We’ve seen quite a few franchises rip through social media these days, and they all have the same things in common. One, they come from popular books series. IE: Harry Potter and Twilight. The Hunger Games is no different. Two, they all have gigantic budgets with big studios backing them. They can boast the latest in CGI, costume design, even scores by some of the top composers. And three, they can take many liberties and let the foot off the gas creatively (and they often do) because they all have multitudes of preteen fans ready to spend their lunch money on a movie ticket, even before the film is released. The result is generally poor writing and even worse acting.
With the approaching release of The Hunger Games (March 23rd), I thought it would be a good time to gain (or regain) some perspective on the possible influences on the plot of the much acclaimed book series. Now, when I first thought of writing on this topic, I took the stance that the book series, written by Susanne Collins, was simply a bastardization of some quality pieces of art and entertainment (not always at the same time). After sharing some of those thoughts with my 7th grade students – Collins target audience – I have realized that many fans of the series are blindly convinced of its originality, as well as the authenticity of the themes and plot of the books. However, they are just as blindly willing to watch or read the various films and novels that have shaped their being.
Before going any further, I know many of you will automatically think, “Nothing is original anymore!” If you want to have that argument, view the profound “Everything Is a Remix” blog. My point here is not to say that unoriginality is terrible, but rather point out possible influences on the forthcoming movie which I think are more interesting and poignant than the young adult novels.
Theseus and the Minotaur
One of the greatest places to find stories to reinvent is from Greek and Roman Mythology. The premise of the hero Theseus running around the Labyrinth contending with a Minotaur as punishment for the wrong-doings of Athens is intriguing. In a Q and A with publisher Scholastic, Collins admitted that the basic premise of a government that sends youths into a battleground as punishment for the past came from the brutal Greek Myth.
This is a pretty clear modernization of that basic premise.
The Running Man (1987)
The next step in forming The Hunger Games is obvious: include the Governator. The basic plot of The Running Man is that a wrongly accused man is set for public execution on television. This is not simply flick of the switch type execution. Rather, the execution is a commercially driven television game show, in which viewers are rewarded with entertainment, and not necessarily justice. The movie is like many Arnie flicks: lots of campy action, one liners, and guilty pleasures. However, the premise is disturbing, and the idea that people gain entertainment from others’ pain and suffering is appalling, if not true to modern times, i.e. Survivor, Mixed Martial Arts, and any “reality” dating, singing, or makeover show.
The connection to Collins’ series is clear: the people in the Capital city of Panem are completely desensitized to the violence of ‘the Hunger Games’, and find the brutal destruction and death to be the greatest form of entertainment.
Battle Royale (2000)
In the near future, 42 students are forced by Japanese legislation to compete in Battle Royale, an all-out three day massacre in which all students are given a random weapon, some meager supplies, and are told that only one student can come out alive.
Sound familiar?
If you haven’t seen Battle Royale, you really shouldn’t be allowed to see The Hunger Games, which will seem like a Disney story in comparison. The violence is disturbing, and the reactions of the students are likely very accurate as to how the masses would act in such a situation. Battle Royale comes across more on the psychological mutilation that occurs within people, and the inhumanity that a government requires to keep control.
Besides these main three, there are many other allusions one could infer from the Hunger Games. These connections are slightly vaguer, and may apply to the second and third books in the series, so my logic may not hold…
Star Wars
Youth becomes the face of rebellion. Youth’s mentor is a has-been, and doesn’t inform youth of all that he knows. Like the fact that his father IS Darth Vader!
Twilight
Love triangle. Which one of the flawless mates will she choose? Bah.
With the success of the publishing of Twilight in 2005, it is not surprising that Collins (who published in 2008) chose the love triangle angle instead of a Romeo and Juliet type.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The struggles of youths faced with the politics of ‘survival of the fittest’.
Regardless of whether you are a fan of The Hunger Games or not, you’ve got to appreciate many of the themes explored through it and its predecessors. Despite my perpetual pessimism with popular culture, and my want for originality in art and entertainment, I can take solace in how Collins responded to the question: “What do you hope your readers will come away with…?”
Collins: “Questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives. And, if they’re disturbing, what they might do about them.”
The newest trailer for The Hunger Games is out and thank God it’s not another spinning acid trip in the woods. For a while there I thought I was watching daytime outtakes from The Blair Witch Project. With slightly less snot.
I will say from the top that I like the trailer. It encapsulates the character of Katniss quite well, and I am more than pleased with Jennifer Lawrence in the role with what I’ve seen so far. That and Donald Sutherland is basically a badass, so you know he’ll be awesome. I can make my peace with Lenny Kravitz, I really can. I’m sure he had the best acting coaches money could buy that auto-tuned his on-screen performance. I’m sure he knows some guitar hypnosis voodoo to get what he wants.
I really have a hard time making my peace with Woody Harrelson because of what an obscenely awful actor he is. He wasn’t exhibited much in the trailer, but I think this role should be a cinch for him. He’s like Keanu Reeves. Keanu has solid performances when he plays someone who has no clue what’s going on; because Keanu has no clue what’s going on. In this film, Woody portrays a crazy drunk who tends to lash out in a violent rage. Three shots of Tequila and he just has to read the script.
Anyhow, here it is…
I have high hopes for this film because I did thoroughly enjoy the book. There is a wide margin of screw-up possibility, as in any book to film adaptation. However, being that this was the only book in the trilogy that was actually worth reading, I’m excited to see it. This new trailer really gave us a glimpse into Katniss’ life before and leading up to the games; her bravery in volunteering to die to save her sister’s life, her friendship with her fellow tribute, Peeta. It felt inspiring. Hopefully the film lives up to the hype.
While movie posters aren’t exactly the most thrilling aspects of a film production, they can do loads for setting the tone and planting a seed in the minds of the public (See the wonderful District 9 posters, for example). Particularly for upcoming movies that haven’t disclosed much footage yet, a poster can be all we have to get an idea of the direction a project is taking, and this is certainly the case with The Hunger Games film, which released a teaser that managed to show absolutely nothing in a minute and six seconds.
However we have been treated to a simply awesome motion poster for the movie in the past, and now we’ve been handed 8 new character posters that feel just perfect, and thank God because some of the casting decisions have seemed way out of left field. Sure, a still photo of a shadowy profile isn’t much to go on, but I never thought Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks or Lenny Kravitz would look right in their roles and yet here we are:
You can find all 8 of the new posters here at IMP Awards. I’m real excited for the Hunger Games trilogy, if you can’t tell.
What do you think of the secretiveness of this, or other movie productions? Like it? Hate it? Think it’s stupid to get all caught up in a picture?
Early in June we told you about the upcoming movie The Hunger Games. At that time there wasn’t yet any footage, but last night MTV aired a teaser clip at their shitty awards show. Here it is:
I didn’t read the books, so to me this just looks like a girl running though the woods. Granted, that girl is Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men; First Class), but still not a lot going on…
The other day I showed you three two posters, one of which came out of Las Vegas’s 2011 Licensing International Expo. Basically a huge event where you can get people to spend money on your product, and in a lot of cases, that means a look at a whole bunch of movies. You know how Transformers had a lot of Mountain Dew references, or Thor and Iron Man featured some Dr. Pepper products? This is where that happens.
Keep in mind these are mainly marketing posters, so don’t expect more than a logo or a teaser. But even then, it’s a cool look at some of these upcoming movies. This first batch is from Collider.
Grizzly Bomb 
