Hunger Games Still #1, Science Fiction Rules 3 Weeks At The Box Office

Date: Apr 9, 2012 | Author: Josh Tyler | Category: Sci-Fi

If you’ve ever heard a Hollywood director talking about the new science fiction movie he’s planning, he’ll usually go out of his way to tell everyone that “oh it’s not science fiction”. The movie, of course, is sci-fi but the perception is that science fiction is just for nerds so everyone has to pretend it’s something else so that all the cool kids can show up and pretend they aren’t watching something dorky.

I have news for you America. You’re all a bunch of nerds. Prepare to be pantsed because The Hunger Games has just spent three weeks at number one on the box office charts. It’s not even close. It’s out-earning all those terrible Twilight movies, kicking the ass of Harry Potter and breathing down the neck of Avatar which, by the way, also a sci-fi movie.

The Hunger Games has now earned, in total, $302 million just in the United States alone. Like it or not cool kids, this is science fiction. And you fucking love it. It’s not that superhero science fiction or that kind of half-fantasy science fiction where technically the robots are aliens but it makes about as much sense as a unicorn (not science fiction by the way). Nope, it’s real science fiction.

Sure The Hunger Games makes a half-hearted attempt to hide it by courting girls with forbidden romance and probably far too much attention paid to pretty costumes, but this is real dystopian science fiction in the mold of (but not nearly as good as) respected novels like Fahrenheit 451 or 1984.

A week or so from now Hollywood probably will go right back to positioning sci-fi as just for dorks, at least publicly. And the cool kids shelling out money to see it would probably be shocked if you told them they were watching a movie for nerds. But they are, and someone is bound to notice. This could mean more, real science fiction, maybe even better science fiction on the horizon. Prometheus is coming later this year and Ender’s Game is coming soon. Let’s see what happens.

Comments

Corrosivepress

Okay, let me explain this real fast: this is classified as “Young Adult Fiction.” Just like the “Twilight” series, just like the “Harry Potter” series. THAT is how it got published, THAT is how it got made into a movie. “Y.A.” has been one of the hottest categories in Hollywood for a while. If “The Hunger Games” had been marketed as Sci-Fi book, it would not had made it past an agent’s assistant. Sure, embrace the Sci-Fi of the story, as I do. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that Hollywood is now doing the same.
- JT
  
  Absolutely. Like everything sci-fi they try to pretend it isn’t what it is. But it’s sci-fi, whether they like it or not.
http://www.facebook.com/DarthClide Jonathan Cross

I would also like to state that since this is YA material, of course everyone will love it if they are at or near the age of 18 (I think that although YA should stand for 20-25, I feel that authors/directors write material best meant for people near, the age of 18)

There is a reason there are tons of animated/YA movies being made… Because either all the people that see it are at this age level, or people are just immature and want something “kiddish” to fill their mind with (nothing wrong with that).

IMO, unlike the post says, this film had a side of “sci-fi” with a BIG main course of “YA romance/feelings/problems”. Sure, maybe back when sci-fi wasn’t as popular as it is now (will talk about this later), this kind of film would most definitely be considered sci-fi. The problem is that now-a-days, almost everyone has seen flying ships, and a dystopian society. What writers need to work on now is “what makes my story different”. And in the case of Hunger Games, there is almost nothing different between it, and the sci-fi I have read/watched my whole life. Not to mention the YA theme, which makes it kiddish at best to anyone who is an adult (cough* hence the category it is in?) So the thing I can’t get out of my mind is, “why is this film/book so popular?” The answer frightens me to the core, as no matter how you answer it, it isn’t a nice answer.

Now, about why sci-fi is popular frustrates me so much these days. All you have to do is slap a few space ships, and a “dystopian” society (in this case) into a book, and people call it sci-fi, and don’t think of it otherwise. Wait… what? Since what day was it not just about a few flying ships here, and some weird dystopian society that made something science fiction? It was the day that real sci-fi writers/directors decided to go main-stream, and dumb down everything, throw some horny kids in, as well as a portion of sci-fi, just to TRY and keep the true sci-fi fans happy. And for those writers/directors that originally DIDN’T touch sci-fi. Shame on you for disgracing the name of sci-fi, in the name of money, and popularity….

Whew, my rant is over, and from it you should ascertain that while I understand why kids under the age of 18 (maybe 21 if I am feeling generous) love this book/movie. It does nothing to explain why so many older people love it. It should also help you understand why I am so frustrated with current sci-fi.

Constructive comments are appreciated… I know this is one person in a million who thinks something like this, but meh whatever.

Giant Freakin Robot