There will be a free Symposium in Philadelphia for Hunger Games fans. The Symposium will be held on May 17th.


THE HUNGER GAMES SYMPOSIUM
TITLE: Are the Odds in Our Favor?: The Hunger Games on Fame, Fashion, and the Fate of Humanity
CITY: PhiladelphiaClick on poster to view trailer.
DATE: Thursday, May 17, 2012
TIME: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Room 222, Temple University Center City campus, 16th and Market, Philadelphia.
ADMISSION: Free
RESERVE YOUR SEAT: Seating is limited. To reserve your seat, click on Eventbrite.
SPONSORS:
• The Center for Media and Destiny, Philadelphia.
• The Center of Media and Information Literacy, School of Communication and Theater, Temple University. The Center is a collaboration with UNESCO and United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
THE HUNGER GAMES
Much more than a publishing and pop culture phenomenon, The Hunger Games is a creative work of literature and film that strikes the intellectual and philosophical imaginations of readers, filmgoers, and college students in the new millennium, much like The Matrix, Fight Club, and Inception. As a long-time college professor, I can attest to the effect of these films on student imaginations, with students wanting to study and write papers about the ideas and "worlds" of these films. Of course, such films draw from many sources in popular culture. The Hunger Games draws from novels such as Brave New World, 1984, and Lord of the Flies, while echoing ideas from films like Soylent Green, Westworld, Rollerball, Logan's Run, The Running Man, The Truman Show, The Matrix, and Battle Royale. Various anthologies have been published which explore the various meanings of the books and film, from the cultural to the philosophical.
THE SYMPOSIUM AND PANEL DISCUSSION
The panelists will explore, reveal, and dissect some of the deeper and alternative meanings of The Hunger Games and what it says about our current society — including media and technology, domination and liberation, culture and celebrity, fashion and the future. Is The Hunger Games a parable for:
• A new feminist icon … or another faker celebrity?
• A new kind of warrior hero … or just another future TV sports star?
• Reality TV and the War on Terror … or the future hyperreality of war and TV?
• The 1% against the 99% of Occupy Wall Street … or the fate of the individual in the police-state of Panem-America?
• A future where American Idol meets Survivor and the Super Bowl ... or a future cultural reversal where Disney meets Darwin in an electronic Dark Age?
• A future where 1984 meets Brave New World and Lord of the Flies ... or where Soylent Green meets The Truman Show and Battle Royale.
• A future revolution of the 99% against the 1% ... or a future "utopia" where revolution is simulated and few care to know the difference?
• The hunger for war, fashion, and entertainment … or the hunger for meaning in a meaningless universe?
SPEAKERS:
Leah Wilson, Editor-in-Chief, the "Smart Pop" imprint, Benbella Books. Leah is also the editor of the anthology: The Girl Who Was On Fire (Benbella 2012), which explores the many meanings of The Hunger Games.
• Presentation title: "Are We Katniss .. Or Are We the Capitol?"
Angela Cirucci, Adjunct Professor (Media Studies), Lincoln University, PhD student, Temple University
• Presentation title: "Katniss Kardashian: Fame and Simulation"
Sherri Hope Culver, Director of the Center for Media and information Literacy, and Assistant Professor, Temple University.
• Presentation title: "Searching for Reality in a Fictional World: How The Hunger Games Plays on Our Enjoyment and Knowledge of Reality TV"
Osei Alleyne, PhD Student (Anthropology), University of Pennsylvania.
• Presentation title: Throw Your Three Sign Up: Race and Resistance in The Hunger Games
Barry Vacker, Associate Professor (Media Studies), Temple University.
• Presentation title: "The Odds Are In Our Favor For What? Four Possible Destinies in The Hunger Games" [sure to bend the minds of the 1% and 99%]
WHY ATTEND: COOL THEORY AND A CHEAP DATE
If you've read the books or seen the movie and find your friends debating the ideas in The Hunger Games, then you will want to attend this event. Or, if you and your friends are into film, critical thinking, and cool and edgy theory, then this is for you. You might not look at the books, film, or our society quite the same after this event. And it will be a chance to meet other people with similar interests. Plus, since admission is free, it will be a brainy cheap date!