When I went to see
this movie, I was blown away. And although the movie was amazing, and it was a
great adaptation, and the actors did great, that’s not what did it.
There’s a scene where
Katniss goes to district 8 and goes into the make shift hospital for those who
were wounded in the capital’s bombing of the district. And somebody in the
crowd of people asks, “are you here to fight with us?” and she says, “yes” and
out of the corner of my eye I saw movement in the audience. Someone put their arm up in the three
fingered salute, and right after everyone on screen did the same.
The first thought that
flickered in my mind was “how silly this person sitting in a comfy theater
watching this movie is, doing the revolution’s symbol of the movie. And then I
had an OH SHIT moment. Because this movie is dangerous. Not in this country where we have democracy.
But all over the world, this movie could be seen as dangerous. It could be a REAL spark for revolution all
around the world in countries where there is corrupt leadership.
So when I got home I
did a search. “Mockingjay Part 1 banned”
I found this on tumblr
that I then reblogged. http://misssassykassie.tumblr.com/post/103504091406/secondstartotherae-there-are-countries-that
“There are countries that have banned Mockingjay
for fear their people will finally rise up against them and start their own
revolutions. There are people in Thailand that have been arrested for doing the
three fingered salute.
If you still think
these books about people standing up to their governments are just fads for
teenagers you are blind and mistaken.”
It turns out that in Thailand,
protesters against martial law there used the three finger salute themselves as
an act of defiance, which resulted in the ban of the movie when it was
released.
It feels unbelievable
that this trendy piece of writing can have real life effects. But its happening! Here in real life! That is
amazing! I often forget that living in
the United States, I have a lot of freedom that not everyone in the world is
privy to. That what just may simply be
entertainment to me is a spark of a revolution somewhere else in the world,
today in the same exact moment.
So I guess I’m writing this just as a little
reminder to keep my eyes open about the rest of the real world that I’m sharing
my experiences with.
