Topic: Hunger Games - magic bean?

I recently read the Hunger Games books, since i'd heard they were turning them into movies and figured i'd check it out.

Granted, maybe i wasn't paying attention.. but what exactly is going on in these books.  It's based in the real world, in the future..i believe in or around Colorado.   but all kinds of insane shit happens all the time... as i was reading it, i kept asking myself about 'the one magic bean' and i'm not entirely sure what it is.

it's in the future, so they have made technological advances, i'm down with that... however, i can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels like it's also fantasy.. some sort of hybrid.   

anywho, i'm envisioning this as a movie and not sure how they'll pull it off. 

thanks

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

HUNGER GAMES is a Wonderland story. The setting is the magic bean.

It's definitely fantasy with a science fiction gloss, not science fiction. The technology is treated fundamentally the same as magic -- how does it work? Who knows. It does though. Whereas science fiction usually tries to create some kind of justification for the existence of the advanced technological element, sci-fantasy doesn't. I'd put movies like INCEPTION in the same category. The technology is barely explained, because the technology itself is not as important as the story the technology's existence facilitates.

I found HUNGER GAMES a fun and diverting read, if juvenile and superficial, and that's the only thing that keeps me from nerd-raging wildly about how awful the end of the series is. It took me like three weeks to get through, so I wasn't terribly invested.

For more on this topic, see my published works.

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

awesome, thanks dorkman.   

that makes complete sense, looking at it from that perspective.  i think it took me about that long to finish them up as well... and good god katniss is annoying.   but to be fair, i'm not a 14 year old girl...

it should be interesting to see how they pull this off as a movie.

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

btw...nice write up.  you pretty much nailed my thoughts on it.

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

aaaaand now that i'm listening to the Potter podcast..you pretty much covered wonderland/magic bean.

so that'll learn me for not listening as they come out.

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

Evidence that the "Magic Bean" genre is still going strong...

Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

Whoa. That might be one of the best definitions of "magic bean" ever.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

Given 10 magic wishes, my biopic wouldn't be made by Disney that's for damn sure. Sasha Grey would also feature quite frequently.

On the subject of decent sci-fi, has anyone read Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks?

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

Don't know if I've said it before, but THIS is the best magic bean!
PunBB bbcode test

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Hunger Games - magic bean?

Nice Dorkman, well said.

I enjoyed Hungar Games (have only read the first book), cna't wait for the movie.

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