I'll admit it--I bought a midnight ticket to see "The Hunger Games" tonight. I took my fandom a step further than those of you going to see it here in Auburn. My sister and I bought tickets in Columbus, which means we get to see the movie a whole hour earlier. Yes, we are really that excited.
Since I've been able to stay up past midnight, I've also seen all the Harry Potter movies at midnight and (I'm reluctant to admit) most of the Twilight movies as well. Entire theaters sell out to cater to rabid fans like me. People dress up in costume; they camp out to get the best seats.
While I consider myself one of the biggest Hunger Games fans and possibly the biggest Potter fan, I can't help but wonder what it is about these series that reel in so many readers and viewers.
Let's just throw Twilight out of the discussion--frankly it's nothing more than a poorly written story about why you should lie to your parents, never talk to your mother again, become the undead and drink blood, all for your boyfriend.
But Harry's story is one of life and death, virtue triumphing over evil. Katniss is a strong-willed, 17-year-old who does unspeakable things to protect the people she loves.
Are these the things that reel readers in? Are we attracted to flawed but virtuous characters? Personally, I doubt it. If that was the factor that reels in a huge audience, how is Twilight so popular?
I think what makes these stories so appealing is the idea of the unreal. Vampires, wizards and witches, and technology so far in the future it can do things we only dream of now--these are things we'll never have and can only find in literature.
I appreciate the stories like J.K. Rowling's and Suzanne Collins' that include lessons.
I've already been over the valuable lesson that can be learned in Twilight.
In contrast, Harry teaches us to trust our friends, never be afraid of death and be brave enough to protect the people we love.
Collins makes no mistake of hiding the dangerous direction she thinks today's society is headed toward. She paints a picture of the ridiculous-looking people in the capital, but how different is that from the plastic surgery done today? Will that be normal one day?
She said in the last book, "Mockingjay": "We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction."
People respect stories that challenge what is normal. That's why we are attracted to vampires and magic and our futuristic dying world.
We want to escape to a world that doesn't exist, and the movies are the epitome of that escape. We don't have to imagine that world, we can see it.
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