The Hunger Game: A Book and Movie Comparison
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0:04 - 0:09In my last video I took a look at Suzanne Collins' dynamic young protagonist Katniss Everdeen and
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0:09 - 0:13deconstructed her character in relation to gender, violence and feminism
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0:13 - 0:16over the course of the first novel in the Hunger Games trilogy.
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0:16 - 0:18If you haven’t seen it yet, go ahead and check it out.
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0:18 - 0:22The Hunger Games movie adaptation directed by Gary Ross
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0:22 - 0:26and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, was released in March 2012.
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0:26 - 0:31The film broke records at the box office proving yet again, that women can lead successful blockbuster films.
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0:31 - 0:33Take note Hollywood.
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0:33 - 0:35I had two big concerns going into the movie.
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0:35 - 0:37First, that the violence would be glamorized,
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0:37 - 0:42especially considering the medium of cinema tends to sensationalize explicit violence and gore.
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0:42 - 0:47I was pleasantly surprised that the filmmakers strategically chose to limit the depictions of violence
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0:47 - 0:50and largely avoided celebrating the bloodshed.
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0:50 - 0:54My second concern was that Katniss’ character would be sexualized on screen,
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0:54 - 0:58thankfully the filmmakers very intentionally chose not to sexualize her at all,
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0:58 - 1:00even in a scene when she’s taking a bath.
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1:00 - 1:03This is a truly remarkable accomplishment given a
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1:03 - 1:08Hollywood system that insists on sexualizing practically all their female leads on and off screen.
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1:08 - 1:11Obviously, whenever a novel is turned into a film there
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1:11 - 1:15will be notable differences because of time constraints and other factors.
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1:15 - 1:17Let’s take a look at just a few of those differences.
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1:17 - 1:21If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie yet (spoilers) fair warning.
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1:21 - 1:25While reading the book we are inhabiting Katniss’ mind, via first person narrative.
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1:25 - 1:30we're following her inner dialogue so we know her fears, desires, and needs,
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1:30 - 1:32in a much more intimate way then the film can deliver.
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1:32 - 1:38This isn’t necessarily a flaw in the movie but I did feel like the horror of the Hunger Games,
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1:38 - 1:42and the debilitating fear and anxiety that the tributes would feel didn’t come across quite as well.
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1:42 - 1:46However, on screen we are given some hints and clues into the complex feelings of Katniss
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1:46 - 1:49via Jennifer Lawrence’s incredible acting
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1:49 - 1:54and because the camera was able to linger long enough for her non verbal expressions to come through.
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1:54 - 1:57A less skilled actor wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.
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1:57 - 2:05Although I did really enjoy the movie there are a few major shortcomings worth mentioning in the film adaptation.
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2:05 - 2:09While I was impressed with the overall look and feel of the wealthy Capitol city,
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2:09 - 2:13it was disturbing that the art directors chose to have effeminate and apparently queer men
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2:13 - 2:19exist only as part of the decadent, superficial and rather sociopathic ruling class society.
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2:19 - 2:22The decision to portray genderbending as somehow exclusively
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2:22 - 2:26the product of uber high fashion elitism is deeply problematic.
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2:26 - 2:30In the first novel, it is made clear that Katniss (and presumably the other tributes) are
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2:30 - 2:35hyper aware that their every move and action is being watched and scrutinized by the arena audience,
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2:35 - 2:38much like the reality TV shows of today.
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2:38 - 2:42So in addition to trying to survive, the tributes are performing and acting
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2:42 - 2:45as a way to gain sympathy and gifts from sponsors.
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2:45 - 2:49Strangely, this performative layer is not emphasized or prioritized in the movie,
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2:49 - 2:51at least while they are inside the arena.
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2:51 - 2:55So for instance, in the book it’s made clear that Katniss is faking her affection for Peeta
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2:55 - 2:57in order to solicit medical supplies while, in the movie
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2:57 - 3:02its more ambiguous and we are lead to believe that she may be genuine in her feelings for him.
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3:02 - 3:07Later, what’s interesting about the novel is that Katniss has difficulty separating the performative aspects
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3:07 - 3:11of her relationship with Peeta for any genuine affections they might feel for one another,
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3:11 - 3:13underneath all the pretense.
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3:13 - 3:16Secondly, when I watched this film in a packed theater on opening night,
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3:16 - 3:22I experienced this horrible moment of cognitive dissonance in the scene where Thresh brutally murders Clove,
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3:22 - 3:25the young, female tribute from district 2.
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3:25 - 3:26Here is the problem,
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3:26 - 3:31we as the audience in the real world are watching a story in which, a fictional capitol audience in turn
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3:31 - 3:35is watching and deriving pleasure from the death of children.
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3:35 - 3:41So understandably, you and I are supposed to be horrified by the whole media spectacle of the Hunger Games.
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3:41 - 3:45But when Clove’s head is bashed in and her lifeless body is thrown to the ground,
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3:45 - 3:51the real life audience in the theater I was in actually cheered and gained satisfaction from her death.
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3:51 - 3:53Ironically, we are encouraged by the filmmakers,
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3:53 - 3:58through the construction of this scene to behave in the same way that the Capitol audience does.
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3:58 - 4:01Disturbingly, the filmmakers intend us to enjoy Clove’s murder
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4:01 - 4:06and see it as justified because they have set her up as a dehumanized and ruthless figure.
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4:06 - 4:12This 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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4:12 - 4:16If the filmmakers are trying to make any statement at all about the reprehensible nature of the hunger games,
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4:16 - 4:20they need to be consistent in the way they portray all deaths as horrific.
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4:20 - 4:24The fact that Clove’s death wasn’t portrayed as appalling, is a major failing.
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4:24 - 4:28Interestingly, even when Cato, the main villain in the arena is killed,
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4:28 - 4:32we weren’t meant to celebrate his death, and I’ll go into that in just a second.
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4:32 - 4:35Although, Jennifer Lawrence does a phenomenal job in the role of Katniss,
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4:35 - 4:38we should take a moment to talk about race and casting in the film.
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4:38 - 4:43In the book Collins clearly describes Katniss as having olive skinned and straight black hair,
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4:43 - 4:45so you’d think that the casting call would reflect that,
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4:45 - 4:48asking for actors with olive skin and straight black hair.
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4:48 - 4:52But, in fact, the casting call specified that only Caucasian actors
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4:52 - 4:55would be allowed to audition for the role of Katniss.
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4:55 - 5:00Unfortunately, this is not just an issue with just one film or one casting department in one studio,
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5:00 - 5:03this is a problem across the board, everywhere in Hollywood.
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5:03 - 5:09And one of the major consequences of this type of systemic whitewashing is that the stories of women of color
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5:09 - 5:14rarely 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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5:14 - 5:19For more information on challenging white washing in Hollywood check out the Racebending website.
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5:19 - 5:24I do want to point out a couple things that I think the movie did better than the original novel.
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5:24 - 5:29First, the film’s format allows us to see multiple events happening simultaneously in different locations.
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5:29 - 5:35So when Katniss shows compassion for the fallen Rue and then signal’s her solidarity with Rue’s District 11,
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5:35 - 5:40we are shown a cutaway of the spontaneous uprising in that district.
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5:40 - 5:45This is missing from the book but ends up being one of the most powerful and effective moments in the movie.
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5:45 - 5:49While I think one of the major failings of the book and the movie was that there was no attempt,
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5:49 - 5:54not even a little bit, to humanize the career tributes including Cato, Clove, Glimmer and Marvel.
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5:54 - 5:58In the movie especially, they are portrayed as completely sadistic,
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5:58 - 6:02inhuman monsters who take pleasure in killing to an exaggerated and unbelievable degree.
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6:02 - 6:06However, the film version treats Cato slightly differently towards the end.
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6:06 - 6:10In the scene where the three remaining players are trapped on top of the cornucopia,
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6:10 - 6:15an emotionally distraught Cato, laments the fact that all he knows about life is killing.
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6:15 - 6:20He realizes that he isn’t going to emerge victorious and we see his carefully constructed,
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6:20 - 6:26entitled reality fall to pieces. We are given a glimpse into the human being underneath the learned savagery.
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6:26 - 6:30During this interaction, Cato turns towards the sky taunting the game makers and the capitol,
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6:30 - 6:34saying are we giving you a good show in a desperate and unhinged voice.
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6:34 - 6:37This is a critical humanizing moment that illustrates
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6:37 - 6:42the twisted brutality of the games and its emotional impact on even the most ruthless players.
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6:42 - 6:47This stands in stark contrast to the novel where Cato is dehumanized from beginning to end.
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6:47 - 6:50I’m really glad the film made this change, but I wish they had also humanized
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6:50 - 6:52the other career tributes, at least a little bit.
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6:52 - 6:57So in conclusion, I still highly recommend reading the first book and going to see the film.
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6:57 - 7:02I think overall, and especially in comparison to the rest of what Hollywood has to offer, Katniss
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7:02 - 7:06is one of the best young female characters I’ve seen on screen in a long time.
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7:06 - 7:10Disappointingly, over the course of the next two books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay,
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7:10 - 7:14Katniss’ character growth not only stops but actually regresses in many ways.
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7:14 - 7:18I’ll go into details about the failings of Books 2 and 3 in a future video,
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7:18 - 7:23but for now I’ll just say, if you haven’t read the two books already, I wouldn’t bother.
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7:23 - 7:30If you liked this video and want to see more in depth analysis of female characters in pop culture,
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7:30 - 7:33please support me and my work by donating today.
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7:33 -You can visit feministfrequency.com/donate
- Title:
- The Hunger Game: A Book and Movie Comparison
- Description:
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Warning: SPOILERS for the first Hunger Games novel and movie
The Hunger Game is one of the most popular young adult novel series rivaling Harry Potter and Twilight. As the first of its film adaptations was just released in March 2012, readers and audiences have been pleasantly surprised at this fresh, dynamic, young female protagonist. In the second of my two part series on The Hunger Games, I'll compare the book to the movie and talk about some of the shortcomings of the adaptation and a few things that the film actually did better then the book.
Also check out Part One, where I discuss the character of Katniss within the first book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8428XSejp0
To Donation to FemFreq please visit: http://www.feministfrequency.com/donate
For more information, links and a full transcript visit http://www.FeministFrequency.com
COMMENT POLICY: Moderated comments will remain open for 2-4 weeks, after that all comments will be closed on YouTube.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Feminist Frequency
- Duration:
- 07:36
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Emma Luna added a translation |