Clown world

I am very impressed with this movie on re-watch. I appreciate the cinematography, image quality/style, and relatable story of an oppressive, corrupt government. It's perhaps anti-woke overall, despite the lead male, Peeta, being a wussy simp and the lead female, Katniss, being a bad ass.

By contrast, on IMDB the reviews are mixed, with some hating it. Many say it falls short of the book or the film Battle Royale. (I am familiar with neither.) Some say it is unrealistic for government officials to dress in absurd clothes and run a kiddie death cage match, but I suspect these are the same NPCs who would be telling us how stylish our officials are and how necessary the Games are if this were happening in our reality.

I remember when The Hunger Games came out, there was article after article about how the movie was NOT making a commentary on the US government (well into the Obama administration). The press doth protest too much, methinks.

The area around D.C. is now the richest area in the US, and the Capitol is walled off. Is this not similar to the capital in The Hunger Games? Sam Brighton, former Head of the Department of Energy under Biden, is a baggage-stealing crossdresser. Is the clown world of The Hunger Games not our reality? The national debt is increasing by a trillion dollars every 100 days, and millions of illegal immigrants are flooding the country and receiving government support. How long until we are starving? The government is oppressive in the extreme to protesters. How long until there is a revolt? The government is pushing for war. How long before 18 year old kids are drafted and sent to die in an everlasting kiddie death cage match in Ukraine or elsewhere?

The Hunger Games doesn't look so ridiculous today, does it? It is a mere 12 years after its release.