#backtopanem

[everlarkedalways]

Hey everyone! 

The Hunger Games Reread Starts this week! Each week, we read three chapters together. On Mondays, I post the prompts for the week that relate to those chapters. Do as many as or as little as you want. The more who participate, the more we have to love! So, join us!

The tag for this reread is #toastedTHG. Check out past tags and rereads to get a feel for what we’re doing or to get some ideas: #countdowntomockingjay, #alwaysreal, #rethg, #backtopanem.

So, check back for the prompts tomorrow morning! You guys are awesome!

--Ara

[everlarkedalways]

I just blogged all the posts I've tagged as "FAVE." It should be a good weekend!!!

[katamount]

The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen: The Heroine the World Needs Right Now

In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen embarks on a hero's journey armed only with her bow, her arrow and her wits... But in the real world, the character Katniss Everdeen faces an even greater challenge: Proving that pop culture will embrace a heroine capable of holding her own with the big boys.

TBT before Katniss led the first Hunger Games movie to more than $694 million gross worldwide. A few bits from this thoughtful piece from 2012:

Granted, Katniss Everdeen isn’t a traditional superhero — she possesses no special power and didn’t come from a comic book — but her success could pave the way for those that are. Provided the film remains as true to the book as early clips and filmmaker comments have suggested, the movie could prove revolutionary for portraying a true female hero who is emotionally and physically strong, and isn’t romantically involved with a male hero counterpart.

In a prescient moment that probably got her the part, Lawrence told the movie’s director, Gary Ross, during her audition, “Please remember that after Katniss shoots a bow and kills someone, her face cannot be badass.” She added in an interview with Vanity Fair, “She’s a hunter but not a killer.”

Throughout the book series, Katniss exemplifies what sociologist Kathryn Gilpatric calls a “true action heroine” — a rare sort of character in Gilpatric’s studies. In essence, she’s not a heroine because she fights next to a male hero — in fact she feels compelled to protect the boy Tribute from her District, Peeta (played by Josh Hutcherson in the film). Her brain is as sharp as the arrows in her quiver — she outsmarts the Gamemakers more than once — and her heroism isn’t necessarily something that’s played up as sexy.

And arguably, now more than ever, Katniss is still the heroine the world needs right now. 🔥

[katamount]

“...it goes all the way back to the source material that Suzanne Collins created. She had this idea to write a series of books for teenagers about the consequence of war. I think every decision that she made was based on that idea. Then she created a really compelling story with great characters, especially the character of Katniss, wh[o] I think is going to go down as one of the greatest characters of all time...”

—Francis Lawrence in a 2014 NPR interview, on why people connect with the Hunger Games movies

[eatingcroutons]

Anyone up for a Hunger Games discord server?

Yeah, I’ve well and truly fallen back into this fandom rabbit hole. I asked around and couldn’t find any existing THG discord servers, so @everlarkedalways suggested I start one. I therefore present:

The Hob

Because I suck at creative server names

All fans and ships are welcome, please come and talk headcanons and meta with me 😭

Or you know, just come and squee about the series in general with other fans, and get excited about the 10th Anniversary edition which comes out in a few days!

Edit: NOW WITH WORKING INVITE LINK, dammit discord don’t mess me around like this

[katamount]

“I know of a cure for everything: salt water.... Sweat, or tears, or the salt sea.”

—from one of Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)

I saw this quote from Isak Dinesen (the author of Out of Africa and Babette’s Feast) and wondered if it might’ve inspired or informed part of Suzanne Collins’ conclusion in Mockingjay. I was thinking about the lovely lines in the final chapter when Katniss talks about working on the memory book with Peeta, writing, drawing, or painting tributes to the many people lost to the war:

“We seal the pages with salt water and promises to live well to make their deaths count.”

—chapter 27, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 

In addition to this reference to the tears Katniss and Peeta shed while working on the book (and the ones Katniss shed with Buttercup), Collins also sends Mrs. Everdeen to District Four in the final chapter of Mockingjay. Her character arc ends on a hopeful note as she works to start a hospital in the fishing district. And I think it’s been observed before that sending Katniss’ mother to the seaside district also implies healing, since sea bathing and fresh ocean air have been associated with (physical and emotional) health benefits for hundreds of years. 

salt watercolor 

Dinesen’s Seven Gothic Tales appeared in 1934, and a condensed version of the story with the salt water quote appeared in Reader’s Digest later that year. The popular quote—which is sometimes attributed to other writers or speakers—was also reprinted in newspapers and magazines in the United States, England, and probably beyond. It also reflects the folk wisdom of the day, which some of us may still hear about from our parents or grandparents. I don’t know if Suzanne Collins knew of this quote, but when I saw it, it reminded me of these moments at the end of Mockingjay, and this line as well: “I open the letter Haymitch gave me from my mother, dial the phone number, and weep with her as well.” For what it’s worth, there’s also a reference to Thom’s sweat as he works on the recovery of D12 in the final pages of the book.

[katamount]

Johanna/Joanna poTAYto/poTAHto

I’m always a little surprised when they pronounce Johanna as “Joanna” in the movies. 

But Google tells me that it’s common in parts of North America for Johanna and Joanna to be pronounced the same. That’s a little baffling to me, since Joanna seems like a different name. (And if you want to pronounce it Joanna, why wouldn’t you just spell it Joanna?) Plus my Swedish great grandmother was named Johanna, and the H was not silent. Then again, the Swedish pronunciation is something like Yo-hah-na, so... 

[mega-aulover]

Thank You

@everlarkedalways @hubbyofaneverlarkedwife you guys are amazing - No need for tears...

This what happened after they came back from the meadow-

Katniss sat down with the book, she turned each page with reverence, she paused at Finnick’s page-in the notes were descriptive words funny, mischievous, champion, sweet, cared for Peeta when no one could understand him, a true friend and father.  A solitary tear rolled down her face.

Her little girl Meadow sat down next to her, “Mama why are you crying?”

“Because this book contains all of the people we’ve lost,” Katniss gently explained to her daughter.

“Oh, like Aunty Prim?”

“Yes like Aunty Prim,” Peeta said joining them on the sofa. Peeta was putting down their son for a nap.

“Mommy don’t worry you won’t be sad for long,” Meadow’s little hand came to rest on Katniss flat tummy. 

Katniss gave Peeta a side look.

“What are you talking about baby?” Peeta asked.

“About my little brother and sister,” their daughter said, before hopping down off the couch, “I’m going to take my nap.”

Katniss and Peeta glanced at each other. Meadow was a fanciful child but this was the second time this had happened. Their daughter had accurately announced their little boy Barley.  

“You don’t think?” Both said at the time.

“NAHH,” Peeta said, though his eye were riveted on her middle.

“I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Terry tomorrow, just in case,” Katniss whispered.