We all saw this coming.
The Hunger Games, one of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2012, screamed to an estimated $155 million opening weekend take, obliterating the rest of the field (21 Jump Street finished a distant second with $21.3 million) and setting all sorts of records in the process. It was the third highest opening of all time (just behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Dark Knight) and the highest debut ever for a non-sequel.
But let’s step back for just a moment and ask something: What, exactly, does that sky-high number mean? It doesn’t tell us whether The Hunger Games is a great movie. It doesn’t tell us whether people liked the film. It doesn’t tell us even how many tickets were sold—just how much was spent. Sure, it’s helpful. Sure, it tells us something about where The Hunger Games fits into our culture. But at the end of the day, it tells only a sliver of the story.
Which brings us to another number: 3.5.
The 3.5 figure is the “family friendliness” rating (out of 5) that Plugged In gave The Hunger Games for our audio, video and mobile reviews. And in the last few days, a handful of Plugged In readers and listeners have contacted us, questioning our rating. A 3.5? Some have asked. Really?
“I’m curious how a film like the Hunger Games, where teens brutally hack and kill each other in violent ways, could receive a 3 1/2 stars family friendliness rating on your site?,” wrote one reader. “It got a higher rating than Big Miracle, a true story about saving whales. Makes no sense.”
I hear where our reader is coming from. Entertainment should inspire discussion, and the fact that folks are really weighing what’s out there—whether it honors God, whether it’s edifying, whether it’s appropriate—is quite encouraging. After all, that’s really part of our mission here: to get people thinking about what they’re watching and listening to.
But The Hunger Games also gives us a chance to ask another important question: What’s in a number?
The Plugged In ratings were created, in part, to serve as something akin to critical shorthand. On the radio, Plugged In spokesman Bob Waliszewski doesn’t have 10 minutes to give a comprehensive review of a film: He has one or two. And we understand that, when you’re perusing Plugged In on your smartphone while waiting for a light to change, you may not be in a great position to read several paragraphs about, say, the sexual content of 21 Jump Street.
But just as you can’t get the full impact of the book of Psalms through SparkNotes, the numerical rating inherently tells just part of the story. And as much time and effort as we put into giving a film an accurate rating, they can be (through no fault of their own) misleading without proper context. Even with that context, we can’t—and would never assume to—tell you what’s appropriate for your family. Though we gave The Passion of the Christ a 5 for “family friendliness,” we did so with the understanding that parents would be the final authority on whether or not to let their children see the film.
In short, our family friendliness ratings are a tool—one of many tools we’d encourage you to use when deciding what entertainment is appropriate for you and your family. We never intended it as a verdict.
Which brings us back to The Hunger Games—a tricky film to quantify under any circumstances. It’s a film that cogently, creatively speaks about a number of growing societal evils. It steers reasonably clear of problematic sexual and language content. It shows us hints of humanity in the midst of an inhumane game. It models sacrifice and even, at times, kindness.
And it also ladles out loads and loads of violence: Kids killing kids in very brutal ways.
Bob Hoose and Steven Isaac’s online review tackles the film from any number of different angles, and I know how much they worked on getting the tone of the review just right. I also know how much the team considered what sort of rating The Hunger Games should garner: After much discussion, the team involved decided on 3.5.
The rating, again, is a guide—not a verdict or judgment. We’re not out to condemn Hollywood for making “bad” movies. The fact that most movies have bad stuff in them is a given; few folks make films with God in mind. What we want to do is give you as much help as we can to discern what might be appropriate for you and your family. Our ratings system on the radio and our app is part of that effort.
What you do with our ratings and our reviews, our podcasts and blogs … well, that’s up to you. We’re just here with you, praying with you and for you, offering input when you ask for it and walking beside you, step for step.
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