I love working with teenagers! I don't always do a good job of getting
right down inside of their world or staying on top of all the latest fads, but
once in a while I try to read the books or watch shows they are into. Last
year one of the hot book series that my high school group was tearing into and
talking about was The Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins. My own daughter devoured the series and so I decided to pick it up as
well.
I was fascinated with why teens loved this series so
much. I admit, I think it was well written. Every chapter ended
with some sort of cliff hanger which drove me to keep reading, but I was really
disturbed by the premise and the story line. If you've not read it, I
don't want to be a spoiler, but I think it is safe to say that the premise for
the book is horrific. What follows is the main idea for the series. It is set
in the future where society is run by an overbearing Capital. After a war - which
the Capital decisively won - the country presented is divided into 12
districts. Every year, in order to remind the districts that the Capital
is in control, and to provide entertainment for the Capital residents, each
district must send two "tributes," randomly selected, to take place
in "the Hunger Games." These tributes - between the age of 12
and 20 - are then brought to the Capital where they take part in a battle to
the death which is televised and "celebrated" throughout the entire
country. The books follow the story of two kids from the poorest
district. How they cope with having to fight others to the death and deal
with the drama surrounding their programmed lives make up the central story
line of the series.
As I read the series, I enjoyed the twists and turns of the
plot but I didn't really like the content. What fascinated me the most
was that when I asked teens why they liked the series; they simply said
"It's just sooooo good!" When I pressed them about what they
liked most they said that the whole idea just fascinated them. It is not
that they would ever want to be in that situation or wanted to kill anybody but
that they somehow related to the main characters.
The more I thought about this series and my kids, the more I
was reminded of two books by Chap Clark: Hurt and Hurt
2.0. In these works, Clark has done a great deal of research
trying to understand the inside world of today's teenagers. He describes
today's teens as abandoned by the adult world. I won't get into great
detail here because there is not enough room. Suffice it to say that
Clark has done an excellent job of describing much of the pain and confusion of
today's adolescents. When I first read his work, I thought he had
overstated his case to make a point. The more time I have spent thinking
through his words and research and talking to teens, the more I believe Chap is
accurate in his ideas and conclusions.
Put these two together, and I think some great connections
can be made between what Clark defines as adolescent abandonment and why teens
relate to The Hunger Games and seem to love it so much. My point
here is simple. Could it be that our society, including the school
system, varsity and club sports, high demand choir and band programs and high
academic expectations, make our teens feel like their entire lives are pushed
to perform for adults? Could it be that the high levels of achievement
that we drive them toward feel a lot like unwanted expectations that adults
force upon them like the tributes are forced to battle each other in the Hunger
Games? Could it be that the competition they feel for spots on the team
or top of the class or college admission and scholarships feel slightly akin to
the battle the tributes are thrown into against each other?
At the very least, this gives me pause to think about how I
value and love the teens around me. Do my actions as an adult cause them
to compete for value or recognition? Do I love and support them
regardless of their performance or talents? Do the teens I know realize
that - to the best of my ability - my love and support for them are
unconditional, or do they think I only care about what they do? I don't
want any of the kids I care about to be in any form of the Hunger Games,
whether real or metaphorical. I want to do my best to live my life and
shape my relationships with them in such a way that they will know that.
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Hi Jack! I just wanted to say thank you for letting me listen in on your class that day! I really enjoyed hearing what all the kids had to say about the hunger games too (especially Raquel). It's funny because Raquel and I don't really see eye to eye on the book series and I think that you have really good insight as to why teens like it so much. I think the reason I don't love them is because I look at them from an adult's perspective and I can't understand how they can send their own kids off to die. But I can see now why they relate to it, if they are looking at it from the teen's perspective. It is very interesting to Raquel and I that the four years in between us provides us with such different views.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tessa, It was great to have you there that night. I wish you and I had more time to talk ad get caught up. Give me a call and i will buy the coffee or Jamba or whatever just to get some time with you!
DeleteJack -- Wonderful thoughts! Thank you for sharing. I too was really bothered by the premise of the hunger games, but I see hurt in my teens all the time, it had never occured to me to connect the two.
ReplyDeleteYa, I have found it to be a really good way to talk about issues of pain and abandonment with teens. If they are into the books, we can have some really good conversations.
DeleteGreat thoughts, Jack. It's certainly true that the world puts teens into competition, not only with adults, but also with other children. Have you seen the application for National Honor Society? Any child who could fill that thing out completely would have an absolutely amazing resume in today’s world. Reading that application, I’m not sure I’d make it in myself! I couldn't win the Hunger games.
ReplyDeletePeer pressure never goes away, I run into it every day. Competition with others will always be there. We, as parents, try to prepare them as best we can. What we can do to mitigate the societal pressure is to let them know that it’s OK to fail. It’s OK to come in last. We’ll continue to love them. More importantly, God will continue to love them without measure.
Jeff,
DeleteMove back here! I need to sit and have these conversations with you aver coffee as often as possible - which for now is NEWER! sad.
Thanks for chiming in. I love you, Man!
Careful what you ask for. He hasn't yet fully laid out His plan for me, so you never know...
DeleteWhat ever happened to the idea that being average is actually a good thing and something to be proud of? I've worried for years about the how society, parents, schools, sports teams, etc. require so much of our teens that by the time they hit college, they are already burned out. Do we really want our kids to peak in high school? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jack for engaging in this conversation.
Great point Kim!
DeleteWhatever happened to average!?!
oh, ya....it's me. :-)
Jack, I have felt much the same way that you feel about THG. I have actually been criticized by some for my convictions concerning the taking of children's lives, because I "just do not understand the whole story or the big picture." Actually, I believe I...and a number of others...do understand. I can appreciate good writing, plot twists, and the like, but, there are moral and ethical limits...at least for me. I appreciate even more your convictions concerning our own society and the pressure to be adults. As believers, we must consider that Jesus seemed to place the highest value on the innocence of youth...as seen in a number of passages. I believe the idea being conveyed is for believers to continue to attain to "innocence." And once people lose innocence, i.e. become too caught up in the trials and tribulations of "adulthood", it becomes increasingly difficult to come back to it. Blessings, Don.
ReplyDeleteHey Don,
DeleteThanks for chiming in. I really encourage you to read Hurt 2.0 and think about your comments n light of the research there. I agree with all that you are saying - we live in a world that is increasingly less tolerant and more abrasive to basic moral standards which used to be the norm.
Great stuff Jack. I got to hear Chap Clark speak just a few days ago and he makes so much sense. All these insane expectations on kids to perform at levels they are not physically, mentally, or emotionally ready for is one of the reasons we choose to homeschool!
ReplyDelete