“And may the odds be ever in your favor.” ~ The Hunger Games

Yesterday I went to see The Hunger Games movie with JB and CBW… This has been a much anticipated event for each of us for the past few weeks.  I loved this series of books!  The movie of course will never live up to the book, but it is always fun to see someone bring a novel to life and to see their interpretation of the book.  The fun thing was that many of the characters were cast well and some of the characters appeared on film exactly the way that I had envisioned them while reading!

However, on to the real purpose of this post: as I read the book and even more so as I sat in the theater, I realized how many undertones of society are reflected in this storyline.  My perspective on this might be stronger than what other people would have due to my farm upbringing and I’ll explain why – but first some background: the storyline of The Hunger Games brings us to a world where the capitol of the country and the people that live in the capitol enjoying many of the “finer” things in life, the people of the surrounding districts (cities) are often neglected, especially in those regions that are located the furthest away from the capitol (minerals, coal and agriculture).  Ironically, those regions that live in squalor are the same regions that allow the capitol to live and operate in the way that they do.

The same thing occurs in our own society, the people that live in major metropolitan areas (NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, LA, etc) can only live their lives as they do, and can spend money frivolously on luxury items because they do not have to worry about where their food, shelter, heat, or clothing comes from – nor do they truly understand how these things are made and delivered to their doorstep.  Similar to the movie, I find that a lot of people do not respect farmers (or miners, or other similar industry workers) and they actually often will make fun of the lifestyle.  How many times do we see a joke about “rednecks”, “hicks” or other stereotypes in our society?  How many people that live in cities believe they are smarter or more skilled than these people that provide the basic human needs to them?  People living in cities may possess different skills than the farmer, but I challenge you that these skills do not make one individual superior to another.  I would have to believe that if the Hunger Games (or more perhaps a more realistic survival event) ever struck our world today, those hard workers that much of society tends to look down upon would be the survivors at the end of the day.

Just a thought for the start of your week.  Maybe you agree with me, maybe you don’t, but if nothing else – I ask that the next time you eat a meal, take a minute to thank a farmer.  When you turn on your heat, thank a miner.  When you are dry when it’s raining out, thank the construction worker and the suppliers of timber, steel, and other materials that have provided the roof over your head.