Last night I stayed up late to finish the second volume in the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. I kept thinking, "This is an allegory, a parallel for our world." The Hunger Games is about a world where an all-powerful Capitol leaves the districts around in in poverty and hunger, and, to assert its superiority over the districts, forces them to annually pay tribute, in the form of two residents, who must come to the Capitol and fight for their lives, until only one victor is left.
I read the first volume and thought, "Interesting, but brutal science fiction story with a young adult protagonist. OK." As I finished Catching Fire, I started thinking that this is closer to our world than we might like. Not that we have brutal government, but that our world inspires brutality between its inhabitants. Wars, both declared and undeclared. Zealots or misguided indivials bombing and gunning others down. Efforts made for fellowship and cooperation crashed by a perceived need to survive.
Then I woke up this morning to the news of a lone gunner shooting down people in an Arvada, Colorado, theater at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. I haven't seen the movie, but based on others, I'd say a movie with its own share of violence. (But then again, this isn't the issue-- or is it?) Is this not science fiction itself-- a crazed madman demolishing helpless others? But then, again, we have police shootings, soldier killing civilians, human beings being held in bondage and sold. Science fiction? A world going wild?
I'm speaking in extremes, but wondering. Man's inhumanity to living creatures, including himself, is existent. The scenario in The Hunger Games may not be reality, but perhaps it is based on what is, to its extreme.
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