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I preferred the enders shadow series
to the first series of books or Ender's game, itself?
I preferred the enders shadow series
First of all, yes, they can be hazed and beaten to death with their clothes on. But why should they? You and I have had this discussion before. I think plain old vanilla nudity is harmless for kids. You, as I recall, think something bad will happen to kids' psyches if they happen to catch a glimpse of a grown woman's areola before they're 18. But neither of us budged an inch in that argument so I'd rather not get into it again.
Second of all, yes nudity is often thrown into films as cheap sex appeal. But the nudity in Ender's game isn't really sexual at all. The scenes of nudity, especially the one that stands out in my memory of the big adult waggling penis, have to do with one of the major themes of the novel - kids trying to deal with that weird grey area of adolescence and puberty where they're being pulled in two different directions: wanting to stay a child and yearning to be a full-fledged adult. It's particularly relevant given that these kids aren't in high school, but they're in a military academy where they are being asked to kill and be killed in the name of mankind. They're kids trying to deal with an adult responsibility. They do so by imitating and idolizing adulthood. And once you finish the book and the major plot twist is revealed, you'll understand just how critical that theme is to the novel.
While this is true, I don't believe they're removing the darker parts of the book because of time constraints. I think they're removing the darker parts to make the film more "kid-friendly". Which I think is a decision driven by money, and I think they're losing something important from the novel by doing so.
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
“I believe and believe that a good movie can be made of ‘Ender’s Game,’ but it won’t be the book. It won’t be identical to the book. So if you go there expecting that please don’t be angry that it’s not just like the book. It can’t be. I don’t want it to be. You don’t want it to be, ok? You want it to be a good movie which the book would not have been. So we’ll all find out whether they’re successful or not, but I know everyone involved in this movie is doing their very best they can to do this. I’ve talked to so many involved and they care about it. They love the book and they want this to give the same effect as the book. And so I can tell you this, if it doesn’t work for you it will not be because of any lack of good will or strong effort on the part of some very talented people. Not everything that you try works. [...] This film will be the best good people could do with a story they really cared about and believed in. So I’m very hopeful.”
to the first series of books or Ender's game, itself?
I loved enders game but much preferred the books that followed Bean, don't know why but I really warmed to Bean and loved the whole dynamic with Achilles.