#f:thg

[blacksdale]

catching fire moments – the train

“what’s your favourite color?”

“well, now you’ve stepped over the line.”

#mine #mine.gifs #lit:thg #f:thg #m:gifs #the hunger games #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #catching fire #thg #thggifs #queercreators #the hunger games: catching fire #userada #usersultanah #usernate #tusernini #tusergrace #userishika #useropal #useradhithi #tuserkaelyn #userzuha

[zoyalais-moved]

"—in the hanging tree"

#[ no i wont shut up about them ] #mine* #lit:thg #f:thg #sh:odesta #m:gifs #the hunger games #finnick odair #annie cresta #odesta #thgedit #filmedit #userada #tuserannie #tusergrace #usersultanah #[ just gonna tag anyone whos got a film blog ig ]

[vongcgh]

So I saw mockingjay. I am broken.

#f:thg #lea talks #me #text

[kuryaakins]

Fangirl Challenge - (7/10) Favorite Female Characters : Johanna Mason

"They can't hurt me. I'm not like the rest of you. There's no one left I love."

#johanna mason #thg #hunger games #catching fire #f:thg #my!thg #c:johanna mason #jena malone #johanna mason edit #fc:female #fc #fangirl challenge #edits

[ezrakoeniggs1-blog]

i blame it on my own sick pride

#thgedit #katniss everdeen #me:graphic #f:thg #so #ive had the lyrics of that song in my head for like a week #and i wanted to make a graphic with them but i had a bit of a block #and then i vomited this #idek man

[carols-danvers]

WHOA THEY SET KATNISS ON FIRE???

#who is peeta #f:thg

[hookedonyonics]

Real or Not Real: I'm a fucking idiot who read Seneca Crane as Seneca Cane the first time and just realized two months after I saw the movie for the third time that I had the wrong name

(hint: real)

#my whole life has been a life: ep.3 #the hunger games #thg #f:thg #oc #mine

[ohmyanabiel]

OMG !!! If Cuaron will be directing Catching Fire, It will BE AMAZING !!!

#Catching Fire #Cuaron #Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban #The Hunger Games #f:thg #my text post

[shatterdomekaijuzone]

THG Valentines [1/2?]

#f:thg #the hunger games #valentines day #valentines #catching fire #peeta #katniss #prim #haymitch #finnick #johanna

[blogformerlyknownasstarkytower]

Why is the Hunger Games So Popular?

One of my friends on Facebook posted a link to an article which asked this question. The article compared the Games themselves to the competitiveness that a teen/young adult feels when trying to compete against their peers and even their friends for acceptance into the colleges of their choice. I think that that is definitely a valid argument, but I'm not sure that the reason the Hunger Games is so popular is solely because this comparison.  Also, as a note, I have read the entire series, and if you haven't, there's probably some spoilers in this, so beware.

I thought about this question quite a lot, because the author of the article brings up some very valid points. There are plenty of other similar books out there (dystopian thrillers with a strong female lead, for example) but what is that made the Hunger Games so good to read? So I started by asking myself why I read the book. First, I heard about it long before I picked it up, but didn't because I had already gotten into other stories concerning fights to the death and had never really enjoyed them (Death Race anyone?) But I finally picked it up because I saw there was going to be a movie made of it, and I hate seeing movies before reading the books, so it was pretty much decided for me.

I want to preface by saying I went into the story almost completely blind (I knew there was a fight to the death of some sort and it involved children). I actually had to read the first few chapters a few times in order for me to really get into it, for several reasons. I didn't really like how hardened and cold Katniss seemed to be, I wasn't a huge fan of Gale, who in the first few chapters I was convinced would become her main love interest, and District 12 really wasn't that interesting of a world to be dropped into, in my opinion. It was a decent read, mind you, (I liked Prim immediately and I was intrigued by what would exist outside of District 12 but it didn't grab my attention in the first chapter like most books I get into tend to do. I read the first three chapters three or four times and would quit right before the Reaping every time because I just couldn't get into it. But sooner or later, I decided that I had to keep going if I was going to see this movie that was already getting so much buzz on my dashboard, and I continued on to the Reaping. 

I read through the chapter, mildly interested in the tradition of the Reaping, convinced that Katniss's name would be called (She had like a bajillion names in the bowl!) and just waiting for the inevitable to happen and to move on to the next scene. But then Prim was called. And I froze. I had immediately upon reading Prim's character connected her to my sister. For one, I always considered my sister to be a more kind-hearted, pure person than I ever was. She and Prim both showed an affinity for animals that I have never been able to empathize with and both are also much more effective in the presence of human injury than I could ever be. They both have such an appreciation for life that I have always admired and never been able to fully comprehend. To me, when I read Prim's name, I would put my sister's name in her place. And then to have her Reaped... I lost it. I set the book down and I cried. And cried. And cried. I was a ball of tears and emotions for about fifteen minutes. My boyfriend thought I was insane. But I pushed through my tears and needed to find out what happened to Prim. And when Katniss volunteered, I gained so much respect for her character, and knew that if I were her, I would have done the exact same. In that moment, I became Katniss, and Katniss became me, and I was hooked. I somehow made it through the hour of good-byes and then I needed to find out what was to happen to these characters I suddenly cared so much about. And just when I began to forget about Prim and focus solely on the games, which I was already intrigued by, in comes Peeta, who I think is one of the most believable and well-written lovable "prince charming" love-interests I've ever read. I stayed because I felt for Peeta and I needed to know that he found some sort of happiness in all the chaos. So in short, I suppose I read the story for the characters. The world of the Games was fantastic, but it was always second to the story the characters were going through for me.  I never really thought, "Wow, these are kids fighting each other," or anything along those lines, I just accepted it as part of the world that the story needed to take place in, and went from there. But looking at the big picture of why the Hunger Games is so intriguing to the masses - that's a different story I would assume. I don't think every single fangirl in the Hunger Games fandom connected with Katniss as the big sister in the way I did, or else the story wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is. And I don't think that the fanbase came solely out of the love story/triangle either, because I know plenty of guys who hated Twilight for that exact reason that love the Hunger Games.  The author of the article talks about there being an element of teenage rebellion against adults, which I think there is some aspect of that in the story. This is a ritual that began because of adults, because of adult problems, that is forced on kids. The kids (tributes) should rightly feel somewhat rebellious against those who are forcing them into this bloodbath. This may definitely been what some people connected to in this story. However, the only time I even really remember thinking about the unfairness of the adult/teen issue was when I found out that the Gamemakers could influence the arena directly to get a result they wanted to happen (forcing Katniss toward the Careers with the bush fire), which I had completely unexpected for some reason. And I don't think the teenage rebellion thing is what hooked most readers, seeing as the majority of the people I've talked about the Hunger Games with have been 21 and up, including people like my parents, who are decently hard to please when it comes to a good story. Another issue that I think the Hunger Games tackles really well, and one that's been talked about quite a bit since the movie came out, is the issue of media and reality television and it's influence on our culture. This issue is incredibly prominent to me and something I didn't expect to read about when I picked up this book. This was the issue my dad noticed when he watched the movie (my dad doesn't read books if they're turned into movies, so he has only the film to go on) and commented on on our way home from the theatre. I could easily picture myself as one of the citizens in the Capitol who watched these games, rooting for my favorite tribute, picking my choice with my money (my phone-in votes perhaps) and reading up on all the drama of the contestants. And then comes Caesar Flickerman, who immediately reminded me of Ryan Seacrest. The commentary was coming through loud and clear, and I couldn't get enough of it. One of the comments on the article brings up the excellent point of the economy that the Capitol created, separating industry into each District, oppressing them and holding all the power itself, yet becoming entirely reliant on imports from the Districts. The political commentary on the Western economic system was executed brilliantly and I think spoke to many adults who read the series. 

In conclusion, I think that my answer to "Why is the Hunger Games So Popular?" has to be because of all of these reasons. And these are just the reasons that I can think of, I'm sure there are more elements that people connected with and appreciated that I haven't mentioned or even thought of. There are plenty of teenage love stories. Plenty of dystopian thrillers. Plenty of "me against the world" teenage rebellions. Plenty of commentaries on modern media and Western economics. And there are plenty of stories with great characters that an audience can connect with. But there are few that have all, and have all executed well. And that is why I think the Hunger Games is so popular. 

#the hunger games #thg #starkyrantsaboutthg #f:thg #st:personal #st:writing