ok now things that were excellent about the hunger games:
-i mean it like katniss is a) a traumatized woman whose b) pain is never glossed over or overlooked, whose grief and coping mechanisms are put at the front and center of the narrative, and whose trauma is absolutely critical part of any coherent reading of the story
-her emotions are treated as legitimate and valid regardless of what causes them. she is allowed to be irrational; she is allowed to be furious. she is allowed to be complicated and illogical and angry at her circumstances in a way that was (and continues to be) revolutionary for a female character in YA fiction
-her only parent is a single mother whose mental illness and grief in the aftermath of her husband’s death has prevented her from taking care of her children, and the consequences of this in terms of how it affects her relationships with her children play out in a realistic and nuanced way
-katniss’ friendship with gale is just that. a friendship. no matter what happens in the later books in the hunger games she and gale are just best buds who shoot stuff in the woods and forage together. their friendship has no strings attached and it was a breath of fresh air while it lasted
-her relationship with peeta is grounded in an interesting conversation about what it means for people in poverty to show solidarity with each other, and what that solidarity can look like, and how even minute acts of kindness can have incredible impacts to those on the receiving end of them. this isn’t even a huge part of the books it’s just nice to see
-peeta never does creepy shit or tries to coerce her or acts entitled to katniss’ love. he’s nice to her. he like, idk, genuinely acts like he likes her? which is wildly rare for a lot of Y/A love interests?? and he’s in love with her but that’s all, he only uses it as a Games strategy on his end, he doesn’t act like a complete ass about it and the fact that i’m as grateful for this narrative decision as i am is pretty depressing but i am nevertheless
-collins pulls zero punches in depicting the horrors and aftermath of the games themselves. she does not fuck about glorifying or romanticizing the ordeal. she makes all but explicit that the hunger games is a scathing critique of television/reality shows/movies and how they’re tied into capitalist structures, to the point where she all but spells out on the page “THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY’S MANIPULATION AND ABUSE OF CHILDREN IS IMMORAL AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE ALL BECOME SO NUMB TO IT IS A VERY VERY BAD THING”
-katniss’ hyper-awareness of the cameras and where they are at any given point and in any given scene is a very nice use of detail. like she’s constantly noticing lenses, screens, mirrors, basically anything that could be used as a surveillance device, and it really sets a nice atmosphere of paranoia and supervision that both lets us into her headspace and paints a broader picture of the capitol in general
-the capitol in general is also really well done; the sheer lavishness and luxury is depicted in gorgeous detail, and you can almost feel yourself being pulled into the scene – except collins always holds you back from getting totally absorbed in the facade of the Games, keeping you skillfully positioned at a far enough distance that you can see the horror underneath
-just all the little details about the Games that she included. tesserae. volunteering. the “career tributes.” the mentor system. the stylists. the initial chariot ride. the interviews. the balls. the training. the evaluations. the sponsors. it really does make the Games feel like a real event that a lot of people put a lot of thought into the ritual and ceremony of, horrific content aside.
-and that’s also the point! that you can get so wrapped up in the politicking and emotional dramas surrounding the Games that you forget what they are: an indefinite round of blood sport played out to the death with twenty-four unwilling child participants
-how expertly the gamemakers turn the kids against each other, playing on their fears and insecurities to produce more convincing conflict and rivalries
-how you almost forget that they’re children, except collins won’t let you forget. she keeps reminding you. in death scenes especially there is unique attention paid to noticing how small tributes are, how they look immature, how they’re inexperienced or dumb or make bad decisions, and it all points you again and again to the recurring realization that they’re children. this. is happening. to children.
-the way that the capitol distances itself from the Games by refusing to really confront the reality of death, which read a certain way is a very cutting critique of how western media uses the framing of images and metaphor to distance itself from the tragedies it often uses for content
-basically the hunger games is a nuanced and magnificent text
-literally these books were so fucking good
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