The Hunger Games

I actually didn't know about these books until I saw The Hunger Games on the cover of Entertainment Weekly a few weeks ago and decided to look it up because I hadn't heard of it. I used to read a lot more than I do now because of all the free time I used to have, but I've had to slack off a bit since starting Ringling.

After reading the first book of the trilogy, I could see the fan base being put in the same category as Harry Potter and Twilight. Although in my mind Harry Potter rules all and there's no competition.


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Binary List
- tributes
- Katniss and Peeta
   - Katniss
   - Peeta is more of a sidekick, author uses him to enhance her character (gives her more depth)

- Katniss and Gale
- brother and sister
- the woods and the arena
- capitol and the arena (districts)
- mentor and the mean lady
- winning and choosing
- Katniss and Rue
- Foxface and Thresh
- dangers: fireballs and tractor jackers
- dead people and mutants
- Peeta (peace-keeper)
- Peeta's father and Katniss' mom (allagorical themes)
- "huckleberry fin" woods to "futuristic" city
- height: tree people and grounded people
- came down to wits versus strength
- Kaido? and the "joker" girl
- berries?
- strength and weakness (in general)
- gamemakers introduce stuff to arena, hover crafts take people away
- gamemakers control whole game, but trying to beat game while eating
- Katniss' nerves vs. Peeta calm/peace ("milking the audience")
- games and violence (entertainment) - throughout history
- Mockingjays vs. Tractor Jacker
  - Mockingjays
  - both used to hold power over the districts for The Captol

Contradictions
- savage vs. futuristic
  - creates a more savage feel to the events in the book that having futuristic weapons, etc. would bring to the book
- survival vs. style
- districts vs. The Capitol
  - body image differences between the two (exist in the same universe -
  - districts kept in the dark about outside their own boarders
  - immediately puts the reader on Katniss' side
  - almost makes the reader shun their own society, look at it from an outsider's viewpoint looking in
- district people covered in soot vs. Capitol people dye themselves

 TV/Movies
- American Reality TV
  - American Idol
  - Survivor
- Death Race
- The Running Man
- Hard Target
- Predator
- Predators
- Black Hawk Down
- Gladiator
- Gamer
- The Most Dangerous Game
- Metropolis
- 1984
- Monster's Inc
- The Borrowers
- Apocolypo (man hunting, very "savage")
- The Village
- Cowboys and Aliens
- Stand By Me (identity - becoming an adult)
- The Outsiders
- Harry Potter
- LOTR
- Eagle Eye

Expectations
- Katniss and Peeta romance
- Peeta to show more masculinity (he did save her life thought)
- epic showdown (climax, death, exciting)
  - although characters are fighting the entire book and it would be exhausting
- characters find some sort of loophole to escape the arena (like in Gamer)
- what's going on with the rest of the world? what do they think of what's going on in Panem? (or is it like WWII when the globe didn't realize at first?)
- more interesting to watch Gamer where there are convicts instead of children
  - opposite: children more impactful, same as as target audience


Suggested Movie
- Gamer (2009)
  - convicts volunteer to play in the "games" (competition between life and death - the main goal is survival)
  - Tilman, the main character, is this hard, cold person who appeals to the audience and producers of the games (in reality he's trying to save his family)
  - the games are broadcasted on Pay-Per-View for entertainment like reality TV
  - mind control technology threatens to take away independence and identity
  - Ken Castle owns the corrupt company that runs the games (lots of money)
  - Also a game called "Society" where you either pay to control someone or get payed to be controlled (so either you're a "have" or a "have not")