Thursday 12th April 2012
by James Mahon
Two movies are creating waves in different ways while leaving people thinking about their present and their future - Hunger Games and HeadHunters.
Hunger Games has already proven a box office smash, but it displays under-currents of discontent in our western society. The idea that children need to be curbed and controlled has come to the fore after the London summer riots - and with more and more young people threatening society's upper tier through hacking and the power and force of social media and internet, a day may come when the young can rattle the pillars of society further.
Hunger Games also draws on the theme of revolution, with the Arab Spring and Islamic states struggling to adjust to western ways, it is the youth who are voicing their anger.
We see young people controlled and curbed in the forest scenes that in a strange kind of way, draws on modern reality television obsessions. Our desires to see others suffer or make fools of themselves from shows like I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Big Brother moves to the next level in a tv show where you compete to live. It's sick, twisted nature is not a shock to a modern audience - who is used to seeing people eating insects to gain food packets - and tv shows like Survivor have already displayed traces of a world where we need mass suffering and bloodshed to feel entertained.
Have we gone full circle and returned to an era of Gladiators, blood and guts for satisfaction?
The jury remains out, with Jackass by MTV, the desire to see people suffer was brought to the fore and although leaves a bad taste in some people's mouths, it was a global success.
HeadHunters shows a different side of society.
The shady existence of lies and deceit that are often requierd to succeed in a world where being the 'nice guy' gets you nowhere fast.
The protagonist on paper has it all but is forced to get in touch with his true nature and will to survive when he becomes hunted. The ability to draw on animalistic instincts to survive show how far man has come from his primitive origins. When put in life or death situations, he murders to keep alive and turns on the one person who loves him when fearing for his existence.
Our inability to see and believe in true love is shown in this movie, how our inner securities of not being loved or not being 'good enough' can be overcome and inside, we all need a sense of belonging.
The movie leaves you doubting everything around you, including what you love the most and shows how isolated the modern world is. Headhunters works as a movie but also shows how film can be a medium to express deep social issues in our world and do so in a clever and entertaining way.
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