The Hunger Games Climbs List Of Most Challenged Book Of 2011
Spurred by the success of the first movie adaptation, The Hunger Games novels shot up the list of the most “challenged” books in the US, as tracked by the American Library Association, reports CNN.
According to the organization, a challenge is “a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness.” And while only the first Hunger Games novel made the list last year (at number 5), this year, all three books landed at spot number 3.
Barbara Jones, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, told CNN that many of the complaints against the books actually addressed the film:
“There was complaining about the choice of actors for the film,” she said. “You had people saying someone was dark-skinned in the book, but not in the film, or dark-skinned in the film and not in the book. In general, a lot more people were aware of the books and that led to more kinds of complaints.”
Wow. Not only was the bizarre racist backlash an unfortunate element of the film’s release, but what does it have to do with making the books available? I suppose books lead to movies, and that’s a slippery slope.
Lauren Myracle‘s IM series topped the list for its depictions of high school sex and drug use. The rest of the top ten is a pleasant mix of newer books, like The Color of Earth and Gossip Girl novelizations, and classic banned texts like Brave New World and To Kill A Mocking Bird.
What do you think? Do The Hunger Games novels need to be restricted?
Homosexuality is no longer a listed reason for challenging books. And Tango Makes Three has topped or nearly topped the list for five years straight, until now. Now it is not even on the list at all. Now no book is listed for homosexuality. That is very good news.
However, I can’t help but wonder if my exposing how last year’s 2010 list was faked, precisely on the issue of homosexuality, made a difference. The recording I made of the 2010 award-winning author admitting the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom [OIF] fudged the numbers likely was key. See:
http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2011/09/banned-books-week-is-gay-promotion.html
That said, the OIF still fails to list the number of challenges for each listed book. I am certain that is because so few challenges are made that no one would pay heed to such a list showing book challenges are really not a problem, a truth directly counter to the OIF’s message. Last year, for example, the top book (Tango) was challenged 4 times all year, though the OIF said dozens. That’s a problem. Solution? Don’t provide the individual numbers, only the aggregate.
Demand the numbers. Demand intellectual freedom. How many times was each book challenged.