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Hunger Games: anti-family or bonding tool?

Is “The Hunger Games” franchise subversively anti-family, or a family bonding tool? So far, many parents seem to be voting with their wallets. “The Hunger Games” movie has now surpassed the $300 million mark in total ticket sales, cleaning up for the third straight week at the box office.

By Contributor / April 9, 2012

Is “The Hunger Games” franchise subversively anti-family, or a family bonding tool? Parents debate whether the “The Hunger Games” book series and movie is too thematically dark and violent for children.

Murray Close/Lionsgate/AP

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Are “The Hunger Games” and its themes of violence and dystopian revolution subversively anti-family? Or, is the popular series actually an opportunity for family bonding, grabbing the attention of kids and adults, alike?

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Ruing it or raving about it, parents are very aware of the The Hunger Games as kids ask them to sink money into movie tickets or the book trilogy.

The movie version of the first story in Suzanne Collins’ intense series may be a box office hit, but the more popular the Hunger franchise becomes, the more some parents and educators are questioning whether the books really belong on library shelves.

For the second year in a row, Ms. Collins' work was among the most "challenged" books, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom reported March 8. The association defines a challenge as "a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness."

In last year's list, when just the title book of the trilogy was in the top 10, complaints included "sexually explicit" and "unsuited to age group and violence." Collins herself acknowledged her stories were not for everyone, telling The Associated Press at the time that she had heard "people were concerned about the level of violence in the books. That's not unreasonable. They are violent. It's a war trilogy."

For the new study, which also included sequels "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay," the objections were more varied and harsh, including "Anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence."

Barbara Jones, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, thinks anticipation for the "Hunger Games" film led to closer criticism of the books.

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