The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. November 19, 2023

 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes may be getting mixed reviews, but when it comes to prequels, I say they did right. It was also a pretty faithful adaptation of a book. The only differences I noticed was in the arena, when they tried to end the games quickly. If you have not seen or read it, I will not spoil it. For a villains origin story, it gave you an understanding for what made Coriolanus Snow the tyrant he was in the original movies. It explains the mantra he said at the end, and why he said it to Katniss Everdeen, "It's the things we love most, that destroy us." The only thing that gave light to his disposition was his family motto, Snow lands on top. If they make any more, or if Suzanne Collins writes any more books in the series, I will welcome it. They could explain what led to the rebel uprising in what was left of District 13 and show why Snow and Tigris had their falling out as best friends and cousins. It may not be great, but I will welcome it. 

That said, a lot of the movie, reminded me of things that happened to me in school. In eighth grade, I had a teacher who should not have been teaching special education and should have already been retired at that point. He always started class, lecturing about what he thought was wrong with contemporary youth, and everything people did in his class that disappointed him.  I still remember people in this class annoyed about his rants, and thinking out loud about how that method of teaching was not productive. What relives me about that, is most educators agree about what I just wrote and will tell teachers like him not to be that way. The other thing I thought while watching it was how music can be just as much an effective weapon as guns and swords. That was why the protagonists in the book series I write, The Covert Militia Campaigns, are members of an alternative metal band. They use their music as propaganda and to agitate their enemies. That is also my way of getting back at the people who derided me about my taste in music, who went around singing songs I despise and trash talking all my favorite bands. Any time I think about those painful experiences, I remind myself it gave me material for books. If you would like to read any, click on the link here, and type my name. smashwords.com