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Product Placement: A Reflection of Reality or Sneaky Advertising?

TV Product Placement Advertising - Subliminal

Product Placement: Reality or Sneaky Advertising?

Love it or hate it, product placement in television, movies, music videos and even Broadway plays is here to stay. Product placement is the art and science of getting a company’s brand featured in a popular movie or television series with the implied endorsement that goes along with the placement. Broadcasting & Cable reported that two-thirds of advertisers use product placement as part of their marketing plans, most of which (80 percent) is used in television, according to an Association of National Advertisers survey. With this proliferation of products in the media, it’s difficult to know just how such use of products in media affects the general public.

The Best and the Worst of Product Placement

Opponents of product placement contend that this practice is unfairly influencing the American buying public. However, not all product placement in movies and television is divisive. Some placement is just plain fun. In fact, there are even awards for the best (and the worst) use of a product in a movie or television program. In 2010, Toyota Prius was recognized as “Best Role in a Supporting Product Placement.” Its award got us thinking: when you see a Prius in a movie, does it help or hurt Toyota sales? It is hard to say without seeing the figures but we do know that Prius is by far the best-selling hybrid in the U.S., capturing more than 50 percent of its market.

One very well known product placement comes to mind is when Mars famously passed on allowing M&Ms be the candy that lures E.T in the film. Hershey’s agreed to have it’s Reeses Pieces be used and soon after the film debuted, their sales went through the roof. Other examples are Exxon paying $300,000 for it’s name to appear in Days of Thunder. Pampers paid $50,000 to be featured in Three Men and a Baby. Ray-bans also benefited from it’s exposure in Risky Business.

Apple, whose products appeared in 17 of the 40 top-grossing films of 2011, received more than twice the exposure of the second most visible brand. Apple maintains that it doesn’t pay for placement. Still, its mention in the top seven films of 2011 amounted to approximately $50 million in free advertising, according to BrandChannel.com.

Where Product Placement is Worrisome

Proponents of product placement argue that real people use branded products; why shouldn’t movie and television characters use similar products? They say that to use fake labels makes the production look fake. However, where product placement crosses into that gray, uncertain area is the fact that these ads (and aren’t product placements really ads?) aren’t labeled as such. Unsuspecting viewers (like our children) might just assume that everyone uses an Apple computer or drinks a Pepsi. Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of product placement, as discussed rather eloquently by Edward Wasserman in “The Ethics of Product Placement,” is that it blurs the lines between art and advertising. Would Hemingway write a special scene into a novel just to accommodate an advertiser? Would Francois Truffaut insert a scene especially for product placement?

The Bottom Line

Eliminating product placement in media is probably not realistic, or maybe even desirable. After all, brand names are a part of every day life. We—and our kids—see them everywhere. However, like all media viewing, responsible parents need to be aware of what their kids are watching and help to counter the endorsements inherent in product placement with real life common sense.

Share Your Thoughts!

  • Do you think Product Placement just a reflection of reality or sneaky advertising?
  • Do you know of great product placements in tv shows or movies? The Good and the Blatant?
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Three Easy Ways to Protect Your Child on Facebook

Kids Social Network Facebook Connections

The Parent-Kid Cyber-Safety: Facebook Edition

From the bus stop to the home computer, kids are vulnerable little creatures. Even in the comfort of home sitting right beside you on the couch, your child is essentially exposed to online predators and Internet dangers while playing on a laptop. And the moment they log onto Facebook, they’re open to whole new world that, without boundaries and limitations, threatens their safety. While accepting your child’s plea to join Facebook, keep the following in mind:

Familiar Friend Requests

As part of your child’s Facebook privileges, explain that every friend request will be run by you. Kids should treat social interactions on Facebook just like they do in real life, which is why enforcing the “stranger danger” rule for Facebook is a good approach. Communication can only move forward if the child knows and trusts the person with your approval. After a quick friend request, kids can become targets of stalkers, sexual predators, a phishing scam and identity theft. Know your child’s Facebook login and password and regularly monitor their account. You can also manage your child’s social media habits by keeping the computer in an open space in your home. Permit them to log on for a certain amount of time during a particular time of day.

Cyberbullying Online

No longer is bullying restricted to buses, playgrounds, cafeterias and beneath football stadium bleachers. Adolescents, tweens and teens are cyberbullied or cyberbullies themselves — and Facebook becomes the weapon of choice. Insulting status updates and photos can create serious personal anguish, resulting in low self-esteem and anti-social behavior. Cyerbullying can be so detrimental that school authorities and police officials become involved. Earlier this year, a 15-year-old boy in Colorado cyberbullied another student using the photo-sharing app Instagram. Photos were captioned with “derogatory or sexual comments,” explains CBSNews.com.

Create an open forum about malicious communication on Facebook and the topic of bullying on the Internet, whether you suspect that your child’s a victim of bullying or bullying others. Foster a relationship with your child so that they feel comfortable coming to you to handle a cyberbullying scenario.

If you suspect that your child’s the bully, the first step is to avoid denial. No parent wants to admit that their kid is causing harm to others. Do your best to not turn a blind eye to your child’s behavior. The consequences of cyberbullying are far-reaching and can even become fatal. A decisive lack of attention and responsibility for bullying behavior is practically advocating verbal violence and psychological harm among your child and peers. Avoid avoidance.

Facebook Friend Your Kids

Becoming friends with your child on Facebook invites you into their social network. Your child may even feel more protected and secure having you on their side. As mentioned by SociallyActive.com, the most harm children experience on Facebook isn’t caused by their own actions but rather the actions of their connections. Even if children don’t act like it, adolescents and teens actually need and want structure and boundaries set before them. During such impressionable ages, children feel safer and more in control with parental guidance. A presence in your child’s digital life, whether you’re initiating open conversations or installing online controls to safeguard information, creates a harmonious relationship between the Internet and your family.

 

  • What are some other great ways to protect your children online? Please share!

 

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Django Unchained Movie Review

Django - Jamie Foxx

Django Unchained: Review

The movie “Django Unchained” was one of the more popular movies from 2012. And it wasn’t only popular with general audiences either, as it also won 2 Oscars, and 26 other awards. The movie doesn’t have a shortage of famous names attached to it either, with Quentin Tarantino directing, and actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx starring.

Overview

Django is about a slave who is granted freedom in order to help a bounty hunter identify and ultimately capture a slave owner. Throughout the course of the film, the bounty hunter and the ex-slave become friends, and decide to try to buy freedom for Django’s wife from her current master. Most of the second half of the film focuses on the pair’s efforts to achieve freedom for Django’s wife Broomhilda.

Appropriate for Children?

Anyone who’s seen any of Tarantino’s films would hesitate to call anything he writes and directs as something that’s appropriate for all ages, and Django is no exception. The film is extremely violent and even gory at parts, and there is no shortage of adult situations. For example, there’s a part where one of the characters is hanging upside down in chains with the threat of castration being waved very visually over him.

It’s hard to imagine scenarios less suited for children. Django certainly earns every inch of its “R” rating. But on the other hand, these depictions show the realities of slavery, and they are a part of a larger picture that a lot of children would have trouble really picking up on anyway. But even so, many younger audiences will be drawn to the movie if only because it’s known as exclusively for adults, and because it’s frequent gun battles might seem exciting.

Themes in Django

One of the biggest themes in Django is that of freedom and equality. The laws of particular areas, such as the slavery laws of the south, or the federal laws of bounty hunting and killing, are contrasted with the higher laws of basic human morality. The bounty hunter in the movie, named “Schultz” goes through a moral transformation throughout the course of the movie that illustrates this theme. By the end, he appears to care even more about this higher morality than he does his own life.

The theme of the equality of man is definitely a large one in the film. Even beyond the obvious idea that no man deserves to be enslaved, the film takes us into the conflicting ideologies of Leonardo’s character, Calvin Candie versus that of Django and his companion regarding the intrinsic nature of people. Master Candie contends that Black people are all intrinsically subservient. This is an assertion that even goes beyond morality.

Even if Django was doing something wrong in his actions throughout the movie, you’d be hard pressed to call his gun rampage “subservient.” The film is saying something about the intrinsic sameness of people in this way. No one is subservient or dominant based on race. Each character speaks for themselves.

:: Author ::
This is a guest post by Lindsey Mcmahon. She likes to travel, play and read in her free time. Her interests are entertainment, television, parenting and health but she is constantly extending her field of view to incorporate interesting news suggested to her by her readers. She currently works for Direct TV.

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FCC considering allowing F-Words & Nudity on Network Television

FCC to allow Profanity & Nudity on Network TV?

Federal Communications Commission FCC Logo

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it is considering dropping current broadcast decency standards that ban explicit profanity and “non-sexual” nudity. This means that if enacted, the new FCC policy would allow networks to use profanity and frontal female nudity regardless of viewing hours. This includes times when children may be watching.
You can read the full press release in this PDF.

What can I do to help stopt his?

The FCC will accept opinions and comments regarding this proposal during the month of April. I urge you to let you voice be heard. Moral & decency standards on television and in movies have degraded over the years. What is considered the norm of “acceptable” has shifted many notches for the worse. This would be a huge blow to those who want to protect their children (and themselves) from being exposed to profanity and nudity.

Current broadcast laws prohibit expletives and nudity, even if brief. Networks like NBC and FOX has worked to overturn it over the years, but the Supreme Court has upheld the law as constitutionally enforceable by the FCC. Thus it is ultimately FCC’s decision.

Step by Step instructions to Submit FCC comment

Submit your comments to the FCC during the month of April urging them to reject such changes and why it would be a horrible idea to remove such a crucial boundary of decency. You must make a formal comment via the FCC site.

Here are some instructions.

1. Go to this FCC FORM
2. Enter the code “13-86” in the “Proceeding Number” box and fill out the few remaining required fields.
3. Enter your comment in the text box provided and click “Continue.”
4. From there, review your comment and click “Confirm.”

Here is a sample comment you may submit via the American Family Association:

I oppose any changes to the current FCC indecency standards that would allow television and radio stations to broadcast expletives and nudity on the public airwaves, even if brief or “fleeting.”

The Supreme Court has confirmed the FCC’s authority to enforce policies regarding expletives and nudity, especially during times when children are likely to be watching or listening.

Relaxing the current policy would not serve the public interest and I urge the FCC to reject all proposals that would allow for the broadcast of expletives and nudity on FCC-licensed stations.

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Teens Standing up to Cyber Bullies on Facebook

It’s Back to School & Cyberbulling

It’s back to school time. Many schools will be starting this week or the next. It’s the time to think about new classes, new teachers, perhaps new friends, but also a time to think about the many issues in present youth culture.

One of the biggest is cyberbullying. According to a new study, 1 in 4 kids claim to be targets of cyberbullying, nearly 2 of 3 teens have witnessed cruel behavior online, but only 10% of parents are aware that their own teens are one of the recipients. Most of these attacks happen on Facebook where a whopping 92.6% of teens say cruel behavior takes place. It also happens through other mediums such as Twitter 23.8%, MySpace (17.7%), and Instant Messenger 15.2%.

Is Standing up to Bullies Online Safe?

But what is interesting is how teens stand up to bullies more often online. 40% tells them to stop, nearly 21% ended up telling an adult, while 65.8% responded to the attacker. In the small security of not being physically present, teens respond more frequently.

However, beware, 35% of students also end up responding in person and 4.5% of the teens end up in physical fights. 15% avoided school altogether due to an online incident. Worse, 6.3% of people join in the attack.

It is important that parents are aware of what is going on in the online space because it can have dramatic impact on teens especially during the difficult and emotional years of youth. If your child is is often emotionally down or wants to avoid school, you should be aware that cyberbulling is not a simple issues to be ignored. If that doesn’t move you, know that teens who are cyberbullied are 3.5x MORE likely to attempt suicide! Now that is a scary reality.

Check out the infographic below, and let us know your thoughts. Any of the statistics surprise you?

Cyberbullying Statistics Infographic

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Colorado Theater Massacre – Who to Blame?

Gangster Squad Movie Trailer

The Blame of Colorado Theater Massacre

The Colorado Theater Massacre is such a tragic story. I am incredibly saddened by what happened and much prayers go out to the families and loved ones involved.

The alleged shooter is 24 year old James Holmes, who faces 142 criminal counts for shooting at a packed midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises. For whatever reason, motive still uncertain, he proceeded to open fire into the crowds leaving 12 dead and 58 injured.

In most circumstances as people try to make sense of this kind of senseless killing, our first instinct is to want to blame something or someone. Blame parents, blame media, blame society, blame gun-control or blame the individual who perpetrated it all. As usual, there are a lot of questions and lot of accusations, though surprisingly the outcry doesn’t seem to be as loud this time around.

Traditionally media is one of the biggest targets in the blame game. Considering this was at a movie theater, it seemed inevitable that a lot of blame would be casts on media’s influence on the young mind. However whether it is the immediate responsiveness of Warner Brothers, or perhaps of how ridiculously senseless the deed was – there seems to a lot less finger pointing over this event. Still the film industry is being very cautious and has properly shown sensitivity to what has happened by immediately taking action.

Warner Brothers Acts Quickly to Colorado

Warner Brothers, the studio who released “The Dark Knight Rises”, quickly removed the trailer for its upcoming film “Gangster Squad” which has been a trailer proceeding “The Dark Knight Rises.” This trailer features a climactic scene in which mob gangsters open fire into a movie theater. Good move. Warner Brothers also quickly removed the trailer from YouTube and other video sharing sites. It is also said that the studio plans to reshoot parts of the movie in dealing with this matter. The studio hasn’t been clear on how they plan to reedit the movie but it will be interesting to see to what extent they would go in response to this tragedy. Will they cut an important scene all together or make minor edits? Perhaps just tone it down? Either way it will cost Warner Brothers a pretty penny. They also stand to potentially lose money by pushing out the release date from September 7th to January 11th as well have already lost money canceling premieres several key global cities out of respect for the victims.

Warner Brothers also announced it was making a “substantial” undisclosed donation to the victims.

Hollywood is to Blame? Or Not?

Quotes from Hollywood:

“I think it’s a tragedy and to blame the movie business is incorrect and inappropriate…” – Geffen, Co-founder of DreamWorks

“I think it’s just an opportunistic scenario… I leave it to people who sit in rooms with diagrams and charts to try to correlate cause and effect. And I think hindsight is 20-20 and we’re not anywhere near hindsight. This is still fresh paint on the canvas of our culture and it remains to be seen. There’s a lot of healing to go on.” – Diane Lane, Actress

“If you are not raising your kids to have balance in life, that is one place we have to look at.” – Will.i.am, Recording Artist

In response to whether television companies should cut down on violence:
“We think about the images particularly that children see, and as we look at the programming that we design for our schedule — obviously, the programming that we produce is educational — but we think a lot about the images that particularly the most impressionable, and I would say that children are at the top of that list, are confronted with.” – Paula Kerger, PBS President

So Who do We Blame? What Do We Really Know?

I would hope that no one would argue that media has a huge influence on the way we, especially as children, view the world, view people, and the norms of society. Cursing, violence, how to treat other people, self-image, view of women, that life is all about one’s own happiness, that power is respected, that being cool or good looking is what matter, that living rich with comforts will bring happiness, that romantic love is the answer to all things – and so on.

I would imagine, it had some various affects on how this shooter viewed the world and the value of human life – but does that mean media is the only thing to blame for such a tragedy? No of course not. There are so many factors involved, that I wouldn’t even assume to know all that went into it. Perhaps parenting, perhaps influence of bad friends, perhaps he had a tragic past, didn’t have a father figure, grew up in a broken home, I do not know. The only thing I know is that it’s a scary thing that he became a person capable of such things. That as a baby he was no different than you and me – but there was something in him that thru circumstances and influences allowed him to do what he did. That is a scary thought and should really humble us to really be careful about what kind of things we allow ourselves (and our children) to be exposed to and the kind of things we listen to.

What are your thoughts?

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McDonald’s Photoshop Burger Advertisment Video

McDonald Quarter Pounder Photoshop Burger

The Perfect McDonald’s Advertising Burger

Dear McDonald’s – “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what is in the store?”

This was a question asked by a customer to McDonald’s. I am sure lot of us always wondered or at least balked at how perfect the burgers look on the ads yet look so flat, small, and less appetizing in real life.

Well folks, we already know the answer. It’s because the burgers are carefully crafted and yes, photoshopped to perfection. That is not a surprise. The surprise is that McDonald’s answered this question by producing a quick video on the whole process.

Was this a good move or bad move by McDonald’s?

Either way, we’ve often talked about famous photo manipulations here at Clean Cut Media especially in terms of how altering photos of people causes us to have distorted view of beauty. This is a different kind of “Beauty”, perhaps not so harmful, but still is pretty fun to watch as they carefully craft and photoshop a quarter-pounder with cheese.

Hungry Anyone? Enjoy the video.

Mcdonald’s Photoshopped Burger Video

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Best April Fools Day Jokes Roundup 2012

April Fools Day Roundup

It has become commonplace for internet firms to get in the April Fools media fun. Last year we saw a few hilarious April Fools Jokes from Starbucks introducing the 128oz Plenta & 2oz Micra Sizes to Animal Translate by Google. Some companies like Google have confused consumers by introducing real products like Gmail on April Fools Day!

So what happened in 2012? Below are a few of the funnier ones from 2012. Enjoy.

Let us know what was your favorite and please share other good ones you’ve found on the web!

Google – 8 Bit NES Maps

Google-8-Bit-Maps-April-Fools

Google teamed up with square enix to added a button allowing users to view a 8 Bit NES style map as you would find it in old nintendo RPGs. Pretty fun to see what your home town looked like in an 8 bit world. Graphics have come a long way!

West Jet Introduces Child-Free Cabins! – Kargo Kids

WestJet - Kargo Kids April FoolsThis one is cute (can I say that as a man?)…

WestJet, Cananda’s low-cost airline introduced Kargo Kids! From the Horses Mouth:

“Kargo Kids is an exciting new program allowing guests to travel on select child-free flights, creating a quieter and more relaxing inflight experience, while children travel in a special VIP area of the aircraft”

What a great idea. it’s like having a play pen section with baby sitters. The question now is, why not MAKE THIS REAL!

Love the images of kids in the little cargo bins. Just watch it.

Google – Multitask in Chrome

Need to increase productivity? Forget browser tabs. What if you could click on multiple things all at once! Google Introduces Multitasking on Chrome, but not in the way you would have thought. Now you can control multiple cursors at once! Watch the video below. then try it out yourself!

Try Google Multi-Task Mode

The YouTube Collection on DVD

YouTube Collection DVDEver wish you had that YouTube video handy but didn’t have an internet connection? Well now you can order the YouTube Collection on DVD and watch your favorite YouTube videos online. What is in this collection you say? Every single YouTube video ever created. That’s right, it’s the biggest collection you have ever seen and since YouTube is growing like a man-child, the will continue to deliver dvds by the truckloads every week.

The YouTube Collection – Order Now

Sony VAIO Q – New Ultrabook – Amazing Small

All these Ultrabooks and Netbooks were bound to fail. Nothing can hold up to what Apple is doing these days. But this. This just might do it. Check out the new Sony VAIO Q. Amazingly small. It would make Steve Jobs proud. See the video below and be amazed. It’s a laptop literally at your fingertips.

Toshiba Announces “Shapes” Tablets – iPad Killer?

Toshiba Amore Heart TabletApple has been making all the news with their new iPhones and new iPads. All other companies have done is to copy iPhone & iPad designs and produce sad copy cats that are dead on arrival. In addition to the Sony introducing the VAIO Q, Toshiba has also been innovating to make the news waves. Finally an iPad killer worth talking about. Innovation at it’s finest. Check out the “Shapes” Tablets. It’s just the kind of thing you would have never thought of. Enjoy!

Come in Oblong, Rhombus & Amore. Available April 1st.

Get the Toshiba Shapes Tablets Now!

AdBlock introduces CatBlock

AdBlock has been a wonderful piece of add-on software to help block ads on the internet. I love this plug in and thus wrote an AdBlock review on it. But they outdid themselves this year. Introducing CatBlock. No, it doesn’t block Cats. Rather it replaces ADs with Cat images because you know, we can’t get enough of those cute furry things.

Warby Parker Presents, Glasses for Dogs

Sadly, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if this was real. Seeing dogs where clothing already is disturbing to me. Luckily, it’s not real, so it’s cute.

Warby Barker Canine Sunglasses April Fools

Power Ranger Fragrance

Already Pre-ordered the whole set. Since I am a man, looking forward the blue one.

Power Ranger Perfume April Fools

Google – Interplanetary Reporting in Google Analytics

Alright you analytical nerds. Already segmenting your data by demographics? By source? By engines? By location? No idea what I am talking about? It’s ok, you’ll still understand the joke.

Google has plans to expanded their features. Starting in the year 2030, you can know from what planet people are searching from. Is it true men are from mars and woman are from venus? Now you can find out. Google states it will start as far as the Andromeda Galaxy. Check out the screenshot below!

Google Analytics Interplanetary Reports

Official Google Interplanetary Reporting Announcement Post

CatBlock Details

Conan O’Brien Buys Mashable

Mashable is a very popular technology blog followed by millions of people including yours truly. Recently we got the exciting news that Conan O’Brien has officially bought Mashable and has Ousted CEO Pete Cashmore. Conan O’Brien is the new CEO and he promises great things.

Unfortunately several hours later and a couple videos later, Conan sadly resigned stating that he mistakenly actually bought a M.A.S.H sitcom fan site instead. Good while it lasted.

History of April Fools Day

Lastly, here is a fun video talking about the History of April Fools, or at least their best guesses.

April Fools 2012 – What was Your Favorite?

  • Pick your top 3 favorites in the poll below.
  • Share why in comments!
  • Know of other good ones? Let us know!
[poll id=”32″]
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How Much Data does Your Child Use Per Month?

Mobile Data Usage Statistics

DID YOU KNOW:

  • Teens ages 13 to 17 use on average 320MB of data per month?
  • Adults ages 25-34 use on average 578MB of data per month?

A study by Nielson analyzed mobile data from 65,000 U.S. subscribers. Smartphone users using mobile internet has increased 45% this year. Take a look around. Before the iPhone revolution, who among the people you know had smartphones? Very few people I imagine.

Mobile Data Usage Infographic

Teens & Texting: Where are Thou Social Skills?

We’ve had many article here following the incredible growth of text usage among teenagers. During Q3 of 2011, female teens had reached 3,952 texts per month. Male teens were at a “paltry” 2,815 per month. It wasn’t long ago that I was fine with a 200 txt msg plan! Not anymore.

Some people argue that social networks and easy communication access is lowering children’s ability to socially connect with others. Well this latest crop of statistics show that voice minute usage is dropping among teens. it dropped 17% year over year as they opt to text as it is faster and easier. An older poll from 2011 of 500 social networking Americans between ages 13 to 21, showed that 71% of the respondents preferred texting to phone calling. Ok, confession time. I would fall in that category as well. It is indeed easier and quicker, but do you think it has an adverse affect? Will it hurt social abilities and limit experiences for children and teens who grow up texting, talking online, messaging on Facebook, and IMing on gchat. I would argue, yes it would have an effect, though it may not be obvious or all that dramatic at first. I’ve worked with enough college students and youths to know, it could potentially become a problem.

  • What do you think?

Mobile Texting Statistics for Teens

  • 45% of teens send at least 30 texts a day
  •  54% of teens say they are just “chatting”
  •  14% text in class
  •  17% text while riding in a car
  •  10% text during a movie
  • Teens Ages 13-17 average 3417 text messages per month
  • Equivalent to 7 texts per every waking hour
  • 18-25: 1,914 texts per hour
  • 25-34: 928 texts per hour
  • 95% use phone for online gaming
  • 66% use to stream music

[poll id=”15″]

Teen Cell Phone Usage Statistics Infographic

Teen Texting Statistics Infographic

Infographic Courtesy of OnlineSchools

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The Hunger Games Trailer: Book to Movie

The Hunger Games Movie Trailer

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collin Short Review: It’s Awesome

Super Short Review: Wanting to find a fun book to read? Have extra credits on Audible and want wondering what book to download next? The Hunger Games Trilogy. I read it. Ok. So I listened to the Audiobooks. Almost the same thing. It’s an excellent read (listen?). Very gripping. Dives deep into the psychology of it’s characters and touches upon themes of independence, big brother, the sinfulness (evil) of people, trust and relationships. It’s not for children however, tons of violence as expected from a book centered around… 24 youths forced to… battle to the death… more info below.

The Hunger Games Story

16 year old Katniss Everdeen lives in a post-apocalyptic world in a country called Panem which lies where United States once existed. Panem consist of a wealthy Capitol and 12 surrounding run down districts. The government holds power through an annual event called the Hunger Games where each of the 12 districts chooses a boy and a girl representative or “tributes” to a highly televised battle royale to the death. The Hunger Games is as much as a “show” as is a fight to survive as your popularity can gain you more favors and donations from the outside world. Unfortunately only one of the 24 tributes are allowed to walk out alive. It is a government that controls through fear and resource control. The winning district is rewarded with food and benefits in a world where resources are scarce. Katniss’ younger sister is chosen as a tribute, so Katniss chooses to volunteer to replace her and thus enters the Hunger Games a place of shaky alliances, friendships, suspicion and a lot of posturing.

Hunger Games Movie - Katniss Selection
The Hunger Games Tributes are Chosen - Peeta & Katniss
Hunger Games Movie - Katniss Sign
Katniss Displays a "Special" Sign to the District

The Hunger Games the Movie is Coming – Watch the Trailer

This past week, the first theatrical trailer for The Hunger Games was released to the delight of many fans of the book. The Hunger Games the Movie is set to release on March 23, 2012 featuring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. It is expected to be a huge blockbuster considering the Hunger Games Trilogy is one of the best selling books in the modern era. It is regularly in the top reads on Amazon, one of the first to hit 1 million sales on the kindle and easily one of the highest downloaded book on Audible. The rights were picked up by Lionsgate. Word is that it will be PG-13. Watch the trailer below!

 

The Hunger Games Themes

Government vs Independence: The majors themes in The Hunger Games involve topics of government control vs. personal independence. The “capital” in this book controls the populace through fear and forces the hunger games upon them as a means to assert their power.

Survival vs Value of Human Life: Through the struggle through the hunger games, the themes of survival vs humanity becomes very apparent centered around the value of human life. Lot of the characters struggle through being put in a position of placing their own life against the life of others. What is acceptable for survival? Is it ever ok to hurt (or kill) another person in order to survive? Should one feel guilty over lying and deceiving others as needed?

Hunger Games Movie - Katniss Fight
Will Katniss be able to Kill other Youths if it Came Down to it?

Selfishness of Man: Personally, one thing I appreciate about these stories is that it is very blunt about the innate selfishness of man. People often want to think that deep down inside all people are “good,” but let’s be honest here. When we look at little children who have no concept of image or wearing masks, we know we are born innately selfish. You need to teach them to share. You need to teach them to be thankful. You need to teach them that they just can’t cry because they don’t get what they want and not to bite the kid next to them. When we are honest with ourselves and our thoughts, our motives, we know that we think mainly of ourselves and how we feel above everything else. We know if all boundaries and rules were removed as it is in the scenario in this book, all hell would break loose and eventually everyone would simply do as they please. Thank God for laws, and punishing sticks.

This book is very real about this truth. When it comes down to it, everyone innately wants to serve themselves. It is a beautiful thing to see characters fight their way away from this innate desire to survive to thinking for the good of someone else even while everyone else is becoming dead to their sensitivity. It is often the thoughts of someone Katniss loves that helps her fight from spiraling into just forgetting humanity altogether. But the struggle is very real and very difficult especially for the main protagonist Katniss. You can tell her natural inclination is to mistrust and watch out for herself. Having compassion and love is a considered a “weakness” within the book especially when everyone in the hunger games are just simply trying to outlive one another. This is true of the real world, where the message often tells us that ultimately we need to watch out for ourselves and do what we need to do to get ahead in life. But just like in real life, it is compassion and love that we all know is how it is meant to be. When we see people suppress the urge to serve oneself out of love for another, it is something we know to be right. When people sacrifice their own good for someone they love, we know that is right. Yet again, this is something that does not come naturally. It is hard and something we need to fight for. I think this is portrayed well within the story.

Other Themes: There is this “love conquers all” type of feeling which is not necessarily a great theme to take in blindly without some context.

Warnings: This is NOT a children’s book. When it comes down to it, it is a battle royale so many people die. Also there is a lot of discussion on deception and posturing which without proper understanding can be really confusing. However it is a relatively clean series in all other aspects.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collin Series

The Hunger Games Trilogy – The Books

The Hunger Games originally released in 2008, followed by Catching Fire in 2009 and Mockingjay in 2010 completing the Hunger Games Trilogy. It has since become one of the most popular, bestselling series. It remained on the New York Times list for over 100 consecutive weeks.

HEY! Book 1 of The Hunger Games is only $5 on Amazon. Great filler to get that $25 free shipping 🙂
Link to the The Hunger Games Book 1 Here

Audiobook

The Audiobook version of the Hunger Games is fantastic. The reader Carolyn McCormick does an excellent job portraying all the various characters guys and girls! Two links for you below.

Audible Subscribers: Book 1 of Hunger Games on Audible is link is HERE

Non-Audible Subscribers: Click on the image below and get the Audiobook Free!

1 FREE Audiobook RISK-FREE from Audible

Have you read the Hunger Games?

Let us know your thoughts on the book!

  • Did you read it or listen to it? Like it?
  •  Any other themes you found to be interesting?
  •  Are you looking forward to the movie? Why?
  •  Other similar books you’d like to recommend to others?
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Band of Brothers TV Series [Review]

Band of Brothers TV Series Logo

Band of Brothers TV Series Review: Story

Band of Brothers is ten-part HBO TV series about World War II, based on the Band of Brothers book written by historian and biographer Stephen E. Ambrose. Band of Brothers received considerable attention because it was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who both worked together on “Saving Private Ryan,” another realistic World War II movie.

The series follows Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion who is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. It follows their experiences from before landing in Normandy to the end of the war. The events are based on real life accounts from the soldiers of easy company. Before every episode the surviving members describe their experiences, often in tears thinking about their fallen friends and the experiences that will forever haunt them the rest of their lives.

The series mainly focuses on Major Richard Winters (1918-2011), played by Damian Lewis, as he grows into a leader and strives to keep his band of brothers together and alive. However different episodes often highlights different soldiers of E Company, and their various experiences. Through out the series you get to know each of the character from the first time they step onto soil, to hard veterans, battle tested, growing into leadership roles… for those who survive through the battles. As a viewer, you get to experience both the forming and loss of relationships as well as the hardship of war life especially mentally and emotionally.

Band of Brothers Soldiers LogoBand of Brothers TV Series. Is it Clean? Safe?

Band of Brothers by no means should be shown to children. It’s a war movie, and a realistic one at that. Just like Saving Private Ryan, there are plenty of realistic violence. There is also plenty of cursing, which of course is expected as it is a war movie.

There is also a sex scene in the beginning of episode 9. Avoid it. It is explicit and completely unexpected as all the episodes up to this point was clean in this area. Why the directors chose to add this scene is beyond me as it seems completely out of place.

Band of Brothers TV Series: Morals? Opinions?

Personally, I loved Band of Brothers. Though it may be hard to follow all the characters as the cast is large, you can easily sympathize with the various characters as they struggle mentally and emotionally through the war. The loss of key people are disheartening but there is also a sense of triumph as the various characters grow up, and step up as is needed. As the title says, you can definitely come to appreciate how these men draw together, put their differences aside and become like brothers. Every battle is tense as you don’t want anyone to die or get hurt. The struggle of dealing with death is a big theme as well.

Major Winters - Band of Brothers

Major Winters – Lessons on Leadership

Major Winters is a person to be admired, someone who deeply cares for his men and does everything in his power to protect them and train them properly. Watching him grow from a fellow soldier into highly respected leader has many lessons packed in itself. He leads by example, he is always in the front lines, he seeks to understand his men, he is decisive, he follows the rules, he cares deeply about his men, he thinks through how his interactions with his unit affects their morale, their behavior and the level of respect he needs to command the unit. An example is when Major Winters reprimands his his Lieutenant for gambling with his soldiers because he says he should never put himself in a position from taking from his own men. A leader must always give in every way to the people you lead. From the beginning, he slowly earns everyone’s respect and you can see how it plays out with each of the characters. There are many other men you can compare leadership qualities with such as E Company’s first commander, Herbert Sobel (great trainer, but horrible leader), the mysterious Captain Ron Speirs (everyone feared but respected him), and Lieutenant Norman Dike (who no one had confidence in).

Major Winters Quotes about Leadership

Band of Brothers TV Show“The qualities you are looking for in a leader include: Does the individual have the respect of the men? How do you get the respect of the men? By living with them, being a part of it, being able to understand what they are going through and not to separate yourself from them. You have to know your men. You have to gain their confidence. And the way to gain the confidence of anybody, whether it’s in war or civilian life or whatever, you must be honest. Be honest, be fair and be consistent. You can’t be honest and fair one day, and the next give your people the short end of the stick. Once you can achieve that, you will be a leader.”

“You maintain close relationships with your men, but not friendship. You have mutual respect for one another, but yet you have to hold yourself aloof, to a degree. If you are too friendly, it works in a negative way when you need to discipline your men. You can have your men’s respect and friendship, but there is a point where you have to rise above this relationship and make sure they are following the orders that are in effect for everybody. In leading groups effectively, you have to rise above camaraderie. You have to be fair to everyone. Everyone must know that they are treated equally.”

Major Winters

The Pacific TV Series LogoThe Pacific – Band of Brothers Followup – Quick Note

NOTE: “The Pacific,” the followup mini-series covering WWII battle in the pacific is NOT A CLEAN MOVIE. It is unlike Band of Brothers which was relatively clean throughout. Also “The Pacific” less centered around brotherhood and leadership but more centered around the degrading psychology of men – Highlighting how innocent people’s mind becomes jaded and ruthless in war. Thus the series is much darker.

  • How did you like Band of Brothers?
  • Any addition lessons to note?
  • What was your favorite episode?
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9 11 / September 11 Quotes & Statistics [Infographic]

9-11 September 11 Firefighters9/11 September 11 Statistics Infographic

Let’s not forget the fateful day of 9 11. September 11, 2001.
Below is a Statistic Infographic of the World Trade Center events of 9/11.

  • Some Key Statistics of 9/11
  • 4 Planes, 19 Terrorist
  • 3 Major Attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Crash at Stonycreek Township which is believed to have targed the US Capitol Building / White House.
  • 18,000 Small Businesses were Destoryed or Displaced
  • The Collapse of the World Trade Center reached speeds of 120 miles per hour
  • 1,506,124 Tons of Debris removed from site
  • 2,000 First Responders Injured in the attacks
  • 36,000 units of Blood Donated at the New York Blood Center
  • 99 Days Fires Burned after the Attack

9-11 September 11 World Trade Center

  • 3,051 Number of Children who lost parents
  • 343 Firefighters & Paramedics who died
  • 125 People who died at the Pentagon
  • 92 People killed on Flight 11
  • 64 People died on Flight 175
  • 64 People died on Flight 77
  • 44 People died in Flight 93
  • 23 NYPD Officers lost in the attack

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting september the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children,”
– President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

911 September 11 World Trade Center

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend- even a friend whose name it never knew.”
– President George W. Bush, December 11, 2001

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed, though the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roil and be troubled, though mountains shake with its swelling,”
— US President Barack Obama at the Ground Zero ceremony, reading Psalm 46.

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