Luxurious buildings, fortified castles, delicious food; a luxurious and good life, nothing is missing. Here is where gentlemen live.
Here they sleep, and from here they govern, run the affairs of the country, and organize the lives of those who live on the margins of life. People on the margins have nothing but misery and deprivation. So, they do not think of rebellion or revolution as they did before, the gentlemen punish them and keep them busy playing games.
Regular annual games, similar to the Olympics; one or two participants from each province, region or city, but the principles and rules followed differ from any accepted principles or rules of sport. It’s closer to the medieval games, and the antiquated times that no one wants to return, the ones where the slaves were presented to fight predatory animals, in a square packed with fans eager for the spectacle of predation. Getting knocked out surely means death; no second chance, defeat cannot be compensated.
These are the games of hunger; competitors have to kill each other, until there is a single winner, and this is the American film that almost matches the tragic reality.
There is a vast gap between the gentlemen’s faces, the purity and softness of their skin, their elegant clothes, and the shabbiness among the faces of others; whether they have things to cover their bodies or not. There is a terrifying difference between the huts of those who play in the games, with their sarcasm, poverty, and narrowness, and between the glittering buildings inhabited by the rulers. Here there are people and then there are people, the gap that separates them is carefully engraved so that it is difficult to cross.
The movie Hunger Games is being repeated on various foreign film channels as if it were a course. I have seen the many chapters of it, the first, second, then a third, and a fourth, as if by repeating it you find a hidden message. The film was produced in the year 2012 and is written by Susan Collins and directed by Gary Ross.
The harsh film scenes can be seen, and projected on reality. Whenever I see it, I watch the film, to observe the present with all its ugliness and degeneration. The last time I saw the film, I was reminded of some of the current images, including the new capital of Cairo, the celebrations and the pictures that the media have brought to us. The similarity is there, and the comparison is obvious.
A new capital, great and beautiful, the likes of which has never been seen or heard of before even in fairy tales. A great new capital, enviable, embracing vast palaces and lawns, huge gardens, its lakes so blue, people won’t tire of looking at them. A capital full of power and strength, fortified with high fences, keeping the hungry outside, fighting till death.
The capital is governed by gentlemen, while the people howl on its borders, but the howling does not reach the ears of the gentlemen; the solid walls and their thick skin, protects them from the evil sounds.
"The capital is a source of pride; it calls for pride and allows us - the citizens - to be proud; proud of this achievement and of miracles," said the reporter; the unclear thoughts which have been stressed by our present ruler for over three years. She spoke, but her words were like a question, which begged the approval of the listener, searching for support and agreement. Most of the participants in the discussion, including me, responded that the pride in the case of our situation, is only in improving the living conditions that have become painful. The pride is when people find what enriches them in the piles of garbage, as they search for food or for anything of value. Glory becomes true for all; when children learn the best for themselves that they crave, without being crammed into classrooms like caves, and without humiliating themselves at their young age. The miracle that can be boasted is that citizens who live under all poverty lines get treatment and medicine without begging and begging, and without tasting the bitterness of humiliation.
The desired superiority won’t come by constructing towers, castles and forts, it won’t be with cities surrounded by barriers and borders, how many buildings have been built here and there, by collecting money and making use of machinery and equipment and modern tools. There is no advantage in this embodiment and no miracle in building. The existence of these buildings is shameful and a failure. A failure to meet priorities that are linked to basic human needs.
In the film Hunger Games, there are direct confrontations between the contestants; the gentlemen are safe, but in fact the reality is that we really do live with direct confrontations between the oppressed while the gentlemen live in peace. The hope is that in the near future we will bring down the walls and fill the gap between the two teams. The hope is in making a new future with no games.
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