From page to film → Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
“What happens next is not an accident. It is too well executed to be spontaneous, because it happens in complete unison. Every person in the crowd presses the three middle fingers of their left hand against their lips and extends them to me. It’s our sign from District 12, the last good-bye I gave Rue in the arena.”
“We would be safe inside the Justice Building by now, if I hadn’t stopped, if I hadn’t left my flowers. Instead, from the deep shade of the verandah, we see the whole thing. A pair of Peacekeepers dragging the old man who whistled to the top of the steps. Forcing him to his knees before the crowd. And putting a bullet through his head.”
- Catching Fire, page 61-62.
So, like, I need to find the piece someone wrote about how Black folks (and POC more generally) aren’t good enough to be featured, but they’re good enough to be pro-revolution, or whatever is going on in the books/movie.
Which…
Like…
Considering how there is an identical scene to what’s up there, and the continued flubbery that has been production of this movie (lookin’ at you Finnick), I think it’s worth revisiting the topic of crowd scenes/”revolution” scenes and their utilization of non-white bodies (see also: nameless faces, mob scenes, silent companions….).
It’s just like, it’s super striking to me, lately.
we are just a monolith of flesh
brown blurs
we all look a like
we all exist only to boost the numbers of the dead
My favorite part of the Hunger Games is the fact that the books aren’t supposed to be all about the love triangle yet that’s the only thing the media really cares about.
DO YOU ALL REALIZE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE CAPITOL PAID ATTENTION TO TOO. THEY’RE MAIN FOCUS WAS THAT DAMN LOVE TRIANGLE AND OUR MEDIA DOES THE SAME THING. I DON’T LIKE HOW SIMILAR THESE TWO ARE BECOMING SERIOUSLY STOP THIS.
Finnick Odair Capitol Portrait (x)
Commmmme onnnnnn, Hunger Games. Look. I have tried to be patient. I know I got some Claflin girls up on my dash, y’all must have your reasons. But are you kidding me with this right now, Hunger Games. Are you? Because I know you are not suggesting with a straight face that everybody in the known world of Panem is like, “yes, I will pay a hundred thousand apocadollars for a piratical slide down this gefilte fish dick.” I KNOW YOU ARE NOT TRYING TO BRING THAT WEAK SHIT TO ME, WHEN WE COULDA HAD
ALL OF THIS.
Nope. No. Look, I can be all about the post-nuclear-apocalypse world where children fight to death by order of the dictatorial central government but it is TAKING SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF A LITTLE TOO FAR to argue that whatever is goin on up there was preferable casting to THIS.
HONESTLY
WHAT EVEN IS A “CLAFLIN”
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING
I’M VERY UPSET
UGH, GO TO YOUR ROOM, HUNGER GAMES. GO TO YOUR ROOM AND THINK ABOUT HOW YOU GOOFED.
THINK LONG AND HARD, YA DUMB GODDAMNED ANIMALS.
Slow clap.
Slow clap.
Enjoy having your Internet slowed down for alledged copyright infringement.
Also CISPA is trying to come back as we speak.
‘Murika, you let CAS pass. If you don’t stop CISPA, say goodbye to Free Internet.
Here’s a link to the Stop CISPA petition.
I WILL REBLOG THIS EVERY MOTHER FUCKING DAY UNTIL THE 15TH.
15 days. 82 246 signatures needed. Only 411 were made yesterday.
even if you didn’t, fucking put your goddamn signature there (assuming you’re an american and actually can do that) and signal boost it.
14 days, 82 037 signatures needed. Only 209 were made yesterday.Here’s some info on what will happen to you if you don’t fucking sign this petition.
- Your private information from sites, such as Facebook and Google, will be now available to the Goverment. And there’s jack shit you will be able to do about it. If someone doesn’t like you, they can go and check all the information Facebook and Google have about you
- Your military will ALSO have access to said private info.
- No warrants or subpoenas (also known as the “there’s jack shit you will be able to do about it” part)
- Companies that join this shit become immune to criminal and civil liability (also “an aka the “there’s jack shit you will be able to do about it” part”)
If you don’t get how serious that is, watch this video, it’ll demonstrate.
14 days, 81,888 signatures needed. Only 149 were made yesterday.
Don’t make me start reposting this post twice a day. Because I will if the amount of signatures won’t fucking skyrocket.
SIGNAL BOOSTIN’ AGAIN
SIGN THIS PETITION Or AT LEAST rEBLOG AND LET OTHErS KNOW!!
I AM NOT SHITTING WITH YOU GUYS. THIS SHIT IS PISSING ME OFF ALREADY. FUCKING SIGN THIS SHIT OR I’LL MAKE SURE I WALK TO MY SERVICE PROVIDER AND SHOTGUN HIM IN THE ANUS IF MY MOTHERFUCKING INTERNET GOES OFF. SOPA AND CISPA HAS BEEN ON MY NERVES TO THE POINT I’M RAGING ABOUT THESE BEING BROUGHT UP AND VALUABLE RESOURCES ARE BEING USED. SIGN THIS SHIT GODDAMMIT
please spread this like wildfire guys im begging you we still need over 90,000 signatures if tumblr can reblog a post 500,000 times for a fluffy chicken, we can reblog this 90,000 times in snap. please please please reblog this, and thank you so much
ALRIGHT YOU SHITS DON’T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS FUCKERY
THEY ARE TRYING TO REMOVE YOUR INTERNET FREEDOM
SEE THAT REACTION GIF FOLDER? YOU’LL GET A LONGER SENTENCE THAN A RAPIST IF THEY FIND THAT
SIGN THIS SHIT OR JUST FUCKING TURN YOURSELF IN BECAUSE THIS IS IMPORTANTOUR FREEDOM IS AT STAKE. OUT ACTUAL, FACTUAL FREEDOM IS UNDER THREAT AND PEOPLE ARE DOING NOTHING
THE GOVERNMENT BETRAYS YOU AT EVERY TURN AND YOU DO NOTHING AND EVEN NOW WHEN THEY TRY AND CONTROL THE MOST DIVERSE AND USEFUL MEDIUM ON THE PLANET YOU DO NOTHING
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??I did this thing. Now you.
Placing downloading a MOVIE above a Rapist sentence is beyond bullshit, wrong, and inhumane. I like movies as much as the next person, but FUCK HOLLYWOOD for pushing this even more when I quite honestly don’t give a shit if an actor makes millions of dollars a movie. Much less saying their income and lively hood is on the same level as rape and basic human morals.
#what were you guys talking about whitewashing?
Hint: While this is a great casting, one actor does not make an entire cast not-whitewashed. Yeah, who knew!
Considering Katniss, Gale, and Haymitch are all olive-skinned black-haired POC and they hired white people for all three yeah, we were talking about whitewashing. Casting a POC in a role with an unspecified race does not mean that didn’t happen or that it wasn’t wrong. Oh, and all the most important roles (Finnick and Johanna) are all white too. So oh wow incredible there are some people in this series who aren’t white wow so progressive and the people in charge are totally incapable of doing racist things ever!!!!
guys stop it already.
Um no you just said some stupid smug white-washing apologizing bullshit sorry people called you out??? You put that shit in the Hunger Games and Beetee tags with that extra idiotic tag up there as well. Sorry people came across your bullshit that you chose to put out in the public tags and decided to tell you how basic you really are.
“vanillanightt asked you:
It’s not really a question, but an observation. I understand the reasons, but on Facebook after the recent post about TMI casting information a lot of fans are confused as to why they would want an Asian actor for Magnus Bane. Think you could clear it up, once again, to clear the confusion?”
Okay, although I admit I am confused about the confusion. They want an Asian actor to play Magnus because Magnus is Asian. (Technically, Magnus is biracial. I would be perfectly happy with a biracial actor playing him — but otherwise the option is an Asian actor, not a white actor. It doesn’t matter if any of Magnus’ background is white. Casting him white would erase that part of his background that is Asian. And important. There are plenty of roles out there for white actors. Most roles are for white actors. This is not one of them. There is very little I have control over as regards casting. I cannot pick an actor for Magnus. I don’t have that ability. But I can say, and say strongly, that I want them to cast an Asian or half-Asian actor, and I did. It is pretty much the one ironclad demand as regards casting that I have made, i.e. : if you don’t cast an Asian actor, I’ll never talk about this movie again, nor will I see it.)
Let’s take a quick look at some example descriptions of Magnus from the books:
City of Bones, first time we meet Magnus: “Clary could tell from the curve of his sleepy eyes and the gold tone of his evenly tanned skin that he was part Asian. He wore jeans and a black shirt covered with dozens of metal buckles…”
In Clockwork Angel, when Tessa first sees him: “His hair was like rough black silk, so dark it had a bluish sheen to it; his skin was brown, the cast of his features like Jem’s.” (This was difficult, because Tessa doesn’t have the language or knowledge to think about race this way — she says Magnus is “of foreign extraction” — but “the cast of his features was like Jem’s” means he looks like the only other person in the book who is half-Asian. Jem. His skin is also described as brown in Clockwork Prince.
From Magnus’ Vow, things in Magnus’ possession: “a half-burned piece of stationary from the Hong Kong Club — a place he had been barred from not for being a warlock, but for not being white.”
And: “He touched a piece of twisted rope nearly at the bottom of the pile, and (Magnus) thought of his mother, the daughter of a Dutch colonialist father and an Indonesian woman.”
In City of Lost Souls, when Magnus says I love you to Alec, he says it in Indonesian. Also in City of Lost Souls (you can cover your eyes if you’re avoiding spoilers, though this is not particularly key to anything:)
“Where was Magnus born?”
“Batavia, if you must know. Indonesia. Of course, it was the Dutch East Indies then. His mother was a native.” (Meaning: she was Indonesian. Not a fan of the way Camille words this, of course, but it’s the way she would word it, and Camille is not a nice person.)
I’ve seen people say “But Magnus is only a quarter Asian! So he could totally be played by a white actor!”
Except, no. Magnus is the same race as his mother. He is half Asian. Because his father was a demon. Demons do not have a race: warlocks are by default whatever race their human parent is. And I am somewhat disturbed by the eagerness to try to paint Magnus as white, or whiter, when he clearly is not. He is clearly, visually not: both viewpoint characters in both series on being introduced to him, notice that he is not white, but Asian. (This is not really even my favorite thing to do: when I look back on City of Bones one thing that I don’t like about what I did is introducing Magnus that way. I feel like Clary noting that he is Asian underlines that somehow “the default is white.” But even though she does notice it, obviously a huge amount of people assume Magnus is white anyway. So I feel there are better ways I could have and should have handled it, but clearly that information has to be gotten across.)
I have gotten many letters over the years from readers who are happy that Magnus is not white, that Jem is not white, that Maia is not white, that Aline is not white. The fact is that most parts in books are for straight white folks and even more so in films. There are not that many parts for actors who are not white — even less substantive ones. Taking those things away by casting Magnus as white and talking about him as white does cause actual pain to actual people — and to what end? Why? Why send the message you only want to read about white people and only want to see white people on your screens?
Here’s a really good post on fancasting Jem as white, for instance:
http://alohomorashlie.tumblr.com/post/19970036382/listen-infernal-devices-fandom-i-usually-like-you
I remember being told early on in the whole movie process (before I sold the rights) that I should be wary about having written a biracial character, because if there is any excuse to cast a character as white, even if they are not, even if they are only half, Hollywood will take it. I am not sure this is the time for Racism 101 (explanations of what privilege means and the fact that racism is systemic — not random isolated instances but a message we get over and over and over in the most insidious possible ways that says that white is the default, white is better) but there is a reason the term “whitewashing” exists. And it happens, all the time.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/07/whitewashing_of_hollywood.html
The general assumption that is always made about characters is that they are white. I am constantly asked if Jem is Chinese, even though he is from Shanghai and speaks Mandarin and says he is Chinese and is portrayed on the cover of the book by a half-Chinese model. Apparently the idea he might not be white is just that startling. And why is it startling? Because of things like whitewashing. Because if mainstream media can take an opportunity to accord more privilege to the already privileged, and make everybody white, by and large they will. And every time it happens, it contributes to the problem and makes sure the problem lasts longer.
So why are they casting Asian actors for Magnus? Because Magnus is Asian. (And a casting call for Asian actors also means half-Asian actors. Because if you are half-Asian, in Hollywood, you’re considered Asian. Give that some thought.)
You don’t want Magnus and Alec’s romance cut out of the movies, or them made straight. I know you don’t. Casting Magnus as white is no better. Just …think about it, okay?
…
W H A T
CASSANDRA CLARE
DOING SOMETHING I APPROVE OF?
It doesn’t matter if any of Magnus’ background is white. Casting him white would erase that part of his background that is Asian. And important. There are plenty of roles out there for white actors. Most roles are for white actors. This is not one of them. There is very little I have control over as regards casting. I cannot pick an actor for Magnus. I don’t have that ability. But I can say, and say strongly, that I want them to cast an Asian or half-Asian actor, and I did. It is pretty much the one ironclad demand as regards casting that I have made, i.e. : if you don’t cast an Asian actor, I’ll never talk about this movie again, nor will I see it.)
AND
I feel like Clary noting that he is Asian underlines that somehow “the default is white.” But even though she does notice it, obviously a huge amount of people assume Magnus is white anyway. So I feel there are better ways I could have and should have handled it, but clearly that information has to be gotten across.)
AND
I feel like Clary noting that he is Asian underlines that somehow “the default is white.” But even though she does notice it, obviously a huge amount of people assume Magnus is white anyway. So I feel there are better ways I could have and should have handled it, but clearly that information has to be gotten across.)
AND
The fact is that most parts in books are for straight white folks and even more so in films. There are not that many parts for actors who are not white — even less substantive ones.
*LOVE EXPLOSION?!*
holy shit a rational author
Eat shit Suzanne Collins.
Eat shit horrible whitewashing fandoms.
I’m going to buy these fucking books and read them now
Because their author is a good person
5 BOOKS FOR THE DISSATISFIED HUNGER GAMES READER
- Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi— Brilliant YA futuristic dystopia that actually examines interplay between race/class/power; heterosexual male protagonist and rest of cast all POCs, brings critical lens to current USAmerican —> global institutionalized inequalities with many thrilling action sequences
- Graceling, by Kristin Cashore— action/adventure fantasy novel all about gender and power. Fabulous white, heterosexual female heroine, like Katniss, is bad at feelings, good at killing; unlike Katniss, her entire book is a study of her agency, and she thinks extensively on whether she wants a romance and ultimately makes that decision, too.
- Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler— not YA, but the best dystopia ever??? Yes. Heroine & most of cast are POC, explores race & gender in futuristic unraveling of USAmerican society & one incredible woman who manages to build something new in the rubble; she is, like Katniss, logical & determined, and unlike Katniss, in charge.
- Octavian Nothing, by MT Anderson— YA historical duology about a heterosexual African American boy during the American revolution. The author explicitly plays on the popularity of YA fantasy dystopias to interrupt the reader’s expectations of a traditional fantasy narrative with the reality of US history— like Hunger Games, grim adventure that doesn’t traditionally conclude, unlike Hunger Games, explicitly about race
- Sisters Red, by Jackson Pearce— white werewolf hunting sisters in contemporary USA; older sister is focused, protective, and genuinely asexual!!! while younger sister has a perspective, agency, and doesn’t die. The entire book is about their difficult changing healthy A+ relationship.
I am excite about this list! (Looove the Parable books, had Graceling on my to-read list for ages.) I would like to add though, that there’s been a lot of talk about Paolo Bacigalupi’s racism and Orientalism in The Wind-Up Girl, so…. I don’t know if Ship Breaker is just not that way or what, but I WORRY.
A ThinkProgress trailer showing what the REAL Hunger Games looks like.
That’s right. The Hunger Games hits the capital this week with the House of Representatives voting on a package that threatens more than $33 billion of nutritional assistance for the elderly, disabled, children and working poor.
I wanna marry this video? Can I do that? THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME. EVERYONE!!! SPREAD THIS LIKE A VIRUS!!!
How to make a female celebrity that’s relatable to the current generation, a handy guide:
So you’re looking to make a female celebrity, but you want her to be relatable to the current generation. Seems like a pretty impossible task, right? First, let’s see how the music industry does things with the virgin/whore dichotomy. In the 90s, the music industry would make every female popstar or begin as a virgin. Songs about how to earn their trust if you want to take them on a date or how they hate highschool gossip, usually with innuendo that could slightly hint at sexuality, were commonplace on their first album. As time progressed (usually by the second album), they would have made the transition to the ‘whore’. Controversial film clips and songs about being spanked and various other innuendo became commonplace.
They did this so that their fans could make the progression with them, first identifying with them in their early teens as a positive and relatable influence and then as a symbol of their own sexuality as they began discovering it. And in the 90s, this worked. But in the 00s this trick seemed to be failing. So what did the music industry do? It further split the virgin whore dichotomy with an untraversable valley. Now their stars either start as virgins and remain virgins throughout , or they start as whores and continue spiraling in a controversial media storm of whoredom.
But what about the film industry? Well, they tried to emulate the music industry, but as their shiny virgins made the transition to the whore side of the dichotomy they spun out of control and lost their following.
This created a large gap in the relatable celebrity market for young women, and people were running out of ideas. It seemed that no matter how many happy, healthy virgins were thrown at todays teens, they seemed too apathetic and self-involved to latch on. So what did they do? They made an apathetic and self-involved heroine out of a remarkably apathetic and almost overly sardonic celebrity.
While this was their most successful attempt in a decade, the results were split right down the middle. This celebrity definitely had a strong following, but she also had incredibly vocal detractors that seemed to loathe her. This meant that the film industry had to go back to basics and answer one very fundamental question; Who is the female teenager of the 00s? The results were startling. They found that here in the 00s, be it because of Elmo, the internet or video games, literally everyone has ADHD. Also, the limitless free expression enabled through the internet had made everyone suffer from a disorder in which they considered themselves to be ‘special snowflakes’, thinking that their every thought was worthy of a status, tweet, blog or worse yet, vlog. The confidence that this snowflake syndrome caused combined with the ADHD made these teens completely loathable in reality, which meant that in real life they were nowhere near as popular as they felt they deserved to be. To avoid the painful cognitive dissonance that would be caused by thinking themselves to be wonderful expressive indaviduals while being hated by social society, they had also decided to label themselves weird. Crazy. Quirky. Phrases like “People don’t get me because I’m so random lol whatever penguin XD” popped up in about mes all over the internet.
How could this mess of information possibly help construct a relatable celebrity? Enter Jennifer Lawrence. She is everything that the youth of today see themselves as. Beautiful without realizing it, quirky in unexpected ways, talented yet modest; A breaker of every mold.
But this still left the important question of sexuality. After decades of placing such importance on the virgin/whore dichotomy, where would this awkward snowflake fit in? This was perhaps the most masterful stroke of all; She wouldn’t. She would simply ignore her sexuality in person, never mentioning it or seemingly acting on it, yet she would appear in multiple artsy yet erotic photoshoots. The idea came from the various teen blogs in which the blogger would spend her day talking about fandoms, food and her other virgin interests before suddenly posting awkward topless webcam shots in the middle of the night.
So there you have it! Here is your new relatable female celebrity, we hope you enjoy her.
haaaaaa this is fascinating and hilarious
this is why i’m indifferent to jennifer lawrence. the whole “omg so quirky yet relateable” thing is laid on so fucking thick i don’t know how anyone buys into it. she’s cute and talented but she’s just as beige (yeah, i said it) as the next starlet. and that’s ok. let’s just accept it for what it is.
Mind has been blown from the accurate
Can I put this on a T-shirt? Beause it really is so fucking true. Please, everyone, READ IT. And this post says something about the whole ish of PR culture, celeb PR culture, celeb culture in general, Hollywood PR, and the commodification of actors/singers/entertainers. It’s not obnoxiously trying to shit on Jen.
Seriously?
Seriously?
It is a dystopian world where kids are forced to kill each other.
This is not desirable.
Did we read the same fucking books?
Thisss.
Ok, but question: why the FUCK would you want to fight in the Hunger Games?
Seriously.
The point of those books is BEING IN THE HUNGER GAMES IS SHITTY.
YOU KILL PEOPLE IN ORDER NOT TO BE KILLED.
ON LIVE TELEVISION.
TO PERPETUATE OPPRESSION.
…The whole point of dystopian universes is that THEY SUCK.
FUCKING THIS. CHRIST IT’S NOT A GOD DAMN WONDER LAND!!
