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In my last video I took a look at Suzanne Collins' dynamic young protagonist Katniss Everdeen and

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deconstructed her character in relation to gender, violence and feminism

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over the course of the first novel in the Hunger Games trilogy.

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If you haven’t seen it yet, go ahead and check it out.

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The Hunger Games movie adaptation directed by Gary Ross

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and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, was released in March 2012.

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The film broke records at the box office proving yet again, that women can lead successful blockbuster films.

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Take note Hollywood.

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I had two big concerns going into the movie.

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First, that the violence would be glamorized,

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especially considering the medium of cinema tends to sensationalize explicit violence and gore.

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I was pleasantly surprised that the filmmakers strategically chose to limit the depictions of violence

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and largely avoided celebrating the bloodshed.

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My second concern was that Katniss’ character would be sexualized on screen,

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thankfully the filmmakers very intentionally chose not to sexualize her at all,

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even in a scene when she’s taking a bath.

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This is a truly remarkable accomplishment given a

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Hollywood system that insists on sexualizing practically all their female leads on and off screen.

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Obviously, whenever a novel is turned into a film there

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will be notable differences because of time constraints and other factors.

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Let’s take a look at just a few of those differences.

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If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie yet (spoilers) fair warning.

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While reading the book we are inhabiting Katniss’ mind, via first person narrative.

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we're following her inner dialogue so we know her fears, desires, and needs,

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in a much more intimate way then the film can deliver.

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This isn’t necessarily a flaw in the movie but I did feel like the horror of the Hunger Games,

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and the debilitating fear and anxiety that the tributes would feel didn’t come across quite as well.

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However, on screen we are given some hints and clues into the complex feelings of Katniss

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via Jennifer Lawrence’s incredible acting

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and because the camera was able to linger long enough for her non verbal expressions to come through.

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A less skilled actor wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.

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Although I did really enjoy the movie there are a few major shortcomings worth mentioning in the film adaptation.

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While I was impressed with the overall look and feel of the wealthy Capitol city,

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it was disturbing that the art directors chose to have effeminate and apparently queer men

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exist only as part of the decadent, superficial and rather sociopathic ruling class society.

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The decision to portray genderbending as somehow exclusively

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the product of uber high fashion elitism is deeply problematic.

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In the first novel, it is made clear that Katniss (and presumably the other tributes) are

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hyper aware that their every move and action is being watched and scrutinized by the arena audience,

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much like the reality TV shows of today.

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So in addition to trying to survive, the tributes are performing and acting

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as a way to gain sympathy and gifts from sponsors.

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Strangely, this performative layer is not emphasized or prioritized in the movie,

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at least while they are inside the arena.

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So for instance, in the book it’s made clear that Katniss is faking her affection for Peeta

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in order to solicit medical supplies while, in the movie

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its more ambiguous and we are lead to believe that she may be genuine in her feelings for him.

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Later, what’s interesting about the novel is that Katniss has difficulty separating the performative aspects

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of her relationship with Peeta for any genuine affections they might feel for one another,

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underneath all the pretense.

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Secondly, when I watched this film in a packed theater on opening night,

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I experienced this horrible moment of cognitive dissonance in the scene where Thresh brutally murders Clove,

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the young, female tribute from district 2.

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Here is the problem,

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we as the audience in the real world are watching a story in which, a fictional capitol audience in turn

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is watching and deriving pleasure from the death of children.

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So understandably, you and I are supposed to be horrified by the whole media spectacle of the Hunger Games.

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But when Clove’s head is bashed in and her lifeless body is thrown to the ground,

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the real life audience in the theater I was in actually cheered and gained satisfaction from her death.

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Ironically, we are encouraged by the filmmakers,

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through the construction of this scene to behave in the same way that the Capitol audience does.

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Disturbingly, the filmmakers intend us to enjoy Clove’s murder

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and see it as justified because they have set her up as a dehumanized and ruthless figure.

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This is an utter failure on the part of the filmmakers to be consistent about portraying the horror of the death of children.

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If the filmmakers are trying to make any statement at all about the reprehensible nature of the hunger games,

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they need to be consistent in the way they portray all deaths as horrific.

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The fact that Clove’s death wasn’t portrayed as appalling, is a major failing.

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Interestingly, even when Cato, the main villain in the arena is killed,

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we weren’t meant to celebrate his death, and I’ll go into that in just a second.

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Although, Jennifer Lawrence does a phenomenal job in the role of Katniss,

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we should take a moment to talk about race and casting in the film.

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In the book Collins clearly describes Katniss as having olive skinned and straight black hair,

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so you’d think that the casting call would reflect that,

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asking for actors with olive skin and straight black hair.

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But, in fact, the casting call specified that only Caucasian actors

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would be allowed to audition for the role of Katniss.

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Unfortunately, this is not just an issue with just one film or one casting department in one studio,

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this is a problem across the board, everywhere in Hollywood.

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And one of the major consequences of this type of systemic whitewashing is that the stories of women of color

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rarely make it on to the big screen and actors of color aren’t even allowed to audition for most leading roles.

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For more information on challenging white washing in Hollywood check out the Racebending website.

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I do want to point out a couple things that I think the movie did better than the original novel.

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First, the film’s format allows us to see multiple events happening simultaneously in different locations.

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So when Katniss shows compassion for the fallen Rue and then signal’s her solidarity with Rue’s District 11,

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we are shown a cutaway of the spontaneous uprising in that district.

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This is missing from the book but ends up being one of the most powerful and effective moments in the movie.

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While I think one of the major failings of the book and the movie was that there was no attempt,

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not even a little bit, to humanize the career tributes including Cato, Clove, Glimmer and Marvel.

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In the movie especially, they are portrayed as completely sadistic,

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inhuman monsters who take pleasure in killing to an exaggerated and unbelievable degree.

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However, the film version treats Cato slightly differently towards the end.

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In the scene where the three remaining players are trapped on top of the cornucopia,

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an emotionally distraught Cato, laments the fact that all he knows about life is killing.

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He realizes that he isn’t going to emerge victorious and we see his carefully constructed,

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entitled reality fall to pieces. We are given a glimpse into the human being underneath the learned savagery.

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During this interaction, Cato turns towards the sky taunting the game makers and the capitol,

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saying are we giving you a good show in a desperate and unhinged voice.

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This is a critical humanizing moment that illustrates

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the twisted brutality of the games and its emotional impact on even the most ruthless players.

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This stands in stark contrast to the novel where Cato is dehumanized from beginning to end.

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I’m really glad the film made this change, but I wish they had also humanized

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the other career tributes, at least a little bit.

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So in conclusion, I still highly recommend reading the first book and going to see the film.

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I think overall, and especially in comparison to the rest of what Hollywood has to offer, Katniss

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is one of the best young female characters I’ve seen on screen in a long time.

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Disappointingly, over the course of the next two books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay,

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Katniss’ character growth not only stops but actually regresses in many ways.

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I’ll go into details about the failings of Books 2 and 3 in a future video,

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but for now I’ll just say, if you haven’t read the two books already, I wouldn’t bother.

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If you liked this video and want to see more in depth analysis of female characters in pop culture,

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please support me and my work by donating today.

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