Reality can be just as strange and corrupt as what appears in fiction, regrettably. Such matters are getting addressed right now in the Texas House Committee on Public Education if you'd like to listen on.
-Angela Valenzuela
#Masks4All
'That's murder': 'Hunger Games' screenwriter compares Abbott's mask policy to film's plot
Jessica Phelps /San Antonio Express-News
One of the screenwriters for "The Hunger Games" compared the face masks bans in Arizona, Florida and Texas public schools to the film's storyline.
The governor of each state signed executive orders prior to the start of the academic year prohibiting mask mandates, which Billy Ray, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, says puts children at risk.
School districts in each state have defied the orders and some have taken the issue to the courts.
“It’s hard not to see a parallel between that and 'The Hunger Games,' where the kids are there for sacrificial lambs for a deeply corrupt State,” the 57-year-old told the Express-News.
On ExpressNews.com: School boards in San Antonio get an earful from parents on masks
Ray lives in Los Angeles and has written and directed several films like the Oscar-nominated “Captain Phillips” and “Richard Jewell.”
In a tweet last week, Ray said he wrote the "The Hunger Games" screenplay from a place of "utter rage." During the writing process, he would ask himself, "How could a government DO THAT to children?" He then listed the three states.The film is an adaptation of the first fictional novel in a series written by Suzanne Collins about a tyrannical government that forces children to fight to the death in a televised event for entertainment and political gain.
Ray said forcing children to attend school without face masks is similar. Children under the age of 12 have not been authorized to be vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends several protections to be administered in schools, especially for those serving children under 12. The guidelines were updated on Aug. 5 and advises indoor masking, physical distancing of at least 3 feet, testing and more.
Ray said the debate over face masks are “distracting” and harmful to students.
On ExpressNews.com: A Texas school district changed its dress code to include face masks
In May, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning mask mandates in public schools, cities and counties, and those who defy the order could face up to a $1,000 fine. In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey blocked funds from schools mandating masks, and was called out by an Arizona Democrat for “creating his own Hunger Games for Arizona public schools.”
Ray said both governors are similar to President Snow from the film in that they are allowing kids to be pawns in a political game.
“Greg Abbott knows that you’re better off vaccinated, than not vaccinated; and he knows that you’re better off wearing a mask, than not wearing a mask,” Ray said. “There’s no controversy to those two statements, but he’s going to tell you that those statements are not true because it’s politically advantageous to do so.”
“That’s murder,” he added.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that he will work with the State Education Department to block states from banning mask mandates in schools.
"They're certainly making it tougher than it needs to be; none of this needed to happen," Ray said about the attempt to ban face masks in school.
Malak.Silmi@express-news.net
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