Movie Comparison: The Lord of the Rings, Where the Wild Things Are and The Hunger Games

Where the Wild Things Are

This is a fiction movie whose main character is a nine-year-old child. The film is a full-length psychological study that brings out childhood loneliness and dysfunction. The movie brings out emotional struggle of Max who is unhappy and faces family frustrations; this emanates from the fact that he is left unattended by his mother. The decision by his mother to leave unattended and rather focus on her boyfriend seems to make Max lonely. In the movie, the themes of friendship, submissive, loneliness, and sadness are brought out. The directors of the movie seem to master their job well as they bring out the dramatic encounters of Max as they give a series of events involving two worlds; the normal world and an imaginative animal world.

In one particular scene Max is deep in a forest where the wild things dwell and he hits the trees that serve as their home. This action angers the wild things that are presented using dim almost silhouette like lighting effects. They get out and discuss eating Max up as a punishment for him being so selfish and they gather around him citing that they hope he does not taste as selfish as they look. The director uses close up shots on their faces and displays an idea of terror in Max’s face and the audience alike. This prompts Max to begin moving backwards and he tries to hide his fear by telling the wild things that have closed in on him a fictitious tale of him having superpowers and being crowned king of a much scarier group of wild things.

This prompts the group of wild things to be visibly shocked and this is still displayed to the audience using close up shots to highlight the dialogue with little regard for wide shots. This is due to the intimacy of the scene being a turning point in the script, Max is now important to the wild things and gives them hope. They spark a conversation of how there might be challenges in getting what they want with Max as king but Max assures them of his abilities. He assures them but one particular individual in the group of wild things seems unconvinced. The rest of the group however do not need any convincing and ask the unconvinced one to be quiet.

This particular scene based on how it is displayed depicts how confidence in one’s abilities can help them achieve much regardless of the challenges involved. Max is not really a king, but he manages to convince the wild things of his kingship and ability to make their loneliness disappear. He gives empty promises that result in him evading the impending doom that was to befall him. It also shows that the size of the challenge does not matter but the attitude with which one responds to it.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is another film set in a world of fiction that appears in the form of a universe in The Hunger Games trilogy. It was written by Suzanne Collins and consists mainly of Panem, a fictional nation with its Capitol being where the government resides and the outlying zones or districts as they are called are numbered 1 to 12,each representing a different economic class .In District 13,a secretive district, a rebel group is growing. “The Hunger Games” is an event held every year that is unique in its type of rules because it involves selecting two participants from every district through a process known as “reaping”. The participants then fight to the death amongst themselves. The story is set in the fictional nation of Panem which stands in place of all 21st century North American nations at unspecified time in future and after great disasters have shook the earth.

According to the story, seventy four years before, the Capitol was attacked by rebels in a civil war led by District 13, and this prompted the Capitol to retaliate with burning down the entire district to the ground. The government describes this as “the dark days”. It also introduces an annual event dubbed “The Hunger Games” to instill fear and remind the districts of the power they wield. After the 75th

edition of the annual event, the president of Panem’s. Political rival leads a rebellion against the president and is successful. The film depicts the need for economic empowerment and freedom of the human race. District 13 leads a rebellion to liberate the people from the tyranny of the Capitol, which retaliates by burning their homes. This show the length people would go to seek justice and freedom in the face of astounding odds. The need for economic freedom is another major theme of the movie. The nation of Panem stands in p0lace of the great nations of the world including America due to economic capability, and thus show the need for better systems of governance in the world today so as to deal with major challenges including naturally caused ones.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is yet another thrilling movie that is set in Middle-earth, which is a fictional world where we follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship begin a journey to destroy the One Ring, thus ensuring the destruction of the one who made it, a dark ruthless war lord known as Lord Sauron. The Fellowship eventually disintegrates and Frodo decides to continue the quest in collaboration with Sam and Gollum, a treacherous character. The film presents the fantasy world of Middle-earth and this type of visual imagery became technologically possible after the successful release of Jurassic Park and director Peter Jackson decided to exploit this opportunity to create a new exciting project. By August 1997 they had begun storyboarding their project and this led to astounding creations in terms of armor, weapons, prosthetics, and lifelike creatures of Middle –earth. It talks of valor, determination and the will of an oppressed people to seek liberation. These values are what are emphasized through the fictional story of the film. It is indeed noble of Frodo and the Fellowship to seek how to destroy the dark Lord’s ring and this is exceptionally brought put in the film.