#haymich

the hunger games is such an important and well written story and the mainstream media really did it dirty in such an ironic way. 

the story is about children killing each other- actual children being forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of the 1%. katniss’ whole story in the first book is that people only cared about her once she started ‘dating’ peeta. the capitol only stopped the games when katniss and peeta were the only ones left and would kill themselves instead of one killing the other. the story isn’t about romance, it’s a war story. a heart breaking war story starring a 16-17 year old girl. the mainstream media made it a romance. they turned a terrible war story and turned it into an edgy romance. people were ‘team gale’ or ‘team peeta’ instead of actually talking about what the book was about. 

the 1% saw did exactly what the capital did and we all fell for it, including me. 

i was in middle school when the movies came out and i was obsessed with the books. i fell into the same trap, but now that i’m older i can actually understand the meaning of the book, and i’m disgusted with it’s media portrayal. the story is about katniss and though peeta and gale are main elements in the story, they’re not the purpose. it’s not ‘let’s fall in love and over through the government’ it’s ‘let’s over through the government, but bc of symbolism i have to choose one of you.’ that’s the important part, and it’s the part that hollywood ignored. they said, this is about the love triangle only not the war, the war is more like a subplot when it should be the other way around. 

did i even watch the same movie as most people? i watched children get slaughtered by older children in the games. the cornucopia scene changed my life in middle school, and watching it now changes me even more. but no- the main fan base at the time had discourse over peeta and gale. the capital is supposed to be a take on hollywood and the media played into it. 

but also- 

the one thing that i think thg has that other dystopian books don’t is an actual purpose. the systematic oppression directly benefited the capital. there was a war, the capital won, they think the games are the only way to keep the districts in line. it’s insane, but the system makes sense. other books ‘like divergent’ have their dystopian society that doesn’t make sense. okay, it’s like this, but why? who is being benefited, why are they being oppressed, what does this system actually do? they don’t have a purpose, but thg does. 

i think thg should be more credible and seen as important to american literature. if it wasn’t a ya book, it would have gotten the recognition it deserves. we should have more people talking about it and it should still be incredibly relevant in pop culture, bc it’s incredibly relevant to current events. 

all in all, thg is an amazing series that we need to go back to and start talking about, not about romance, but about plot and themes. thg trilogy is such a beautiful series that’s so well written and so topical. 

Haymitch: not if they consent to it.

Katniss: depends who your stabbing.

Was a real person it would be this man

Behind the scenes

- Mockingjay (Collins, 387)