i’ve seen some comments saying thresh has an older sister! in my research all i could find was katniss assuming the older woman on the podium is his older sister, however i paused and in the films she seems much older so i assume it’s his mother and grandmother highlighting that thresh has been the man of the household most likely majority of his life & his death leaves them without a provider and zeroes in on the parentification that young black men often experience however!!! even if he does have a sister, my point still kind of remains because she successfully evaded the reaping and he was the last viable reaping age, his win means that his family not only survives systemic punishment but is rewarded because of it ❤️🩹
If it is his mother and Katniss thought it was his sister there’s a decent chance the poor woman got pregnant really young and went through hell raising that boy when barely more than a girl herself… then after raising such a strong good boy the very last year he could be, he is stolen. #justiceforThresh I hate the Capitol
One of the small details that didn’t make it into the films from the books is District 11 sending Katniss the bread when she covers Rue in flowers and sings for her death. It was a first in the Games, a different District had never sent a gift to a tribute from a different District. At this point in the Games, it would have cost them a fortune, and they are depicted as being a fairly poor District ( Rue asking if she can have the whole grousling leg to herself, as at home she has to share). Also, Peeta and Katniss saying they will give a part of their winnings to Rue and Thresh’s families, if I recall correctly, was cut from the films too. I wish we had had more scenes in the movie that explain the differences between District 11 and 12.
the scene where they send her bread is cut but you can still watch it!! but peeta donating their winnings is in there and it’s one of the things that causes snow to give them a speech to use for the rest of the tour! haymitch and effie actually have a cute exchange in the movie about it 🤭 totally agree tho the bread scene is so so heart warming and exactly as you said the inter-district solidarity is just so moving
I was just thinking about this and how much I really wish it was shown in the film as well. I do love how they show District 11 starting an uprising, but I feel like they could've also still put in that part about all of dicstrict 11 banding together to send that bread to her. Last night when I was thinking about it, I realized that every single one of the people who inhabited District 11 must have put in like literally their whole life savings to afford this and it was such an overwhelming act of kindness it's a shame how they couldn't put that scene in as well as the uprising scene.
I just wished that you would've talked about district 11 giving bread to katniss in an act of solidarity and alliance, the fact that people got together to send a girl bread, a token of life, I think perfectly describes how district 11 gave life to the revolution in many ways, and supported katniss in many more, great video essay! 🎉❤
i thought about including it!! considering i used some deleted footage of rue and katniss for the edit but unfortunately bc of time i edited it out, i wanted to focus more on the sacrificial elements of the story while touching on the solidarity to make their sacrifices worth it but them breaking tradition and sending her bread is truly amazing ally ship amongst the districts
Wow this was beautiful and so humanizing to all of the characters. Thank you for putting your time and effort into this analysis and for sharing it with us.
One interesting character I thought was worthy of a mention in a video like this is Lucy Grey. She is described as similar to Katniss, they are probablly distant realatives, and with the Covey's pre-dark days lifestyle, of music and traval, many fan think of them as based of Romani peopole. However when plucked by her home due to the spite of a privilaged girl, to survive she is the one tribute that more than anyone else forces herself to give tha Capital what they wanted. But the X factor in her victory is not just her charm or her quick thinking, is the fact she enters a realationship with a white man, for safety. A white man that sees only as slightly above the rest of the Distrct animals, but still something he owns and that his lower than him. Deep down Snow does everything he can to save Lucy Grey only because he needs her to win for the money, and because he wants her to win so he can own her. While during the bombing Lucy Grey saves him with no garanteed that she'll benefit from it. Ofc at first Lucy Grey doesn't know how truly manipulative Snow is, and you really can't blame her for having done what she had to do to survive. However as soon as she understands that Snow doesn't value her over a life of his own privilage, she'd rather pick an unsure fate in the forest by her own choise, than let herself get killed by Snow's hand. Lucy Grey is the one who sat the stage for Panem's rebirth with the modern games, moldeled after her performance in the 10ths by Snow's request; yet what he didn't know is that by doing this he was also setting up the system's downfall. All that was needed was an other D12 girl turning that same system against them, showing that aldough oppression and fear might work out in the short term for the benefit of the privileged ones, it's not something that can last forever. It's pretty telling that the Hunder Games Panem's only lasted 76 years, there are peopole like Tigris who saw it all from the Dsrk days to the II rebbelion.
Do you watch people react to the movies? I’ve watched at least a dozen by now. A lot of people assume that the first man that retaliates in 11 after Rue’s death was her father. I have no issue with that take away, but he means so much just like the old man at the victor speech, to me. He cared so much the children of the district, knowing him acting out would surely be the end of him as well. Doesn’t have to be his child for him to have been absolutely at the end of ability to watch anymore. Opposite ends of protest as well.
@@neen2660absolutely agree with your take! i don’t think he’s her father at all, which like you said makes his statement all the more impactful. he’s showing katniss and the citizens of his district (and the others) to be unafraid when fighting for the future of your people, which is why the districts are so unruly after his execution with them even screaming tell us how you really feel bc they feel emboldened by district 11 and their defiance!!
@@neen2660i think they do! one of the most important parts of black culture is story telling and our people often only live long enough to become the stuff of legends ❤
@@moeblackx thank you so much for this perspective and video, truly! I was telling my grandma about today over hot coco after shoveling and it had me crying again. You’re an amazing writer and I hope to see more from you! About any topic.
I really enjoyed Reaper’s depiction in the movie more than the book. He wasn’t truly violent despite what the Capitol said about him and celebrated him for, he was just a scared boy at heart and very protective of the weak. He saw himself in the other tributes and the scene with the flag was so heartbreaking. In that moment he knew that regardless of who leaves the arena, there is no victor. Easily my favorite character in Songbirds and Snakes.
Awesome video. Made me really think about this stuff. I never interpreted Kat as indigenous but I can definitely see it. One very minor point though, you mention Thresh was 17 and at the end of reaping age. IIRC isn't 18 the end of it? It doesn't really alter anything you said it just stood out to me haha
there’s tons of discourse on reddit and tiktok! as well as interviews where collins talks about it but a lot of the discourse has been buried on the internet bc the movies came out over a decade ago ❤
Your analysis is absolutely beautiful and made me look at this series into a much deeper lens’s than I originally had. I love j laws performance and I can see anyone else playing katniss but it makes me wonder what would have happened had they had an indigenous person play it and it makes more sense
oh my lord, immediately subscribed and gonna watch all ur vids i’m obsessed. as a video essay obsessed girly, this is perfection. please never stop !! bigger and amazing things for you
I’m a Black PhD student in English and Afro Diasporic Studies and can I say you did such an amazing job with this essay. I’ve been pondering so much on the depth of race and Blackness in Collins’ work and how radical THG is in its construction and execution of said ideas. You hit every nail on the head and continue to remind me why THG is one of my all time favorite series. Bravo!
OK, one more comment. I just want to say that I really appreciate your video. I think that a lot of people who make videos commenting on a particular book, series, or movie, tend to have an agenda, and it’s usually a fairly one-sided agenda. So I appreciate your in-depth use of Greek mythology, the Bible, history, science, fiction, and other interwoven elements to really give a good, in-depth and more profound analysis. So thank you very much for an awesome video.
thank you so much!! i try and always listen to what the story is telling us and then decipher why it wants us to pay attention to those specific things, so i appreciate it a lot ❤❤❤
I never thought Rue was some little Caucasian girl. Still, given my background, and her description as a dark skinned curly haired girl, who picked food from uncomfortable places... I assumed Mexican. This is the first vid I've seen that breaks down the difference so I can understand the real signals and signs of Rue's true heritage
oh yes!! that makes a lot of sense tbh honestly much of how black slaves were treated throughout history continues to happen to undocumented migrant workers who get prayed on by predatory & heartless industries like the meat industry :(
Thresh didn’t even get to die in a dignified way in the movie. I know that's part of the point of course, but he just died off-screen from the mutts. It shouldn’t be glorified of course but it made him feel like an afterthought.
absolutely, he was the sacrificial lamb so that Katniss and Peeta could have their moment of turning against each other for survival but instead they of course ended up beating the system and it played out the way we saw it
Just commenting along here as I watch. So, I just reread all the books, because I tend to binge read through a series that I like, every couple of years, and I’m pretty sure that thrush actually died before they released the months into the arena, that’s what it seems like in the book. However, I also wanted to add that your points are well taken about, how, given the situation that he’s in, thresh resorts to violence only rarely. I’m not sure if you have read the Underland Chronicles, a children’s book series, by the same author, who features a black boy, from New York City, in a fantasy universe, he discovers, and I was very struck by the fact that everyone wants to make him into a warrior, which he does, as he is required to, but his gut reaction in almost all situations is diplomacy, peace, advocacy, education, And thrush makes me think of what the character of Gregor might be like as an older teenager and young adult. Sorry for any errors, dictation is not being cooperative at present.
in the books he is killed by cato you’re correct!! but the scene i’m talking about here is from the movies bc they changed his ending :) but i haven’t read that series!! tysm for the rec im gonna add it to my tbr 🫶🏽🫶🏽
This was a masterfully composed, written and put together videos and in the light of the current war on Palestinian life it is once again incredibly relevant..unfortunately
ugh thank you! Your brief comment on what Tigress has done to provide for her family & the falling out it caused was stunning. I feel like so many youtubers vaguely outline this plot point but never quite get it right @@moeblackx
This video genuinely needs more recognition. I love that you talked about this because especially in the first and second book, you find out so much about 11 that correlates so much with the treatment and experience of African Americans in the history of America. You did an amazing job going into all the details. Thank you for this!
I didn’t realize how different the book Vs movie is for how thresh dies, as he was implied to die to cato in a battle against eachother, vs the screams as he dies to the mutts in the movie
i know right !! same with reapers it’s quite different but i think both endings are fitting tbh cause cato is a career doing what he was indoctrinated to do/operating as an arm of oppression esp bc he comes from such a privileged district
The Hunger Games is such a rich text and i'mnglad to have found someone analyzing it with specific regards to race. I'd never really thought about collin's portrayal of black masculinity so thank you for the insight especially to under discussed characters like Chaff.
Cinna honestly is the perfect version of someone who is a rebel and uses their art to fight. Art is always a statement and Cinna had the bravery to die if it meant he could make his. 😤😤
My mother's family is Metis (mixed French and Algonquin from Canada) and Welsh miners from the copper mines in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Her family has olive skin, black hair, and green grey eyes. My dad read the hunger games and immediately associated katniss with the children of natives and miners. My dad was Anishinaabe. I love this in- depth look at district 11. I always thought the rebellion wouldn't have worked without their support. We see with many of their tributes they're generally peaceful and respectful of life, but willing to fight for those who need help, I feel like their district needed to know someone, anyone, had their backs, that the loss of life wouldn't be in vain, because they knew the losses would be extreme, especially in their district. I think katniss working with rue and the respect she showed her was all they needed (especially with thresh's approval) to know others would fight.
It's incredible learning about America's own unique ethnic groups. I've heard folks say without any irony that America doesn't have cultures or ethnicity. We're all immigrants. But when does one become more than just fifth generation Irish immigrant? I'm Cajun, and don't speak the language because my grandparents were beaten until they stopped speaking it. It's a mix of French, west african, and Indigenous languages of the lower Mississippi River Delta specifically local to Louisiana and Western Mississippi. Working on understanding the existence of people groups who are either indigenous or became local native (as in even if they have ancestors from elsewhere, the people group that exists today has become their own thing). This includes Cajuns, Creoles, Mulungeons, Gullah, and now I know about Metis. This is so interesting and I want to learn all about this group now. Do you know where i can find resources about them?
This video has to be one of the best videos about The Hunger Games I've seen. Tying Black History and connecting the dots Suzanne Collins left on how District 11 plays a more serious role than what people thought
This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing video essays I've ever had the pleasure to watch. Thank you, your analysis has opened up so much of the greatness of this series to me. We're all limited by the lenses with which we look at the world and your point of view is so different from mine, it's given the story even more complexity and depth for me than I'd ever be able to perceive on my own. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I cannot count how many times ive re-watched this video. I am Ojibwe-Cree (Indigenous to Canada) and I live on a reservation. I heavily believe and enjoy the idea of katniss being Indigenous, Personally I can relate to her stories of living in district 12. Living off of nature, discrimination because of her looks, living in the seam, ect. and much more. My reservation is right besides a town, only being separated by a bridge. The town is majority white, and any Indigenous people who live there are tokenized or face racism often. Me and my family also hunt, alot. A difference is we are allowed to hunt as much as we want, at least in canada, which means we are privileged enough to share our catch. Many Indigenous peoples are exploited by mines, and many jobs that require intensive labor. Another thing I found similar is when katniss spoke about prostitution and drug use (morphling.) there are some serious issues in canada with missing and murdered Indigenous women, and i theorize if in the real world there were women lining up outside the head peacekeepers door they most often would not be coming back. Drug abuse and addiction is a huge issuein alot of Indigenous communities in canada, due to generational trauma and colonialism truly they dont have much else (in their minds) to look forward to. The material circumstances are less than great on reservations. There is more I could say on this, forgive me if this doesnt make sense I am used to speaking in Cree with my family.
@@shakinthebaccon don’t apologize!! your english is perfectly fine :) (plus i’d never die on the cross for the english language bc it’s a colonizer language so who cares if it’s spoken properly hahahah) but i appreciate your support and insight so much!! im from detroit so i know a little bit about canada and the horrors indigenous people have faced esp at the hands of the church and government, unfortunately in america they don’t fare much better. im so sorry, yall deserve so much more! no more stolen sisters ✊🏾🪶
I would love to see a commentary on doctor gault, she is really a very interesting villain and i wonder why she is sooooo violent against the districts even tho there are most of her brothers and sisters
i think gual represents a specific sect of black society who believe a proximity to whiteness equals a proximity to power - to me she is the black american who gets in a position of power because of their intelligence and accomplishments but doesn’t use the new position to better her people but instead punches down on them as an attempt to further separate herself from that past as a means of taunting them, enjoying her new status, and projecting her subconscious insecurities about ever going back to that way of living (think ben carson and his accomplishments as a black man in medicine vs. how he acted in trumps administration). we see this with how she compares humans to animals. gual is so self serving and vile she can’t see past what she believes to be absolutely true: all humans even capitol citizens are blood thirsty animals just waiting for their master to let go of the leash
every once in a while i watch an analysis where i feel like if the author saw it they would be nodding and snapping and saying "yesssss this is it" and this is one of those--i feel like you've absolutely hit the nail on the head and further unpacked and added to what the books are saying and i can see suzanne collins saying "yess this is absolutely it"
This is the best hunger games analysis i’ve ever seen. I usually get frustrated by people not doing their research and misrepresenting the books, but you do a wonderful job of addressing the details from the books AND the movies without insulting either! such a great video overall, and some really insightful takes that i enjoyed :)
ahhh :’) ty such a compliment i meant it when i said i love the source material/the entire hg universe tbh i’d probably read a panem encyclopedia in she wrote one lol
I will echo the rest of the comment section by saying that this is a beautifully written essay view of this world, and you inspired me it made me want to go back to my writing, and I really appreciate it. This is well written, and well understood way to go girl.✊🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I was a bit put off in the Ballad that Lucy Gray doesn't seem nearly as affected by her games as Katniss did. We know Katniss has PTSD, that she remembers Rue and feels constant sorrow and regret for her death, but we don't see LG reflect much about her fellow tributes once she wins (except to briefly say that her kills were largely mercy kills). I wish we had seen more. I wish she'd talked about what Reaper did and how she felt about it.
agreed !! although majority of ballad is told through snow’s perspective so we aren’t able to understand lucy in the same way we understand katniss because she’s the narrator in the original trilogy!! but what i love about ballad is lucy actually does show several signs of PTSD but the audience will miss it if we don’t look closely bc we end up perceiving things in the same way snow does !! i agree tho, she definitely doesn’t have the visceral and remorseful reactions that katniss does and i wonder if their proximity to war and poverty makes her very desensitized to death considering this is the 10th games vs katniss is 74th
I think it's a little bit because she was used to death, but not in the same way that Katniss did. What I mean is that she's seen with her own eyes her whole life. Since the covey travelled a lot, they must have seen the effects of the war everywhere they went, people suffering, people dying and probably comforting them with songs and music (just speculating here, but that's probably what it was like) and on top of that the covey does not have even one adult amongst them, which means that Lucy Gray not lost her parents, but also her aunt and uncle (Maude Ivory's parents) and all of the covey's parents. She also had to watch public executions, (although Katniss might have as well) Katniss on the other hand witnessed a lot of death as well but most of it (speculation, don't take my word for it) was through a TV, by watching the hunger games, which means that she was somewhat detached from it, as she most likely didn't really know any of them, which makes it much more impactful for her. This is all my personal view on this, so anyone can refute this if they want, I don't mind at all
I don't think we see enough of Lucy Gray in Ballad to know she wasn't thinking about them. The book is about Snow so we only see his perception of her, we never see any of her thoughts or feelings other than what she chooses to display for him. For all we know she was spending considerable time writing songs for her fellow tributes that she wasn't comfortable singing in front of a capitol man
I can't speak for the movie. but in the book we don't see it as much on Lucy's case as BOS is from Snow's POV most of the time and he's a self centered narrator even if it is presented in third person. I think Lucy being 16-17 years old and the memories of the rebellion still being a fresh scar on all the characters who were old enough to remember it even the people in the capitol suffer a fair bit, made it seem like she wasn't as badly changed or affected by the Arena because she was already traumatized and her peppy performative nature makes her very good at hiding it. she did talk about it a bit with snow but not to the extent we saw from katniss or even heard of peeta and haymitch's trauma.
you're forgetting tbosas was in the perspective of snow, whilst thg was in the perspective of katniss, you cant just assume Lucy gray wasnt affected by her games simply because you dont know what her thoughts are, she literally blames herself for the deaths of the tributes who drank the rat poison water the same way katniss blames herself for the deaths of finnick, castor and more
thank you for giving depth and vocabulary to the poc rebellion in this saga; I'm not from the US and lack the knowledge and background for a bunch of its history. this was insightful and emotive, one of my favorite video essays on THG (and I've watched a bunch lol) x
This was a great video and analysis! ETA: Reaper is the reason the 10th Hunger Games can no longer be viewed, just like Haymitch was in his, and Katniss, Rue, Peeta, and Thresh would be in the theirs (if the Capitol had survived)
I came to this video because I'm from Georgia and I wanted to know more about the tributes that would have grown up on the same land as me. I can't describe how I feel now that I'm done with it. im not sure ill be able to love and feel for characters the same way I love and feel for Reaper, Thresh, and Rue. The South is so important. We're so incredibly important in every universe, even a fake one.
i almost never comment on videos, but this video was so good. you did your research and have such good points and insights on this book series. may i also jus say that suzanne collins never wrote a black character in a negative way and i love that so much.
no fr she’s a real one, there’s so much nuance to every character she created and that takes such intentional care and story telling they could never make me hate her !!!!
the detail & insight in this video is fantastic and really highlights exactly why this series has so much significance & reverence in our lives. Delving into the somewhat esoteric meanings of names & how plainly & precisely the story and characters mirror our current world & it’s history. I adore how you pointed out the class solidarity woven into the story, Absolutely remarkable analysis & research. Truly incredible Moe Black! Thank you for the time and effort you put into this
just an incredible video, thank you so much. rue seeing herself in katniss is something i haven’t considered in a long time but hits so deeply, and ive never thought about cinna potentially being a district 13 citizen before!
So glad I opened the comments to see similar reactions and praise from others. This is one of the most interesting and thought provoking commentaries I’ve heard about this series (and in general) on RU-vid. You expanded on certain aspects I would have never thought to connect to real world events without being reminded, and I ended up pausing at different points just to sit with the info/concepts you introduced. Thank you for the time, research, and effort you put into this, and I hope this video reaches many many others.
Truly, thank you so much for putting out this essay. Your skill, hard work, and intelligence shine through in how beautifully such a complex piece of work was written. I don’t yet have all the words to express what this video makes me feel, but let me just say, it brought me to tears. Thinking of the empathy I have for the characters, thinking of how unfortunately familiar I am with the in-universe and real life themes you explored here, and just making connections to everything that’s happening now (and has been happening for decades and centuries) on home soil and in many other places in the world. I know I will revisit this endlessly. Just, thank you ❤❤❤🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
you are so eloquent, you are so intuitive. this video was incredible, and the analysis you made was genuinely heart wrenching. i have read the trilogy ten times now, once a year since i was 12, and every time i leave with something new. but this video sparked thought and fear and so much emotion. i want to be your friend, and shake your hand as i tell you how absolutely beautiful this video was.
24:03 it’s likely that Cinna was sent to the capital because of his designs. People theorize he’s from District 1. I agree his mannerisms were too calm to be from the Capital. Compare him to the game makers. Even though they were more subtle with their looks they still understood the power struggle to work with. But Cinna treated everyone with respect.
i thought so too, considering we don’t know anything about him outside of what he tells us but i think if he was from district one suzanne collins would have told us because that is an extremely important piece of information - the district closest to the capitol, producing the luxuries they need while never been able to have access to them in the same way is a story to tell!! but bc we don’t know anything about him before or after his death makes me think it’s intentional on collin’s part and the only place we don’t know about until after he’s dead is district 13 ❤
This tugged at my heart I can't help but compare the handling of a white female author on the stories and context of POC with Collins' subtle but meaningful backdrop of District 11 to Meyers' exploitation of the real life Quileute tribe in Twilight
Wow- this video was just absolutely amazing, both in production- with the synched videos and pages from the books, and in arguments, your points were well made and well developed, your voice is also soft and very nice to listen to! This video was so so good in quality and analysis, and I have to admit that I cried a bit with that ending- thank you so much for this video!
That was one of the most beautifully worded and deeply introspective video essays I’ve ever seen. You are an incredible writer, and you deserve a bigger audience. Thank you for this masterpiece!
Wow. Just wow. As someone who mostly only watches videos essays, I can say with full certainty that this is the best video essay I have seen. The thought, research, and ties made within this video perfectly captured what you wanted to say. The purpose of an essay is to engage your audience so they do their own research. You touched on so many topics that I had my computer finding more information from your points. Well done. This video, and your channel, deserve much more recognition. This was truly great. Thank you.
She never misses. I've been obsessed with the Hunger Games lately and this came at a great time. One thing that stuck out to me was Katniss being played by a white girl when she's written as being mixed and presenting olive skin. I know it's a small blip and arguably inevitable considering where Hollywood tends to stand on leading roles, but it's one of those things that adds significant meaning if adapted correctly. I'm vehemently against unnecessary remakes but if we could get a Hunger Games with a Native American lead and a darkskin Rue, I'd be the first in the theater. Cinna was also written as -white- racially ambiguous, and I think that could be interesting because poor white and mixed people still face class struggle, which is significant when grouped with the rest of us. It's one of those things where proper casting matters (unlike the little mermaid debacle)
absolutely !! that’s why i had the disclaimer in the beginning, i do think it’s such a miss !! although i will say movie cinna is so cannon to me perhaps bc lenny kravitz ate so bad lmaooo
@@marlas.s. all it said in the books was that he had green eyes and brown hair, so it is pretty ambiguous since I know some black people with green eyes. He might be mixed since it's so far into the future of the US.
@@moeblackx So I went back and apparently he's written as pretty ambiguous with green eyes and brown hair. By that alone he could definitely be black, mixed, or white. I'll probably always envision him as Lenny Kravitz as well
I LOVEEEEE this video when you made the connection between thresh and the way they demonize black men today and in panem, wow. I love your videos so much they make me think more.
This was so beautifully written and produced, I started crying half way thru and couldn’t stop. I’m kinda left speechless like I wish I could say more but I’m just so moved 😭💕✨
One of things I noted right away, as a Native American Person (Lakota & Omaha) Was Katniss' description A lot of it fit my own description, especially since I've got French & Spanish Fur Trading ancestry from the 17th & 18th Centuries. My father was also much like Katniss'. He could sing, he played the flute, guitar, violin/fiddle and accordion He knew how to make fishnets, fish traps, traditional Lakota Bows and Arrowheads, traditional Lakota bone knives and so on and so forth. He taught me how to use a bow, and told me that in the old days. Women could use bows just as well as men, and not everything was about "womens work" He died this past spring. And the pain is still fresh, but it reminds me a lot of Katniss describing how much she wished she listened more to her father. Because yeah He knew how to hunt, he knew how to track, he knew how to hide in the long prairie grasses and not be seen; he knew how to make shelters, easy fires and what roots and plants were easy to cook and prepare. He showed me how to read the stars most important to Lakota cosmology, but also to how to find North and therefore travel easier. To me. She read heavily Native American or of Mixed Indigenous Heritage, because that was my experience. I grew up on the Reservation. With difficulties acquiring food, entirely without safe water to drink and always watching my parents come up with ways to keep the lights on and gas in the car. So I wish. Collins and then the Film Crew. Just made her Native. I wished they could have that bravery, to show that this Lands (America) original Peoples. STILL and would. STILL. Exist And we've survived EVERYTHING the USA threw at us, and now we're doing our best to continue resisting and continue fighting for our Identities as Lakota and as Indigenous Peoples. But they didn't have that bravery.
Thank you so much for putting these Biblical references because my goodness is this so obvious to me as well! I absolutely agree that district 11 embodies the scripture “Know the truth & the truth will set you free”. This is absolutely brilliant!
I'm glad someone agrees about the Katniss thing! I LOVE LOVE LOVE JLaw as Katniss, and she truly brought the character to life, but I did think that it would've been just a little bit better if Katniss was portrayed by an native actress, as it would make more contextual sense and would stay true to the books. If she were native, it would also add more depth to the social dynamic in district 12 (people in the seam being more native presenting, and those in the wealthier merchant area being more white presenting etc). But then again, JLaw does a brilliant job and I wouldn't want it any other way. Ms Collins is truly an amazing author.
This was genuinelly one of the best essay on this topic I have ever seen - the last line gave me shivers and will ring in my ears for days to come. Like, I am haunted by this. Great job ☺
olive skin isn’t necessary darker by the way! it’s more of the undertones😁🙌🏽i think she’s a great cast, although i agree with you that Katniss should’ve been cast with a smaller framed actress
ngl, if there could have only been one Victor in the 74th Hunger Games, I'd want it to be Thresh.❤And if I could have chosen anyone to be the Victor for the 10th Hunger Games, I'd have wanted it to be Reaper.❤I've loved these guys since I first learned of them. They truly deserved victories... yet it was not to be.😭 They both looked out for the younger, smaller female from their District, they both fought well yet didn't start fights, and they both had hearts of gold. (Reaper gathering the bodies of the Fallen Tributes is one of my favorite scenes of the entire series.)🥰
Olive skin is also common among Greeks and Italians. District 11 is father South so no wonder the people would be dark skinned. The people working in the mines would be pale from lack of sun exposure. Also I would not see those books as mirror images of the reality like one to one copy. That is the purpose of reading the book, to escape the reality, drown in new creative world. I really hate those terms like "Whiteness" "Blackness" because they do intellectual contamination of the discussion. Oh, this character was treated because he was Black, White, Red, Yellow, Blue , Green etc. Not because he dis A, B, C, or had character traits or talents as d, e , and f. In addition celebration of those terms betrays MLK dream that people would be judged by the characters not skin color. Capitol in Panem was insanely diverse place, where people dressed in Meth Gala style all year around. We cannot forget that deep isolation also took a part in characteristics of the people. Remember distric 12 had population of 10000 people. After a few decades many folks will be related to each other.
This was a brilliant writeup! As a white guy, I really only ever considered the surface levels of district 11 and didn't look far past that. I'm glad that you were able to open my eyes to some of this stuff! The Captiol is so, SO much worse than I ever gave them credit for, and that's frankly saying a lot!
I honestly wish you had addressed Thresh's death in the book, as he was killed by a Cato. . . A Career from a district given special privileges by the Captiol.
