselves, or their governments, over everything – including God. Adolf Hitler was profoundly influenced by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It was Nietzsche who declared: “God is dead.”
We already see the dehumanizing effects a government can have on people. “The Hunger Games” harkens us back to the gladiators of ancient Rome and to when the German Supreme Court deemed Jews as “non-humans.“ As result, under German law the Nazis were able to justify the execution of six million Jews. This is the way the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on abortion: The unborn – simply a fetus – is a non-human, thus eligible for execution.
Films like “The Hunger Games” and “1984” ought to serve as warnings. Both depict imaginary nations that have rejected the true God and accepted government as its false god. Some critics believe “1984” is the most powerful science fiction novel of the 20th century. It remains to be seen whether “The Hunger Games” will be viewed in like manner. But the profound issues raised by both are ones Christians best take seriously. (“The Hunger Games” is rated PG-13 for violence and is not appropriate for younger children.)