The Giver vs. The Hunger Games

Lois Lowry’s classic young adult novel The Giver makes its apparition on the theater stage and is compared to The Hunger Games. How dare you?

Set in a dystopian society, The Giver narrates the coming of age of Josh and his realization that individuals are happier when they are free to make their own decisions and assert their uniqueness. I believe this is an important message young people should be aware of. The Hunger Games also has a valuable message, but the Hollywood production somewhat endangers the original message of the book by instantaneously turning young people into stars and perhaps by being misinterpreted as a sort of Battle Royal in some cases.

Both books are interesting reads, but the Hunger Games movie cannot be compared to the Giver theatrical production. First of all, the budgets are worlds apart. And second of all, the audience and the goals are very different too. The Giver is probably not as entertaining as a major Hollywood production because the accent is put on the content, not on the form. The Hunger Games is all about action, adventure, excitement and sometimes comedy. This is the perfect formula to attract teenagers. This is a box office movie with a future in DVD, Blue Ray and on Netflix. Young people are writing about the movie on Facebook and are anticipating the sequel.

Who actually goes to the theater to see The Giver? Not teenagers. The audience will probably mostly be fans of the book or parents taking their children to see a play.