"The Hunger Games": Not as grisly as I expected....

Although I never read "The Hunger Games," I knew going into the movie that it would be fairly violent. I hate seeing a movie without reading the book first, so I looked up the plot summary. I was a bit shocked to discover that the basis of the movie/novel was a government contest, which would be televised, between teens which is meant to end in death. Upon seeing the movie, I think a PG-13 rating was necessary, but certainly not an R. There were flashes of weapons, small scenes of blood, and screams that suggested pain and death. However, I think directors purposely filmed the movie to depict violence in a less graphic way. I was initially shocked, mainly because I did not read the novel and none of the trailers showed the actual "hunger games." Over Easter break, I plan to read the novel and do a little comparing. I thought The Week's article about the violence of the film summed it up well: http://theweek.com/article/index/225739/is-the-hunger-games-toonbspviolent-for-kids