...for eleven days, that is. I thought I'd pen down some thoughts before I, for all intents and purposes, disappear into the wild blue yonder.
I also promise that this will be my last
Hunger Games themed post, because now that I've read the books and seen the movie, I can offer some insight on both.
Thoughts on the movie:
1) Jennifer Lawrence was flipping
perfect as Katniss. She wasn't wooden, she wasn't a hard-core warrior maid, she was a young woman with remarkable talents put in extraordinary circumstances. She nailed Katniss's fierce survival instincts and love for her sister Prim.
2) On Prim, Willow Shields was also perfect--delicate and young and gentle enough so that we too, would volunteer in her place.
3) I want to marry Josh Hutcherson for being the perfect Peeta. No, really, he was amazing. Earnest, sincere and had the just the right touch of devotion to Katniss.
4) Amandla Stenburg as Rue was adorable and made me cry. I wept bitter tears in the theater during the lullaby scene and the riot in District 11.
5) "That is MA-HOG-ANY!" Oh, Effie, your cluelessness was pitch perfect. Thank you for creating memetatic mutation.
On another note, Gary Ross also did a brilliant job with one of the things I was most concerned about, the violence featured in the story. Thankfully, there were no drawn-out close ups of the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Quick flashes of violence and then the image of the bodies laying about was much more effective and wrenching. The curly-headed boy...gah, in way, that was even more traumatizing than Rue's death, because it only sinks in later...that little boy had no chance of survival.
Now, onto something that's been bothering me for the last couple of weeks, as the hype for the movie got more and more widespread. There seems to be a kind of schism between those who like
The Hunger Games and those who like
The Twilight Saga. Well, I'm going to put in my two cents and then I won't talk about it anymore, because I'll have said my piece.
STOP COMPARING
HUNGER GAMES TO
TWILIGHT. STOP TALKING TRASH ABOUT STEPHENIE MEYER. For that matter, STOP TALKING TRASH ABOUT
TWILIGHT. THE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS ARE
NOT BEING FAIR.
Okay, I'm done yelling for now. But, seriously people. It simply isn't fair to compare the two stories, despite the similarities on the surface, because THEY ARE NOT THE SAME STORY. I read both series and you know what? I liked them both, for
different reasons. Yes,
the Hunger Games deals with important themes like love, war, violence, devotion and loyalty. Yes,
the Hunger Games is an excellently written story. We all know that. No one is denying it. But for crying out loud, what call is there to be mean about the supposed superiorities to
The Twilight Saga? What call is there to be mean to Stephenie Meyer who,
just like Suzanne Collins, was fortunate enough to create and write a world that's become so huge? So what if you don't like Stephenie Meyer and her characters and world she created? So what if you don't like the flipping
Twilight movies? No one is asking you to watch them! No one is yelling, "
Hunger Games suck,
Twilight rules." Rather, the opposite is happening and I, for one, am tired of it.
Enough with the madness, people. Suzanne Collins and Stephenie Meyer let us live in their fantasy worlds and are kind enough the share them with us. Let's thank them for that, shall we? And move on.
Okay, then, I'm done with my rant. I promise you all, this my last
Hunger Games themed post and until something truly earth-shattering happens (like the casting for Finnick Odair is released), I'll refrain from bending your ears until then.
Getting Off My Soapbox I Am Over & Out,
Rachel
