Bein' judgemental at the movies

I saw The Hunger Games yesterday and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I couldn't help but notice that it's pretty much a textbook example of every annoying movie plot device cliché ever. Let me break it down for you (i.e. here come the spoilers, watch out).

"Sneaky" Exposition
Except it was not sneaky and was in fact so bad that I laughed, which is probably not the appropriate response when Stanley Tucci is telling you about a way in which the protagonist and a bunch of extras may die painfully.

Basically any time a character in a movie utters the phrase "For those of you who don't know..." you know you're about to get some exposition dropped on yo' ass. And it was just so clunkily done here. I get that we've gotta establish this whole other world and there was no convenient way to really introduce it (a la Harry Potter's Muggle upbringing), since all the characters are supposed to have grown up being familiar with it, but that's exactly what makes this so annoying: ALL THE CHARACTERS HAVE GROWN UP WITH THIS. They know what Tracker Jackers are. They don't need it explained to them by Caesar Flickerman, even if (especially if) he prefaces it with, "As many of you know..." If they KNOW it, why would you TELL them? You, sir, are wasting precious Hunger Games screen time!

Also, the fact that they pretty much just broke the fourth wall to do it made it even worse. The line should have been something like, "Hey, you, person who got dragged here by your Hunger-Games-obsessed friend/family member/significant other: here's what you need to know in order for this next part to make sense. Not that you care! Please, resume your 'subtle' texting!" I mean, really.


Refrigerator Logic
For those of you who don't know (gee, doesn't that sound familiar?) "refrigerator logic" is the TV term for plot devices that no one questions as long as they're caught up in the action, but which become obvious after the show is over (and the viewer realizes it while rooting through the fridge for a snack--hence, refrigerator logic). The most glaring example of this was when Katniss is comforting a dying Rue, who asks plaintively, "Did you blow up the food?" Since Katniss did, in fact, just blow up the food, we all kind of go along with it until we realize that a.) Rue and Katniss's plan did not involve blowing up the food, and b.) Rue obviously didn't see Katniss blow up the food, otherwise she wouldn't have had to ask in the first place.

My roommate pointed out that Rue probably heard the explosion, but this is the Hunger Games. They already had a giant rushing wall of fire and there are cannon blasts happening all the time when people bite it, so I don't think Rue would necessarily assume that random loud explosions in the arena were automatically connected to Katniss somehow. So wouldn't Rue have just asked if Katniss had managed to destroy the supplies? Or steal something? That was the original plan, after all. But I guess when you're gasping out your last words, every syllable counts, especially when the scriptwriters seem to believe that the audience is about as smart as a gerbil or something.

McGuffins galore
McGuffins, which are basically events or objects that just sort of happen in order to drive the plot forward, were just popping up in droves here. But the movie kind of turned this on its head by acknowledging that the Hunger Games are basically one big McGuffin machine. You've got a bunch of people (presumably sociopaths) sitting around in a room devising horrible ways to kill children. So if your movie's been a bit slow for awhile, dealing with emotions and all that nonsense, and you want a big action scene, you just write a bit in which your control room people decide to, oh, I don't know, set the forest on fire or conjure mutant dogs out of leaves or something.

Deus Ex Machina
See above, re: sociopaths in the control room. Bam. Done. Instant action-packed plot!

Also, it's not strictly a plot device, but there was a makeover scene in which the female protagonist  gets waxed. This is such a movie makeover staple that someone needs to just make a giant supercut of it a la "Women Falling Down in Romantic Comedies" and throw it on youtube. Swear to God, when Cinna came in and greeted Katniss with "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen" I thought he was talking about her withstanding the hardship of having every hair on her body yanked out by the root. But then he clarified that he was talking about her volunteering as tribute and I was like, "Oh, yeah, that probably makes more sense."

But seriously. Every hair. By the root. And you thought starving to death in a government-operated fight to the death was bad.

Live!Blogging: book two of the Hunger Games

So, I kind of lied. I didn't actually live blog Catching Fire. I didn't have that kind of foresight. I did, however, harass my roommate repeatedly via email over the period of time when I was reading it and she was not in my immediate vicinity. So it's practically like live blogging. This is why I need ("need") a Twitter--so I can harass everyone with every thought that stomps through my brain.

Spoilers (and mildly naughty language) abound. But if you haven't read any of the Hunger Games, none of this will make sense anyway.


Fri, May 4, 2012 at 1:13 PM
it's only chapter two of the hunger games and SHIT'S GETTING REAL. gotta love it when the president drinks blood and whatnot. eesh.

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 1:39 PM
"i'll have to marry peeta."

i'm sorry. i don't see the problem here.

kidding...but actually though.

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 3:14 PM
public marriage proposal? what is this shit?


Fri, May 4, 2012 at 3:15 PM
they are SIXTEEN YEARS OLD! i know they live in what used to be appalachia, but come on!


Fri, May 4, 2012 at 8:26 PM
Subj: Wtf
You can't send victors back into the arena!!! I call bullshit!

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:32 PM

totally saw the fake pregnancy coming. that dress transition was bad-ass, though. cinna-rific! 

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:43 PM

okay so they're in the water arena and while i was initially startled by it now i keep picturing it like a round of mariokart and that makes it way less intimidating.

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:54 PM
wait, wait, wait. hold UP. finnick just brought peeta back from the dead. that is so not the point of the hunger games. if your ally is already dead, you don't bring him back to life, you just say, "oh, well, tally-ho, guess i'll just steal his stuff now" and move on. finnick definitely has some kind of agenda beyond winning the games himself.

also, katniss, pull it together. i know you're "pregnant" but you're acting bella-swan-pregnant, not badass-katniss-everdeen-pregnant. get a grip, woman!

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:55 PM
okay katniss, you and your fake supersonic left ear have redeemed themselves in my eyes. i retract my bella swan comment. it was a low blow.  

Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:58 PM
"plutarch heavensbee might have already been given orders to knock us off."

he's got a mockingjay watch! he's ON YOUR SIDE!!!!

bella, bella, bella.  


Fri, May 4, 2012 at 11:03 PM
"finnick asks a lot of questions about the rodent...how high was it, how long did i watch it before i shot, and what was it doing? i don't remember it doing much of anything. snuffling around looking for insects or something."

THE WATER IS IN THE TREES, DUM-DUMS!!!!


Fri, May 4, 2012 at 11:07 PM

CALLED IT. i would totally win the hunger games. except for the part where i have to kill people.

 Fri, May 4, 2012 at 11:35 PM
"she keeps saying 'tick tock.' is she referencing plutarch's watch?"
"you're too smart for this book."
"that's a yes."

And then, lucky for you guys (but probably not for herself), Melissa came home, thus ending my need to email her my every thought. I'm sure she'd appreciate any and all tokens of thanks.

So...that happened

1. I read The Hunger Games. I know, I'm like four years behind the times, but GUYS, that book is RIDICULOUS. I'm so addicted I'm a little ashamed of myself. Prepare for an onslaught of references in any upcoming blog entries.

2. Blogger changed its format. My quasi-luddite self is having some issues adjusting. This is just like when they changed facebook that one time...and that other time...and last week...and probably next week.

3. With this change of format came some stats about where my traffic is coming from. This led to two surprises, the first being that this blog actually has traffic aside from my parents and their friends (!!!). The second was that a chunk of my traffic is coming from Ivy Gate, which was...puzzling. Come to find out, there's a link there to my "In Defense of Dartmouth...and Greek Life" entry because, hey, I've been quoted extensively on Ivy Gate. Would've been lovely if someone could have dropped me a line about this (I'm looking at you, J.K. Trotter), especially since I was the only person called out by name. If only blogger had some sort of commenting function to facilitate that kind of stuff!

Anyway, although I'm still undecided as to whether or not the article is mocking me mercilessly, I'm rather tickled. Someone found my blog without me having to send them a link in an email titled "READ THIS, THANKS, MOM." So thanks for the traffic, Ivy Gate readers. Hope you've also enjoyed my thoughts on Christmas music and my haikus detailing my life as a supermarket cashier.