CaterWall

Anna Lissa. Wife and mom who spends way too much time obsessing about her OTPs: Everlark & Joshifer. a.k.a, @i-am-bechloe-trash, @i-am-vauseman-trash and @whos-your-mama

[bandathebillie]

73 Questions with Jennifer Lawrence

[silvermockingjay]

The Hunger Games (2012) • dir. Gary Ross

[foxmagpie]

all my students in my dystopian film class think gale is a better match for katniss than peeta and i told them they were Objectively Wrong and they assigned me a slideshow for homework to prove it and—

look. these children are about to be destroyed.

[foxmagpie]

my speech was 17 minutes long and when i finished the boy who challenged me to make the slideshow pursed his lips and said "okay fine, you're right, but i'm docking you points for being biased when you called gale a brat baby"

[foxmagpie]

all my students in my dystopian film class think gale is a better match for katniss than peeta and i told them they were Objectively Wrong and they assigned me a slideshow for homework to prove it and—

look. these children are about to be destroyed.

[foxmagpie]

my speech was 17 minutes long and when i finished the boy who challenged me to make the slideshow pursed his lips and said "okay fine, you're right, but i'm docking you points for being biased when you called gale a brat baby"

[fictionadventurer]

I think the Hunger Games series sits in a similar literary position to The Lord of the Rings, as a piece of literature (by a Catholic author) that sparked a whole new subgenre and then gets blamed for flaws that exist in the copycat books and aren’t actually part of the original.

Like, despite what parodies might say, Katniss is nowhere near the stereotypical “unqualified teenager chosen to lead a rebellion for no good reason”.  The entire point is that she’s not leading the rebellion. She’s a traumatized teenager who has emotional reactions to the horrors in her society, and is constantly being reined in by more experienced adults who have to tell her, “No, this is not how you fight the government, you are going to get people killed.” She’s not the upstart teenager showing the brainless adults what to do–she’s a teenager being manipulated by smarter and more experienced adults. She has no power in the rebellion except as a useful piece of propaganda, and the entire trilogy is her straining against that role. It’s much more realistic and far more nuanced than anyone who dismisses it as “stereotypical YA dystopian” gives it credit for.

And the misconceptions don’t end there. The Hunger Games has no “stereotypical YA love triangle”–yes, there are two potential love interests, but the romance is so not the point. There’s a war going on! Katniss has more important things to worry about than boys! The romance was never about her choosing between two hot boys–it’s about choosing between two diametrically opposed worldviews. Will she choose anger and war, or compassion and peace? Of course a trilogy filled with the horrors of war ends with her marriage to the peace-loving Peeta. Unlike some of the YA dystopian copycats, the romance here is part of the message, not just something to pacify readers who expect “hot love triangles” in their YA. 

The worldbuilding in the Hunger Games trilogy is simplistic and not realistic, but unlike some of her imitators, Collins does this because she has something to say, not because she’s cobbling together a grim and gritty dystopia that’s “similar to the Hunger Games”. The worldbuilding has an allegorical function, kept simple so we can see beyond it to what Collins is really saying–and it’s nothing so comforting as “we need to fight the evil people who are ruining society”. The Capitol’s not just the powerful, greedy bad guys–the Capitol is us, First World America, living in luxury while we ignore the problems of the rest of the world, and thinking of other nations largely in terms of what resources we can get from them. This simplistic world is a sparsely set stage that lets us explore the larger themes about exploitation and war and the horrors people will commit for the sake of their bread and circuses, meant to make us think deeper about what separates a hero from a villain.

There’s a reason these books became a literary phenomenon. There’s a reason that dozens upon dozens of authors attempted to imitate them. But these imitators can’t capture that same genius, largely because they’re trying to imitate the trappings of another book, and failing to capture the larger and more meaningful message underneath. Make a copy of a copy of a copy, and you’ll wind up with something far removed from the original masterpiece. But we shouldn’t make the mistake of blaming those flaws on the original work.

[bcitisthelight-deactivated20241]

THIS POST WAS MADE FOR ME. Literally nobody gets how profound The Hunger Games are as a piece of literature, actually, because it’s been lumped in with all of the copycats that came after it.

“I’m tired of love triangles” THE HUNGER GAMES IS LITERALLY AN ALLEGORICAL FICTION REFLECTING ON THE MERITS OF JUST-WAR THEORY.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/suzanne-collins-talks-about-the-hunger-games-the-books-and-the-movies.amp.html

This is a FASCINATING article where Suzanne Collins talks about this. Basically, just war theory - popularized by Thomas Aquinas, and I didn’t know she was Catholic, so that makes a TON of sense how she would know about that, anyways, just-war theory advocates for this idea that a war can be just based on certain conditions being met. In the Hunger Games, Katniss is a stand in for humanity generally, a sort of neutral figure whose going through this moral/philosophical battle. Gale represents a favorable view of just-war theory, whereas Peeta represents - if not pacifism, then certainly at the very least, a rejection of war.

THATS WHY ITS SO FUCKING PROFOUND that Katniss ends up with Peeta, like, can we just collectively admire for a moment, the final passage of Mockingjay, now that we get that what’s actually going on is a statement re: cycles of violence and the needs of humanity?

“Peeta and I grow back together. There are still moments when he clutches the back of a chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over. I wake screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I knew this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.”

I MEAN. GOD. GOD. WHAT POETRY THAT IS. Humanity cannot rely on war, and hatred, and violence, it does not need it to live, it cannot feast forever on bread and circuses gained from blood. This passage nearly makes me cry every time I read it, it’s SO lovely.

Anyways, the Hunger Games rocks.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first book in the trilogy, here is an excerpt from an interview between the publisher and the autho

[thehungergamesrenaissance]

The Hunger Games Renaissance. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part. 2 (2015), dir. Francis Lawrence

“Later, there‘s a lot of kissing. Didn‘t seem very genuine on your part. Did you like kissing me? ” he asks. “Sometimes,” I admit. “You know people are watching us now?” “I know. What about Gale?“ he continues. My anger‘s returning. I don‘t care about his recovery—this isn‘t the business of the people behind the glass. “He‘s not a bad kisser either,” I say shortly. “And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?” he asks. “No. It wasn‘t okay with either of you. But I wasn‘t asking your permission,” I tell him. Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. “Well, you‘re a piece of work, aren‘t you?” Haymitch doesn‘t protest when I walk out. Down the hall. Through the beehive of compartments. Find a warm pipe to hide behind in a laundry room. It takes a long time before I get to the bottom of why I‘m so upset. When I do, it‘s almost too mortifying to admit. All those months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it.

[ginnyweasely]

THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (2013)

[papofglencoe]

we all have that one fictional character: 5/5 would recommend (insp) 

[little-lynx]

INSTAPANEM #5: PEETA

Update on my INSTAPANEM series! Hope you enjoy it ;) I also always wanted to draw Peeta working on a cake ❤️ So yeah, that’s Peeta again buuuuut the next one will be new account 😉

BONUS COMIC (haha, yeah, this series is full of comics, just can’t stop myself. it’s pretty rough and fast done but I have decided that bad comic is better than no comic at all 😅)

Just Peeta and the cake ❤️

[gifhungergames]

New never before seen BTS.

Catching Fire (2013)

Mockingjay Part 2 (2015)

[rosegardeninwinter]

how is it that everlark fulfills like all the best tropes simultaneously? Suzanne, you’re really out here spoiling us, lady 

like she didn’t have to go so hard with the enemies to friends to lovers, childhood crush, fake dating, (almost) arranged marriage, slow burn, mutual pining, bed sharing, battle couple … but she did 

[fictionadventurer]

I think the Hunger Games series sits in a similar literary position to The Lord of the Rings, as a piece of literature (by a Catholic author) that sparked a whole new subgenre and then gets blamed for flaws that exist in the copycat books and aren’t actually part of the original.

Like, despite what parodies might say, Katniss is nowhere near the stereotypical “unqualified teenager chosen to lead a rebellion for no good reason”.  The entire point is that she’s not leading the rebellion. She’s a traumatized teenager who has emotional reactions to the horrors in her society, and is constantly being reined in by more experienced adults who have to tell her, “No, this is not how you fight the government, you are going to get people killed.” She’s not the upstart teenager showing the brainless adults what to do–she’s a teenager being manipulated by smarter and more experienced adults. She has no power in the rebellion except as a useful piece of propaganda, and the entire trilogy is her straining against that role. It’s much more realistic and far more nuanced than anyone who dismisses it as “stereotypical YA dystopian” gives it credit for.

And the misconceptions don’t end there. The Hunger Games has no “stereotypical YA love triangle”–yes, there are two potential love interests, but the romance is so not the point. There’s a war going on! Katniss has more important things to worry about than boys! The romance was never about her choosing between two hot boys–it’s about choosing between two diametrically opposed worldviews. Will she choose anger and war, or compassion and peace? Of course a trilogy filled with the horrors of war ends with her marriage to the peace-loving Peeta. Unlike some of the YA dystopian copycats, the romance here is part of the message, not just something to pacify readers who expect “hot love triangles” in their YA. 

The worldbuilding in the Hunger Games trilogy is simplistic and not realistic, but unlike some of her imitators, Collins does this because she has something to say, not because she’s cobbling together a grim and gritty dystopia that’s “similar to the Hunger Games”. The worldbuilding has an allegorical function, kept simple so we can see beyond it to what Collins is really saying–and it’s nothing so comforting as “we need to fight the evil people who are ruining society”. The Capitol’s not just the powerful, greedy bad guys–the Capitol is us, First World America, living in luxury while we ignore the problems of the rest of the world, and thinking of other nations largely in terms of what resources we can get from them. This simplistic world is a sparsely set stage that lets us explore the larger themes about exploitation and war and the horrors people will commit for the sake of their bread and circuses, meant to make us think deeper about what separates a hero from a villain.

There’s a reason these books became a literary phenomenon. There’s a reason that dozens upon dozens of authors attempted to imitate them. But these imitators can’t capture that same genius, largely because they’re trying to imitate the trappings of another book, and failing to capture the larger and more meaningful message underneath. Make a copy of a copy of a copy, and you’ll wind up with something far removed from the original masterpiece. But we shouldn’t make the mistake of blaming those flaws on the original work.

[jakeperalta]

Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

(I see right through me, I see right through me)

[katniss-and-peeta-mellark]

Everlark Fluff by meru90

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Chidi Anagonye: A summary

[benepla-deactivated20200506]

can we give it up for Suzanne Collins for fucking off into oblivion with her money after hunger games fucking destroyed the YA market for like 6 years. everything YA was dystopian “EVERYONES IN A DIFFERENT QUADRANT” shit from 2010 to 2016 and we didnt hear a peep from her. true fucking power.

[ruby-white-rabbit]

And she hasn’t said a word since. Rowling could take some pointers

[galaxiepresdechezvous]

Yeah but in Collins defense, her book was really good. She perfectly showed PTSD, Katnis trauma from when her mom mentally “abandoned” her when her dad died and the parallel with Katnis depression at the end of the series, perfectly depicted the society and its inherent problems, Finick’s back story, socio-economic disparities based on skin colour, Rue and the 11th district, President Coin and how she was as bad as Snow but in an other angle, distrinct 13 and the capitol trying to use her image for the war even though she did want to, and way more stuff I can’t think of right now.

I mean the following Y/A distopian books were mostly bad knock off who thought that the reason the HG had such success was because of the love triangle, but in reality Collins created such a complexe yet very realistic world that makes a parallel to our society of entretainment and war

[whatisthisplaceidonteven]

The Hunger Games was baby’s first intro to social justice for a lot of kids back in the early 2010s. They were brilliant books that introduced a lot of complicated concepts in a way teens could understand and enjoy - plus, addictive, well-plotted adventure stories with A+ characterization and worldbuilding. But all the general public seems to remember about them is the love triangle, and I will always be salty about that.

[princecaviar-deactivated2022113]

The irony of the Hunger Games is that the media in the book and the media in the real world both chose to focus on the love story instead of the rebellion.

[corisanna]

One of my favorite aspects of the book series was the way it dissected the art/science of propaganda/media and the often stark differences in popular figures’ public and private personas. The movies also got that frighteningly correct. Propaganda to oppress and propaganda to uplift were laid side-by-side and used as foils to show how the techniques work to achieve the desired purpose. The direct invocation of “panem et circenses” (”bread and circuses,” keeping a population docile by controlling/bestowing distractions regarding food and entertainment) made the point all the clearer. “Look. This is what is being done to distract you.”

Having Katniss– the symbol of The Common Person at the bottom of the societal hierarchy who most heavily bears the brunt of oppression– be stiff and awful at scripted propos but a fucking goddess at unscripted, passionately angry speeches and stoking reflection and resistance and rebellion was very deliberate. It is a call to be genuine, to question media narratives and seek facts, to take a long, hard, honest look beyond the sparkling lights and glamor projected by the media to really see and take the downtrodden seriously before their collective patience wears thin enough to snap and they bring out the bombs. Or guillotines, if you want to look at IRL history.

One of my favorite scenes in the series is in Catching Fire: the interviews with the Victors being forced to take part in the Quarter Quell. Especially with the visuals of the movie. The entire thing builds up to when Peeta “drops the baby bomb” and the audience breaks into dismayed/horrified pandemonium and there are calls by the privileged to stop the injustice; it is an escalating series of oppressed, re-victimized individuals turning their glamorized re-victimization into a platform to scream their humanity at the citizens of the Capitol until it seems to finally start seeping in. Stanley Tucci play’s Caesar Flickerman’s growing discomfort perfectly; IIRC, his calling for the lights and cameras to be cut when the Victors show unity is to use the gesture of slitting a throat. It’s a common gesture, but in this case it has a greater weight: “Cut this, kill it, don’t let people see it, these people we’ve set up to hate each other joining hands in united defiance is dangerous.”

That also veers off into an extended lesson in “the powers that be seek to divide you and turn you against each other to keep you weak.” In modern terms, you can see it in such things as “wow why should burger-flippers get raises to earn more than the legit heroes who fight crime and save lives and defend our country?” to turn those groups against each other on the basis of accepted social hierarchy instead of talking together and coming to a consensus of, “You know, we’re ALL getting screwed and should ALL make more money; let’s work together to achieve that.”

It is highly relevant to this period of civilization. It resonates with the masses. That resonance is amorphous; allowing it to gel into something more solid could erode media/propagandist influence. Thus, whether conscious or just the nature of the beast,

“LOOK AT THE LOVE TRIANGLE! ROMANCE! FOCUS ON THE ROMANCE! ISN’T IT ROMANTIC?! THINKING ABOUT THE DEEPER STUFF IS UNCOMFORTABLE, SO LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN AND HANDSOME MEN AND CHOOSE A SIDE AND FIGHT FOR IT! R-O-M-A-N-C-E-!”

In other words, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

In other words, “Let’s play up the circus part of panem et circenses.”

It’s like a social ourobouros. I observe it with a sort of morbid fascination.

[zarohk]

Just FYI, Suzanne Collins was pressured by her editor to make a love triangle, and decided to make President Snow be the one pushing the Peeta romance to show that it was forced.

[bob-belcher]

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), dir. Francis Lawrence.