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“Hunger Games” The Orwellian Theme Behind the Second Movie By Berit Kjos See also |
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I heard no laughter while watching The Hunger Games on opening day. Just sober silence. This teenage
movie — set in a totalitarian world that supposedly replaced a broken America —
shows the grim struggle for survival in a world without God, hope or
meaning. The only “higher power” is a heartless government that supplies its
own choice of artificial thrills and trials. And the people suffer.The book behind the movie was published by
the prominent
Scholastic. It brought
us the Harry
Potter series and countless other books promoting witchcraft and the
occult. By marketing its books through our education system, Scholastic may
have done more to
distort history, mythologize
truth and promote moral and spiritual corruption among children than any other publisher.
If you have children in public schools,
they probably read the Weekly Reader, which offers news and current
events from a strictly non-Christian perspective. It’s publisher, the Weekly
Reader Corporation, is owned by Scholastic. This 1990 message
illustrates its earth-centered propaganda and twisted view of history:“Give
Thanks to the Earth:
The
first Thanksgiving feasts were harvest festivals. People gathered
to celebrate successful harvests and to thank the Earth for its fruits. You can celebrate the earth every day by always taking care of the
environment.”[2]
Scholastic
NewsBrainwashing and
Global ChangeDecades before the birth of the
United Nations,
some of the globalist leaders that
launched the
Federal Reserve
called for a radical new agenda for America’s children. With support from
several Carnegie foundations,
John Dewey
prepared a socialist foundation for the new
system.
As the first president of
the American Humanist Association, he was
determined to replace Christianity with pluralistic values that fit
the global agenda.
Ponder their goals, which are fast changing our schools, churches,
families and values:
1917: “..they [the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace] came
to the conclusion that, to prevent a
reversion, they must
control education.
Then they approached the Rockefeller Foundation and they
said, ‘Will you take on the acquisition of control of education as it
involves subjects that are domestic in their significance? We’ll take
on the basis of subjects that have an
international significance..’
And it was agreed….They decided the key to it was the teaching of American
history, and
they must change that.”[3]1970: “…absolute
behavior control is imminent…. The critical point of behavior control,
in effect, is sneaking up on mankind without his self-conscious realization
that a crisis is at hand. Man will…never self-consciously know that it
has happened.”[4]
Professor Raymond Houghton (More illustrations
here)1989: “What’s happening in America
today… is a total transformation of our society. We
have moved into a new era….We no longer see the teaching of
facts and information as the primary outcome of
education…..What we are facing is a total
restructuring of society!”[5]
Dr. Shirley McCune, Senior Director with the Mid-continent
Regional Educational Laboratory, a leading (occult)
Theosophist speaking at 1989 Governor’s Conference on
Education [see
this very revealing video]1994: “We have actually been
given a course in how not to tell the truth. How many of
you are administrators? You’ve had that course in public
relations where you learn to put the best spin on
things.”[6]
Dr. Jim Causby, North Carolina
Superintendent, speaking at the 1994 Second Annual
Model School Conference,
in Atlanta, Georgia.Aldous Huxley was well aware of those plans.
After all, his brother
Julian Huxley became the first Secretary General of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In
Brave New World,
he told us
that a profusion of new suggestions would transform beliefs and
attitudes:“Till at last the child’s mind is these suggestions,
and the sum of the suggestions is the child’s mind. And not the
child’s mind only. The adult’s mind too — all his life long. The
mind that judges and desires and decides — made up of these suggestions.
But all these suggestions are our suggestions! … Suggestions from the State.”[7]Backed by the authority of the United Nations
with its hatred
for the Bible, Julian Huxley wrote the following in his 1947 book,
UNESCO: Its purpose and Its Philosophy:“In
pursuing this aim, we must eschew dogma…. East and West will not agree on a basis of the future if
they merely hurl at each other the fixed ideas [of which the Bible is the
main obstacle] of the past. For that is what
dogmas are — the crystalizations of some dominant system of thought of
a particular epoch….. If we are to achieve progress, we must learn to
uncrystalize our dogmas.”[8]Today our government and educational
establishments seem more than willing to implement this agenda and punish any
parental resistance that
get in their way.The Fictional History
Behind the Hunger Games (See our
book review).Let me warn you: the movie is just as
seductive as the book, perhaps more so, since the written message is joined
to unforgettable visual images. It draws its fans into the oppressive,
futuristic nation called Panem (from “Panem et Circenses” meaning “Bread
and Circuses“) that supposedly replaced America. The current dictator rules Panem’s
12 Districts from the mighty Capitol somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. With well-trained underlings to
fulfill his commands, he
can monitor the masses, manipulate weather, and quench revolts initiated by
the poor, discontented serfs.The fictional history tells us that the Hunger Games
began in the wake of a
revolution seventy-five years earlier. Each year since then, twenty-four
young Tributes — ages twelve through eighteen —
have been chosen by lottery in each of the 12 Districts. They will be
trained to kill, then transported to a selected area — probably in
the Rockies. Their only assignment is
to try to survive by killing each
other. At the end, the sole survivor will be celebrated as a national treasure
and a promotional puppet.The surreal purpose of this annual event
is to control,
not entertain, the masses. Panem’s yearly battle sows fear, not
cheer, even though the rulers demand celebrations. Does that remind you of the Roman Coliseum
where trained gladiators and faithful Christians fought to death as huge
crowds celebrated?The main character
is sixteen-year-old Katniss who lives with her mother and
twelve-year-old sister, Prim, in District 12, the poorest in the land. Since her father died in
a coal mine explosion, Katniss has been the family’s sole provider. Day
after
day, she
and her friend Gale hunt rabbits and gather herbs and berries on
forbidden government land.But everything is about to
change. In the lottery leading up to the
games, the terrified Prim is chosen. Stunned, Katniss quickly
volunteers to take her sister’s place. Peeta Mellark, who had long had a crush on
Katniss, is chosen next.After the required time of training,
prepping and promotion at the Capitol, Katniss and Peeta are brought to the
battlefield. On the first day, eleven of the twenty-four Tributes
are killed. Most of
the others race into the nearby forests to seek water and shelter from rain
and from each other.Meanwhile, the sophisticated high-tech Gamemakers
back in the Capitol keep busy pointing their
hidden cameras toward the injured, the dead, and the most popular players. Those images are shown on sophisticated tele-screens
across the country. The goal is to unify, pacify and
intimidate the viewers into ceaseless loyalty and compliance.It reminds me of a statement in the book, Amusing Ourselves to Death,
by Neil
Postman who anticipated
today’s rise of Marxist values. To illustrate
mental manipulation, he compared two familiar books: Aldous Huxley’s
Brave New
World and George Orwell’s
1984:“Orwell feared we would
become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial
culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies…. [In
1984] people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by
inflicting pleasure.
In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared
that what we love will ruin us.”[9]Both have a
point. Today, the cultural
war against Christ and His Church is being waged on both fronts.
The minds of most contemporary teens are bombarded with seductive images and
suggestions that mock God’s values and scorn Christianity.“…the
light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…”
John 3:19A Glimpse of the Action
Near the end of the battle, the voice of
a
Gamemaker is broadcast to the final contenders, calling them back to their starting place.
Emerging from the forest, Katniss and Peeta confront a new set of foes:
twenty-one fierce, furry, four-legged “mutants” who seem eager to eat them.
The book suggests that these “mutants” might be the twenty-one
victims brought back to life in new but identifiable animal bodies:“The mutts are beginning to assemble….Theres something else about them, something that makes the hair
rise up on the back of my neck… They are unmistakably human. … The blonde hair, the green
eyes, the number … its Glimmer [one of
the dead Tributes]. I fire into its throat. Its body
twitches and flops onto the ground… [Glimmer’s second death?]“The small one with the red coat and amber eyes… Foxface! And there, the ashen hair and hazel eyes of the boy from
District 9 who died as we struggled for the backpack! And worst of all,
the smallest mutt, with dark glossy fur, huge brown eyes….Teeth bared in hatred. Rue! [She was a sweet, twelve-year-old girl before
she was killed]…“Have they been
programmed to hate our faces particularly because we have survived and
they were so callously murdered?”[10]Perhaps the moviemakers
chose to ignore the mystical changes that turned a red-haired girl into a
red-furred monster with glaring eyes and sharp teeth. But the scene fits
right into the mythical tales and occult phenomena of ages past. Remember, human
history is
full of cultural and spiritual cycles that show what happens when a civilization
that has been blessed by God rejects Him and embraces other “gods” and deceptive
snares.
God’s Way to His Shelter
The signs of change are all around us, and
we already see some of the devastating consequences: broken families, immoral lifestyles,
hopelessness, despair and suicides. Many seek temporary relief in the
countless artificial fantasy worlds of digital entertainment. Many are
addicted to sensual stimuli or trapped in the forces of darkness and find no way to escape!
Their struggles serve as a wake-up call to
many of us. How can we
(parents and grandparents) guard and guide our children through the dangers ahead?
Here are a few suggestions:
Know (memorize)
God’s Word, the only source of genuine wisdom. (Proverbs 2:6).
(Here is a list that I use to help me remember some of my
favorite verses:
Encouragement from A to Z)
Explain the Gospel, make sure
they understand it, and pray that they truly be “born again”
into His family.Read books and testimonies by faithful
Christians who stood firm in their faith in the midst of persecution.
(For example:
A Small Price to Pay and
Trapped in Hitler’s Hell)
Learn the
historical facts
needed to defend what we know and believe.
Recognize the difference between
OBSERVATION and assumptions.
A lot of supposed “science” today is based on useful assumptions rather
than observable facts.Put on
The Armor of GodPray for God’s strength,
protection and guidance. Then follow Him, not the corrupt
ways of the world!
These charts may be helpful:
New Emphasis in Schools and Culture,
Three Sets of Meanings of
Educational Buzzwords, and
Checklist for the family.As our children learn to see all things from
God’s perspective, they will accept what is true and good but reject what is false
and wrong. Remember,
“…be strong in the Lord and in the power of
His might….For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
age….Therefore take up the whole
armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand.”
Ephesians 6:10-13
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against
thee.”
Psalm
119:11
See also
The Hunger Games (book): What’s
So Good About Evil?Twilight
Obsession | The Armor of God
C. S. Lewis:
How mysticism & the occult are changing the ChurchHome
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© Berit Kjos, 2012
( but feel free to copy it)
Notes:1. Thomas
Sowell, Ph.D., “Indoctrinating the Children,” Forbes, February 1, 1993),
65.
2. Scholastic News, Ed. 4, Vol. 53 (2 November 1990), 7.
Statistics from Subscription Department, N.Y. (212) 505-3000. See also
International Center
for Leadership in Education.
3.
Norman Dodd reported these findings in an interview with the writer, William
H. McIlihany II, for his 1980 book, The Tax Exempt Foundations
(Arlington House, Westport, USA),
p. 60-61. The Special House Committee to Investigate Tax Exempt
Foundations reported in 1954. It was named after its chairman,
Representative, B. Carrol Reece of Tennessee.
4. Professor Raymond Houghton, To Nurture Humaneness: Commitment for the
’70’s
(Washington DC: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,
NEA, 1970).
5. Dr. Shirley McCune, Senior Director with the Mid-continent Regional
Educational Laboratory, a leading (occult)
Theosophist speaking at 1989 Governor’s Conference on Education [see
this very revealing video]6. Dr. Jim Causby, North Carolina
Superintendent,
speaking at the 1994 Annual
Model School Conference,
in Atlanta, Georgia. Documented by
Cynthia Weatherly, The Christian Conscience (January 1995);
36. According to the website for the
International
Center for Leadership in Education [which no longer contains the old information] Causby has made his district a national leader in
(1)
Character
Education, (2)
Total Quality Managemen, (3) use of application-based instruction
and (4) community involvement. More about Dr. Causby here:
Education for Sustainability and
Education Consulting
Group.
7.Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (New
York: HarperCollins, 1932), p. 28.
8. Julian Huxley, UNESCO: Its purpose and
Its Philosophy, (Washington DC: Public Affairs Press, 1947),
p.
61.
9. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (NY: Viking Penguin,
Inc., 1985), vii- viii.
10. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Scholastic Inc., 2008)
p.333-334.
