And why do we keep making kids battle to the death?

Battle royale-style movies, where individuals—often children—are forced to fight to the death for entertainment, have become a recurring genre in modern media. Works like 'The Long Walk,' 'The Hunger Games,' and 'Battle Royale' share common elements, including their focus on young contestants, the spectacle of violence, and the role of oppressive governments orchestrating these events for public consumption.

The appeal of these stories lies in their exploration of powerlessness, societal critique, and the humanity displayed by the participants. While the premise is disturbing, the narratives often highlight the resilience and compassion of the characters, prompting viewers to reflect on their own roles as spectators and the broader implications of such entertainment.

Why do we keep making battle royale-style movies?

The Long Walk is the latest entry in the disturbingly popular genre called People Battling to the Death for Our Entertainment and also as a commentary on the cutthroat nature of our society. Now, humans have always been fascinated by games where the stakes are life or death ever since Gladiator times where we had to do it for real because there was no CGI. But this particular genre has gotten very popular in the 20th and 21st centuries. From Squid Game, to Fortnite, to everything in between. But today, we're going to focus on just three of these stories. The ones where kids are the contestants. The Long Walk, The Hunger Games, and Battle Royale. They've got more in common than just their premise, too. Commonalities that might explain why they all specifically involve kids and why all three are such hits. Now, as of this recording, I don't actually know if The Long Walk Movie is a hit, but I'll say that the book it's based on was obviously popular enough to warrant an adaptation. And on a personal note, it has been my favorite Stephen King book since it first disturbed me body and soul as a teenager. You know who else is a big Long Walk fan? Koshin Takami, the writer of the Battle Royale novel. His book was later adapted into a film of the same name, which is often cited as the originator of this battle-to-the-death genre. But the guy gives credit where it's due. The Long Walk absolutely influenced Battle Royale. As for The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins says she was not influenced by Battle Royale or The Long Walk, but instead by the aforementioned gladiatorial arenas of old, a splash of Greek mythology, and, interestingly, reality TV. We'll get to reality TV in a moment. To start, though, why do we want to watch kids battle to the death? Well, because it's f***ed up. Adults battling each other to the death is dark already, but adults are the ones running these societies and will be the ones doing the uprising if the government that allows for these games ever gets overthrown. Kids, meanwhile, have zero power, and the injustice of that makes it all the more disturbing and therefore more engaging. In return, the kids end up turning that violence against each other since it's the only way that they can experience that feeling of power their lives are otherwise devoid of. The to-the-death bit is utterly crucial here, too. Would it be remotely interesting if these kids were fighting with rubber swords, or if the rifle fired in a little piece of cloth when the word bang came out? Of course not. The life-or-deathness, paired with the taboo of these being children, is what draws us in. Okay, so that's the obvious commonality. Here's a slightly more complicated one. The reality TV of it all. In all three properties, the titular events are not secretly performed. To varying degrees, they are a spectacle put on by the evil governments in order to quell dissent and stoke fear in the oppressed. Smile, boys. You're on candid camera. The Hunger Games fully leans into this aspect with much ado about winning outside support, crafting narratives, and so forth. And that spectacle aspect raises a question. Who is allowing this to happen? In all three, the games are run by a totalitarian government, though that's not the entire picture, because there's an entire populace that outnumbers that government, right? Couldn't they just overthrow it, stop this horror show from continuing? It's the government forcing it upon their people, but the people are doing nothing to stop it. In fact, for the citizens of the Capitol in The Hunger Games, this is their favorite form of entertainment. The Long Walk book has a similar vibe, where the crowd comes out in droves to cheer on this cruel event apparently completely enraptured by it. This was changed for the movie where it seems like more people are against it, but again, no one is stopping it from happening. In that way, we as a viewer are partaking in the same indulgence as the average populations in these stories. We're watching children die, and likely horrified by what we're seeing, but we also bought the ticket to see that specifically. We're eating the bread. We're watching the circus. But that might be a little harsh, because ultimately, we don't identify with the crowd. We see ourselves as Katniss, as Ray Garrity, and that's where the most important commonality comes in. These are stories about the humanity of these poor, unfortunate souls. In The Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to save her sister, knowing she's likely sentencing herself to death, and yet still does everything she can to avoid murdering her fellow tributes, even forming alliances with complete strangers, all the while working through her difficult relationship with PETA. In Battle Royale, the relationships between these students form a big part of how they behave in the game, as past grievances flare up in the adversity of this horrifying situation. In The Long Walk, none of these boys know each other before they start the walk, and they all know full well they shouldn't make friends, seeing as how only one will survive. But how can they not? How can they ignore each other's cries for help, or not offer food to one another? Even in the face of death, their humanity comes through. Maybe that's why it's actually important that these stories are about kids. Would we accept this sort of bright-eyed hopefulness in adults? Or do we only allow ourselves to see purity and goodness when it's kids being humans to one another? Thanks so much for watching. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Until next time on How It Hits.

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