The Horror of The Hunger Games

I must confess, I did read The Hunger Games.  Not because I wanted to mind you, but because my 16 year old son is enthralled with it, as well as a teen cousin of his.  Or maybe entranced.  And that concerned me, especially since my son is not a big reader.

So, I sat down one night and read the whole book.  And I was shocked at what was in The Hunger Games.  I had thought it would be part fantasy, part science fiction, but I was wrong.  It is pure horror written for kids.  Stephen King for the young, if you must.  

The violence was shocking and horrible.  And so unfeeling.  That stunned me.  And where were the "good guys" ?  I couldn't find them.  The whole tone of the book was hopeless, disturbing and thought-provoking in a bad way.  And, in a way, almost hypnotic.  As my 19 year old daughter said, she hated the book, yet wanted to keep reading, and that fact bothered her as well as me.

The book is about the future where the government, in retaliation for an uprising, selects children from 12 and up through a lottery.  These chosen children are then placed together in a designated area where they are to eliminate all the other children in any way necessary.  The last child alive is the winner and their family is compensated with food and supplies.  And, by the way, this whole scenario is watched live by the nation on a reality TV show.

Why are we allowing our children to read The Hunger Games especially as Christian homeschooling parents?  There is no redemption, no love, no faith in these books at all.  They are the opposite of what we are trying to instill in our children.  

Isn't anyone else concerned about the way The Hunger Games has become an obsession with children and teens?  I beg you to read one of them so you at least know what your children are being exposed to.  It will be an eye-opening experience for you. 

Please let me know how you feel about this issue and leave a comment as I feel very alone in my thoughts on The Hunger Games.

Movies: To Be or Not to Be

Yesterday, I had a discussion with my 16 year old son about action/adventure movies he wants to see, either at the theater or on DVD like "The Hunger Games", "G.I. Joe, Rise of the Cobra", "Transformers" or "Contagion" for example.
So I looked to my favorite Christian review sites:  Common Sense Media and Plugged In to check and see if he might be able to view any of those movies.  I was shocked to see what was in these films in terms of language, sexual situations/innuendo and violence.  
Now, I try to not to be puritanical in deciding what is appropriate for him, but where does a Christian parent draw the line?  Five swear words?  Ten?  None?  And which words should I let pass?
How many sexual references do I allow?  How many violent acts?
Is there nothing for him (and for that matter, other Christian/homeschool families) between "Cinderella" and "Battle LA"?  Should we just give up and wait for a decent film to come out?
He (and our family) really enjoyed "National Treasure", "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and the "Narnia" films.  But that's all we've been able to watch that is appealing to him.
Are we the only family struggling with this?  Is it worse because we homeschool and so the harshness of life seems more harsh?  Trying to stick with Christian values, yet trying to find something entertaining to watch, is definitely a huge challenge.
I would love to hear from you with suggestions for movies for Christian families.  If I hear from enough readers, I will put together a movie list in a future post.
God bless you and thanks for reading my blog.