Happy Hunger Games!

To begin with, I'd like to point out that I read The Hunger Games BEFORE it was cool. Like so early on that I had to wait for Catching Fire and Mockingjay to be published before I could read them. Alas, this happens to most good books right before they become movies. They hype gets so freakishly insane that people don't even know what they're so hyped about. Look at everyone who has been screaming and camping out and buying all the movie tickets. I guarantee you half of them (if not more) have never read the books, have no idea what the story is (beside the little bits and pieces you see on the commercials), but are so caught up by how excited everyone is they spend their money anyway. But I am not like most of the original Hunger Games fans. I'm really glad that this has become a sensation because the story is GREAT. If this is what it takes for most people to hear it, then so be it.

Now...I'm going to gush about the movie. I just got home from the theater and I need to talk about this somewhere. If you haven't read the books or seen the movie yet, you may not want to read any further.

Let me start by simply saying, it was INCREDIBLE. Never have I seen a recent movie so brilliantly acted, directed, filmed, scripted, everything was amazing. (And it was kinda cool you could recognize that it was filmed in NC.) So much work was put into making this perfect. No offense to Twilight and Harry Potter fans out there but those movies don't even compare in my mind. Sure, those were epic, this...this was in a category all of it's own. I hear Jennifer Lawrence is being praised like crazy for her performance and that this is gonna break all kinds of pre-sale and box office records!! And for good reason!

From the beginning of the movie, I was crying my eyes out. The reaping scene has been played so many times on TV already that I thought it would have lost its effect, but it didn't. Not at all. I cried when Gale took Prim away, when Katniss volunteered, when they called Peeta's name, and when Gale and her mom visited her before they took her to the Capitol. I was worried before I saw the movie that all of the pre-game stuff in the Capitol would be sacrificed to make the time spent in the arena longer, but I shouldn't have been. They showed the interviews, her fire costume, Cinna, Effie, Haymitch, and just enough back story to keep those who hadn't read the books in the loop still. There's nothing I hate more than a movie that doesn't stand on its own.

For all those adults out there blabbing on and on about how violent it is: get over it. We've ALL seen much more violent movies than this already. It's not even close to a horror or a slasher film in terms of blood and gore. And yeah, it's a violent story! 24 kids are thrown into an arena together and told that only one can come out alive! What do you expect? But don't worry, they show just enough violence for you to grit your teeth and jump a few times and get how crazy it is that these kids have to really kill each other.

The most emotionally draining part of the movie and the book for me was the scene where Rue dies. It really is a beautiful scene. Katniss sings to her just like she sang to Prim as Rue slowly drifts off peacefully in Katniss' arms. Then she surrounds Rue's body with flowers and salutes the camera, and riots start in District 11. I was sobbing the whole time, and I absolutely HATED the Capitol and President Snow and the Gamemakers. It's moments like that that bring you into the movie and make you capable of understanding the emotions that you're seeing on the screen.

Surprisingly, I am now an even stronger more fangirlish member of Team Peeta then ever before! I assumed that because Liam Hemsworth is gorgeous I would prefer Gale, but Josh Hutcherson's portrayal of Peeta made my love for Peeta and Josh grow in extreme amounts. Katniss and Peeta only got ONE KISS!!!!!! One kiss in the entire movie!!!!!!! I felt cheated. But maybe this way their scenes together in the next movie will be even more intense and amazing and romantic. (I need to brush up on my Catching Fire...is there a lot of Peeta/Katniss togetherness? I don't remember...)

The one thing that did disappoint me was the finale of The Games when the muttations came out. In the books, they were supposed to pretty much be the Tributes who had died in animal form. Like Katniss could recognize Rue and all the rest in the faces of the mutts. But for some reason, they decided to make them look like big dogs. That was all. It made that last part so much less horrible then it was in the book. But hey, I can't complain. They could've completely butchered the movie as they so often do. So one little disappointment is nothing. I am completely satisfied.

Now enough of this ridiculousness that the next movie's not coming out for over a year! At least if you're gonna make us wait that long, bring this one to DVD sooner! I feel like going out, buying all the Hunger Games merchandise I can find, scoring a bootleg copy of the movie, and kidnapping Josh Hutcherson, then staying in my room until Catching Fire comes out. Actually, I could do without all of it except the Josh part. I would like him very much. ^_^

Anyway, now that I've seen it, who else has? Did you go to the midnight premiere? Were you disappointed by anything at all? Is there a part that you absolutely adored?

And for the rest of you who are trying desperately to find out if there are any showings left tonight that haven't sold out yet..."May the odds be ever in your favor."

Generation Lost: So Original It's Mainstream

                
  (Because having a HOW TO GUIDE to something doesn't make it mainstream at all...)

What original is: Preceding all others in time; first. or, not derived from something else; fresh and unusual. aka being your individual unique self.

What original is not: wearing two different earrings, thick dorky looking glasses, and bright colored clothing that does not match for the sole purpose of looking "different."

What that is: STUPID.

If every person waking up in the morning knew this and dressed accordingly, the world would be a better place.

It seems to me that nowadays everyone has this crazy need to be "original." Especially in the way you dress. They want to look exactly the opposite of what mainstream society looks like. They're the cool kids, the rebels, the hipsters, whatever the heck you want to call them. They're "Above the Influence" and all that. They're supposedly independent thinkers who go against our cultures norms and expectations.

Now in theory, that sounds great! These are the kind of people who are helping this lost generation find its way right? Wrong. These are the people that are taking this generation deeper and deeper into the dark forest of confusion from which it may never return.

I have to admit though, the hipsters entertain me. I looked up the definition of the word on Urban Dictionary and found a lengthy one, probably written by a self-proclaimed hipster.

"Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses."

Ok, so the first step to becoming a hipster is simply declaring yourself a hipster. And then comes their "distinct" fashion sense which I see has been summed up nicely in one sentence. Most hipsters dress exactly the same. Seems very fresh, unusual, and DIFFERENT.

"The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic."

Wow. You mean you can dress like a hipster by shopping in two extremely mainstream stores? That's so very original! Because what I buy at Urban Outfitters is going against mainstream society! Who are they kidding? Hipsters are NOT a counterculture. They are a very BIG part of our culture! Looking like a hipster is so IN! But somehow, all the stores that sell this clothing manage to convince the stupid teenagers of the world that by shopping at American Apparel you're being original! Oh and who could forget all those attitudes and accessories you need to have that are listed up at the time in the how to be hipster guide! By acting the same as about a million other homeless looking "individuals" you're really sticking it to the man!

And then there are those who try so hard to be original that they throw together these strange outfits that look like they belong in some kind of circus act and call that "cool." Wearing one pink sock, one green sock, a skirt, a strangely patterned shirt, a scarf, and a pair of old ballet shoes, doesn't make you cool. It makes you look like a 3 year old playing dress up.

It drives. me. crazy. Everyone is so busy trying to be original, that they become mainstream. Once again, society has managed to get to us through advertisements and TV shows with an even more clever than usual way for us to become all alike. And we're so darn lost about everything that we don't even notice it! They could tell us never brushing your hair was crazy and original, we'd all stop doing it, all become the same, not see it, and look like a bunch of crazy idiotic savages. (...apparently grungy looking hair IS a part of the hipster look. I rest my case...)

Here's a thought: wear what you like. Who cares if it's something that's high fashion in Hollywood right now, who cares if it's not! Don't be influenced by what's going on around you. Be yourself. That's what being original really is. Looking how you want to look despite what others think. Not dressing in a certain way because you're trying to prove something.