Samantha
Retrosi says that the Olympic games are a lot like the Hunger Games. Needless to
say, I had never before considered the similarities that exist between the
blockbuster book and the world phenomenon that— in a very different way—
captivate the minds of all viewers.
Retrosi
is right when she says that she was “groomed” toward “Olympic glory,” and that
this undoubtedly proves that hard work pays off when it comes to
athletics. However, there is a huge
difference between the drive of the Hunger
Games and the drive of the Olympic games.
While the former randomly chooses victims that are used for the benefit of
what could be translated into the real world’s companies and corporations, the latter
takes volunteers. Retrosi makes it seem that she was being held captive to the
Luge Corporation and to Verizon’s fake PR stunts; they were only the means to
an end for her. Jennifer Lawrence and
Samantha Retrosi both struggle and succeed only to provide monetary benefaction
to someone else, for the most part. Is
there really a way to keep this from happening? No. If at her “tender age of 11”
Retrosi had decided to go into banking, teaching, or window cleaning, she wouldn’t
have had to depend on the cruelty of any Fortune 500 company and she’d be free
of a grueling messed up system— and someone with another last name and a surprisingly
similar background would be under contract with Luge and Verizon participating
in the Torino events.
All
I’m trying to say is that although it is unfortunate that athletes have to
depend on the limited generosity of the corporate world, there is no way to
change this. What Retrosi proposes, “an internationalized resistance” led by
the athletes, is so outlandish that it falls into ridicule. The athletes have no say, because they are
only the catalysts to a very well set up social experiment. If some put up a resistance, others will
gladly take their place. I watch. They ski. Verizon gets paid, period. I don’t see a way out.
