I'm going to throw out some titles, and you tell me what they have in common, okay? Lord of the Flies. The Catcher in the Rye. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A Wrinkle in Time. The Hunger Games.
If you guessed that these books have all been banned from schools and libraries, you're correct. This year, The Hunger Games joined the American Library Association's list of "most challenged books" -- i.e., books that have caused people to issue formal complaints asking that the offensive material be removed from public access. Believe it or not, The Hunger Games is so controversial, it's become the third most challenged book in America.
Being as how it's officially Banned Books Week, I've got a great idea for how to celebrate! Unfortunately, it'll require you to slap on your devil horns, fire up your cuss-hole, and toss your family values into the gutter.
That's assuming you agree with why The Hunger Games has been so controversial, of course. According to the reasons cited by the Office for Intellectual Freedom (which sounds, ironically enough, like something out of 1984), Hunger Games has been reported as anti-ethnic, anti-family, and filled with insensitivity, offensive language, occult/satanic content, and violence.
Okay, I'll concede on the violence thing ... but wow, anti-family? SATANIC?
(Awesomely, the next most challenged book is something called My Mom's Having a Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy. One of the reasons? Nudity. Haaaaaa. COVER UP THEM VAGINERS WHEN YOU'RE BIRTHIN BABIES, WIMMIN!)
It's become something of a badge of honor for an author to be included on a banned books list, and given The Hunger Games' books sales to date (it recently outsold the entire Harry Potter series on Amazon), I doubt Suzanne Collins is wringing her hands over the controversy.
Still, it's nice to see public libraries supporting the title. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, one Texas library put together a series of awesome Hunger Games-themed posters to raise awareness about censorship. Check them out:
Personally, I think it's nuts that Hunger Games is on that list -- but then again, I think the entire idea of the list is crazy. (Note that Barbara Ehrenreich's eye-opening Nickel and Dimed was on there in 2010, for having a "political viewpoint.")
Therefore, I suggest that those of us who loved The Hunger Games celebrate Banned Books Week by re-reading the series. Remember how anti-family it is, what with Katniss sacrificing herself to save her sister and all. Check out the totally gratuitous and exploitative depictions of violence in what Collins herself describes as a war trilogy. Revisit the rampant anti-ethnicism, which surely has nothing to do with readers being shocked at Rue's skin color in the movie. And don't forget to soak up all the satanism!
Do you think The Hunger Games should be banned from schools and libraries?
Images via Amazon, Smith Public Library
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Comments 22
I get the violence part, but then again the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Treasure Island, etc all are full of violence. It's a matter of judging whether your child is old enough to handle it. But anti-ethnic and satanic? Where do they get this stuff? Did they actually ever bother to read the books?
i think it should be on the banned list, that way, more and more and MORE kids will WANT to read it, because i recall DESEPRATELY wanting to read banned books as a kid/tween/teen!! yup, that did it for me!!
i read all sorts of crap that "instructors/librarians/educated"people wanted to keep me from reading.. and i LOVED it! it also showed me a whole new way of thinking and deciding for myself what i kept in my head and soul..and makes me a better parent today that i can encourage my kids to be self thinkers and not be swayed by others points of views until theyve checked things out for themselves.
and i love your posters ;-)
The mere idea of censorship makes me blind with rage. It makes me want to write the most offensive, appalling book ever while smoking and drinking vodka straight from the bottle while having an orgy. DON'T TELL ME WHAT I SHOULDN'T READ.
Censorship is truly evil.
I just checked the list, I've read all but three books on there, maybe I'm a heathen.
I find it sad that this series (while okay, is not great) has outsold Harry Potter. Then again, I think Goblet of Fire probably had a higher word count than all the Hunger Games books combined. As for banning a book, well, it's normally morons who try to ban it. My mother bought me a copy of The Naked Ape when I was a junior, it was on our schools "proscribed reading" List. But I didn't get it from the library, so they couldn't take it away or do anything to me about it! Hah.
sorry but i just cant see where the plot of these books are entertaining to read, how can you enjoy reading aboout kids being sent to their death just to battle for others amusement ???????