The Tale of Spiritual Education

Benny Davis

The Tale of Spiritual Education

When I was a child, fantasy books were the only ones I would ever red. Some of my favorites included “The Zach Files” and “Goosebumps” and “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson” and the “—From the Black Lagoon” series.  I think “The Zach Files” consistently topped that list.

Although there was another series left out in the above list. That series was the “Cirque Due Freak” books. Those books were creepy and unnerving, but most of all, riveting. I read through that series like a drug addict goes through his/her stash. Of course, the movie totally screwed it up. I hope one day I can make that film the way it is supposed to be made.

The same goes for the Hunger Games films. Those books were bloody as hell. The books had children being decapitated and killed in other brutal ways. It was horrifying and it made you root for the main character all the more. Because she symbolized pureness and everything that is good, yet flawed in all of us. But the movies totally Hollywoodized it. They stuck a PG-13 sticker on it, and made it family friendly and appealing to 12-year-old girls. Suddenly, a series of books that was once interesting and cool was now a Hollywood cash cow directed at middle-school girls. So sad…

-Benny Davis