The Hunger Games: A Parent's Review

Having had the pleasure of being among the midnight premiere crowd, I'm getting a lot of questions today from both Hunger Games enthusiasts and parents.  My first piece of advice....read The Hunger Games first.  It would be a shame to see the movie and think that's all there is to the hype.

Is this movie appropriate for your child?  I have no idea.  I wouldn't presume to know how conditioned to violence your home is by media.  I know it was certainly not appropriate for two children that appeared to be about five.  (At midnight!  Those parents deserve a punch!)  It isn't appropriate for my nine year old.  She's tender-hearted and literal.

I saw the movie with four 10-11 year old girls and two other adults.  None of us left the theater feeling like this movie overexposed our children to violence.  I witnessed no one leaving the theater as I had feared after reading Entertainment Weekly's review that describes a key scene as a "blood bath" and gave me visions of this scene from Braveheart.  That's a bloodbath.  The Hunger Games cornucopia scene was a sixty second shower from a leaking faucet.  I do arrive at the same conclusion as EW.  Know your child.

That aside...I rate the movie a B.

The big shortfall of movies to books is always character development and, in this case, you can't unread three books worth of personalities. All of the characters fell a bit flat, particularly Haymitch.  When I heard Woody Harrelson would play the role, I immediately thought of Harrelson's performance in The People V. Larry Flynt. The drunk mentor character was very watered down for the screen, probably because the film struggles to keep kid-on-kid violence at PG13.  "Larry Flynnt drunk", which Haymitch absolutely is in the books, wouldn't have contributed to PG13.  Fans will also want to see much more of Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) in the sequels.

There were changes to plot, such as the origination of Katniss's mockingjay pin, that alter a vital message in the series.  The book so well develops an almost primitive life in District 12 that it reads as much historical fiction as sci-fi.  High-tech control rooms and futuristic styling trump District 12 in the movie and establish a definitive sci-fi tone.

Still, the movie is based on such a great story and I had the character connection to make it more complete. The theater was 85% 10-16 year old kids and there wasn't a giggle, a word, a make out session. The screen held constant attention.  The wardrobe and sets, even food styling, are exquisite. 

Two themes emerged that were not as evident in the book.  First, the movie draws strong parallels to the reality television we eagerly consume.  While Survivor contestants don't die, we do find entertainment in their suffering.  The Dance Moms (no parallel in the movie, just my own inspired train of thought) do emotionally torture one another, often with obvious manipulation from show production.  The concept of a televised battle to death of children is inconceivable, but we are on the spectrum.  How far is too far?

(Spoiler alert...but you've already read the book, right?)  Peeta and Katniss display a willingness to commit suicide to prove a point.  Seeing the two kids, whose names were imprinted on the backs of t-shirts and whose signature braid crowned the head of so many preteen girls, agree to end the games on their terms unsettled me deeply.  I already knew it was going to happen.  I'm not sure how I missed it before, but add "suicide" to the list of important conversations the Hunger Games might inspire.


A huge pat on the back goes out to Rave Motion pictures in Jones Valley for an extremely well-managed premiere event.  I bet there isn't a theater employee in America who didn't seriously consider quitting their job by 11:45 last night.  Think Christmas Eve in retail, but all the customers are 13 years old and have already consumed the candy from their stockings.

Lucky for me, I got to just watch.

A Parent's Guide to the Hunger Games: READ THE BOOK FIRST

Before you head to see the movie, READ THE BOOK.  Just the first one, on which the current movie is based, is fine. Don't get your first taste of Hunger Games from the movie.

The real magic of the Hunger Games series is that the books, intended as "teen fiction", read on another level for adults.  My preteen read an action packed, futuristic, dark series about a game and an uprising, with robust characters with whom she could identify because they are roughly her age. 

With adult life experience, much of the first book read like history.  Similar to feudal times, no hunting is allowed because the "Capital" owns the game.  Yet, families are starving- supplied just enough to keep them alive to serve the need they meet for the Capital.  District 12, where the heroine Katniss lives, is suggestive of a work camp. At the conclusion of the series, I was left with the conclusion that in any organized society, there is no such thing as absolute freedom. 

Recommendations of the young adult novel are coming from a growing number of adult men and there is certainly enough violence to appeal to the testosterone crowd.  Yet, I still green lighted the first book for my preteen because the violence has a very clear purpose.  Survival.  Later in the series, that premise fails and violence becomes about power....more deep stuff and one of many themes that support my encouragement that parents read the books before deciding if they are appropriate for your child.  Then discuss, discuss, discuss.  Other conversation starters include suicide and alcohol/drug addiction.

Bottom line....not just great reads, great literature.  Think Lord of the Flies, not Twilight.

Rosado's Recaps-Dancing With The Stars - The Culture of Pop

Rosado's Recaps-Dancing With The Stars - The Culture of Pop

Thanks to my friend, Jeff Rosado, for allowing me the opportunity to talk Dancing with the Stars once again. What fun we had last night!

Who is your favorite to win the mirror ball? Listen here to find out why I think Team Kanenball is untouchable!

On the death of the world's most famous terrorist

Let me start by saying that I do not question the thousands celebrating in the streets, particularly in DC and at Ground Zero. Under OBL's leadership, thousands lost loved ones and millions lost a piece of their sense of security. As I've often said about parents who lose a child...who am I to question ANY type of reaction? Who's to say what type reaction is appropriate? Certainly not me.

I do not mourn his death.

Yet, something about the collective reaction on social media sites and among my peers makes me a bit uneasy. Unless jihadists around the world start turning in their suicide vests, the threat from Al Qeada isn't one iota less than it was with OBL alive. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of young people have been indoctrinated. Their fate is in motion. Elimination of the figurehead doesn't stop that train.

If the sole objective of the war on terror was bin Laden, a handful of special forces units in Afghanistan would have sufficed. Hundreds of American soldiers could have been spared. Large scale troop presence in the region only forced Al Qaeda to be more discreet, to go further underground. Tonight, victory is ours on one (symbolically enormous!) objective. I like to think it is that victory we celebrate, not death, because even if the man deserved to die...vengeance is a slippery slope.

Bin Laden's death didn't bring anyone back. It didn't end war in Afghanistan, terrorism or anti-American sentiment. Celebrate justice for so many lost lives. Celebrate the tenacity of the US military and the patience of a heartbroken American people, but don't elevate the life or death of this evil man to occasion for celebration. He doesn't deserve it.

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UPDATE: Waterproof mats from plastic shopping bags: lessons learned.

Special thanks to T.W. Starr and WAAY31 for featuring Denise's work and commitment on a WAAY31 First News "Did You Know?"



After Denise taught me how to make crcochet mats from plastic shopping bags, I got right to work on my own mat.  Note that I am *NOT* a crafty person.  This is super easy and a great past-time for people like me who have a hard time "unwinding".

The majority of my first mat was completed during Spring Break, using bags we collected as we traveled.  The car is a great place to crochet!  When I returned home and showed Denise, I learned that I was stitching much too tightly and have since loosened the stitches...and saved the nerve endings in my fingers.

I got excited and tried any kind of plastic bag I could get my hands on.....Justice, Bloom Dancewear, Ulta.  These large, thick bags are great...but adjust strip width to about .25".  Cut single strips and tie together, instead of looping the plastic rings to make 2-ply yarn.  

My original three foot wide mat has gradually drawn up and the width is currently down to just over 2".  I've also gotten pretty attached to my first piece of handiwork.  I plan to stop this mat soon and keep for my own and use it as a gardening mat.  With my initial lessons learned, I can't wait to get started on a full sized bed roll!

I will be assisting Denise this Friday at the Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary GREEN FLING this Friday.  Send us your plastic bags!

But what do we really DO?

Many of us save our recyclables or have changed our habits to be more "green".  We also say prayers for people in need, donate when the occasion comes up.  But at the end of the day, how much labor can we really say we've put into saving the environment or to helping other people?  If you're like me, not much.  There always seems to be a time, money, or priority conflict that prevents me from the grand acts of selflessness that I know in my heart we should all contribute to our world each day.

Denise Miles is not like me.  Denise not only has a heart for other people and the Earth we live on, but she also has a "DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" attitude.  She's focused in her career, her relationships with the people around her, and her conviction that, being blessed beyond measure, she is socially responsible to DO whatever she can to make others' lives better.

I was humbled when Denise started telling me about the process she goes through to turn shopping bags into sleep mats.  She reminds neighbors not to throw away their plastic shopping bags, but to give them to her instead and keep them out of a land fill.  Her goal is to create one bedroll a month in 2011 and she works almost daily to reach that goal.  For someone sleeping in the street, her dedication means a dry, padded, and light-weight bed.

Denise broke the process down, step-by-step, for me and I was thrilled to find it was actually something *I* can DO!  Size L crochet needle $1.38.  Plastic bags found in homes we've visited as we road trip, I've started my first mat.

Think you might like to try it?
Watch below as Denise demonstrates how to make bed rolls from waste plastic bags.


Thanks to Pearson Homes for allowing us to shoot this project in the kitchen of their model home in Hampton Station.


The same technique can be used to create mats for other purposes, such as seating mats for kids' classes or as a water-proof layer for any camper or picnic goer.  Mats are practically weightless and easily cleaned.

Denise will be demonstrating the bag making project at Goldsmith-Schiffman's upcoming "Green Fling" and training the children to assist in the process by saving, cutting and tying the bags.  Many thanks to Denise for being an inspiration and for sharing this great idea!

Do you already have a favorite "give back" project.  What do you DO?  Comment below or post a link.