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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRacist 'Hunger Games' Fans disappointed that Black Characters are casted with Black Actors
Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed
http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made
The good news? The Hunger Games made $155 million at the box office its opening weekend, making it the third-best debut in North American box office history. The bad news, however, reflects a level of idiocy that we weren't really expecting.
As CNN reports, "Only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Dark Knight both sequels, with the strength of a franchise behind each recorded bigger opening weekends." Plus, unlike those two flicks, Hunger Games was written by a woman and stars a woman a true lady-centric blockbuster franchise.
Now as you may know, Katniss, the main character in the book and film, was described as having "straight black hair" and "olive skin." It's a post-apocalyptic world, so she could be a mix of things, but some pictured a Native American. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jennifer Lawrence won the part and dyed her hair dark.
But when it came to the casting of Rue, Thresh, and Cinna, many audience members did not understand why there were black actors playing those parts. Cinna's skin is not discussed in the book, so truthfully, though Lenny Kravitz was cast, a white, Asian or Latino actor could have played the part.
But. On page 45 of Suzanne Collins's book, Katniss sees Rue for the first time:
And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that's she's very like Prim in size and demeanor
Later, she sees Thresh:
The boy tribute from District 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue, gut the resemblance stops there. He's one of the giants, probably six and half feet tall and built like an ox.
Dark skin. That is what the novelist, the creator of the series, specified. But there were plenty of audience members who were "shocked," or confused, or just plain angry.
The tumblr Hunger Games Tweets has collected a smattering of Twitter postings, with the goal of exposing "Hunger Games fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books." What people are saying is disappointing, sad, stomach-churning, and just plain racist.
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This young woman considered the movie "ruined."
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This girl wants to know why they "made all the good characters black." Good people cannot possibly be black. Black people are villainous. Duh.
"Stick to the book dude." Read the book again, carefully this time, dude.
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At least this person had the good sense to hate himself.
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The actress Amandla Sternberg literally looks like a tiny angel, but this movie-goer equates blonde with innocence. A little black girl is not automatically innocent, no. Only a little white girl. Actually, only a blonde.
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The posts go on and on and on. It's not just a coupe of tweets, it's not just a coincidence. There's an underlying rage, coming out as overt prejudice and plain old racism. Sternberg is called a "black bitch," a "******" and one person writes that though he pictured Rue with "darker skin," he "didn't really take it all the way to black." It's as if that is the worst possible thing a person could be. As the person who runs the tumblr writes:
Here's what scares me
All these
people
read the Hunger Games. Clearly, they all fell in love with and cared about Rue. Though what they really fell in love with was an image of Rue that they'd created in their minds. A girl that they knew they could love and adore and mourn at the thought of knowing that she's been brutally killed.
And then the casting is revealed (or they go see the movie) and they're shocked to see that Rue is black. Now
this is so much more than, "Oh, she's bigger than I thought". The reactions are all based on feelings of disgust.
These people are MAD that the girl that they cried over while reading the book was "some black girl" all along. So now they're angry. Wasted tears, wasted emotions. It's sad to think that had they known that she was black all along, there would have been [no] sorrow or sadness over her death.
There are MAJOR TIE-INS to these reactions and the injustices that we see around the world today. I don't even need to spell it out because I know that you're all a smart bunch.
This is a BIG problem. Think of all the murdered children. Think of all the missing children that get NO SCREEN TIME on the news.
It is NOT a coincidence.
THIS is the purpose of my blog
and to also point out shitty reading comprehension. LOL
Hunger Games sets US box office record [BBC News]
'Hunger Games' sets box office records [CNN]
Box Office Monster 'Hunger Games' Likely Headed for $350 Mil Domestic Run [The Hollywood Reporter]
Hunger Games Tweets [Tumblr]
And yet some people thought racism was over after Obama was elected, yeah right!! Racism, the gift that keeps on giving.smh
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)you might post this in the Af'ram forum...
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)redqueen
(115,096 posts)but hardly surprising.
Both poor reading comprehension and racism are in abundant supply.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)playing Rue is a choice so perfect I'd say they were lucky to find her.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Turned out well, too. Thresh's part in the movie version is so small that it's hard to judge, but Amandla Sternberg's Rue is flawless.
onenote
(42,386 posts)"dark brown." Everyone knows that "dark brown" just means a white person with a good tan.
avebury
(10,946 posts)exactly what I would picture for the character. I loved her portrayal of the part. Racist idiots cannot accept that a minority character could be so beloved.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)CakeGrrl
(10,611 posts)The schadenfreude of shattering the fantasies of racist fanboys and fangirls.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Javaman
(62,444 posts)Like I always say, people are stupid, especially the racist ones.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)And he is the hero, and a redemptive character... I am sure these kids will not be pleased.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)name, pic, and racist statements already posted in article.
RitchieRich
(292 posts)i hope no one is advocating going after them individually.
obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Go to Yahoo. The comments section of every story devolves into basically calling Obama the n-word.
I'm just not surprised that a few fans of this (I know zip about it) are being racists. The internet has become the place to say whatever vile spew you want to nowadays.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)brown.
DocMac
(1,628 posts)about the comment that Santorum made about Zimmerman.
The internet is shining a light these hateful people.
Lilyeye
(1,417 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)His father was Jewish of Russian heritage.
So Lenny, like our president is half-black, half white.
JI7
(89,187 posts)ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)these people must have.
I read all 3 books and loved them and I couldn't tell you how any of the characters were described as far as skin tone, hair color, etc. It just didn't matter to me what race or ethnicity they were. I could tell you what kind of person they were but not what they looked like.
CRK7376
(2,190 posts)Hunger Games. I really enjoyed the book and will read the other two in the series shortly. A middle school in Columbia SC asked Fort Jackson for some Soldiers to help with their reading program. Several of us responded and were participants in the Middle School Hunger Games. I taught knot tieing, some of the others helped the kids with their obstacle course and we all had a fun day. As a parting gift the school gave each of us a copy of the Hunger Games. Knowing that the movie was filmed in my home state, NC I decided to read it. Very enjoyable book, I look forward to seeing it once it's on netflix or redbox. After reading the book, I gave it to my 13yo daughter and she is reading it too.. Funny, neither of us, sees color as an issue in the book. I think it's great that they cast Rue and some of the other characters as a Black kids.
obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)That's a creative way to "teach" the book.
erpowers
(9,350 posts)These people are completely stupid. In addition, these people are not fans of the book. Anyone who read the book would know that Rue is black or dark skinned. Even if someone did the weakest of reads would have known that fact in that it was spelled out in the book.
Furthermore, people not knowing one of the main characters in a book is black even though it is spelled out in the book is not poor reading comprehension. Poor reading comprehension is reading a book and not understanding what you just read.
NYC Liberal
(20,133 posts)Obamacare
(277 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Is it just perception or are racists becoming more vocal and visible again?
K Gardner
(14,933 posts)mlevans
(843 posts)perhaps they should head over to YouTube and watch the fan video of Hunger Games. In that one Thresh is black, but Rue is white, so at least they can mourn her death as they'd like. Personally I find it pathetic; the book isn't about racial issues. If that's all they got out of the film they ought just to have stayed home.
harun
(11,348 posts)Hunger Games is an allegory not about States Rights vs. the Federal Government but about human rights vs. the MIC of the United States and the idiots cheering it on.
Those people in the capital dressed like clowns, yah that isn't Congress, that's YOU!
ananda
(28,784 posts)The past tense of "cast" is still "cast."
LoL That's all you have to say and all you took from this thread?smh
obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)She was exactly how I pictured her when I read the book. There is NO way not to know her character is Black, unless you just skimmed the book. I also saw Cinna as biracial, because of his eyeliner and his name, so the casting of Kravitz was very good.
I would say more, but I don't want to post spoilers. I wish we had hidden spoiler tags!
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)and the only thing the class wanted to discuss was HOW Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves were brothers...It was impossible to resolve in their heads...
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)I might question how Denzel and Keanu could be (fictionally) related
Kablooie
(18,572 posts)I assume the racism has always been here but it's becoming more acceptable to express it out in the open now in right wing enclaves. Seems its one of the unchanging core values for conservatives, to be racist at heart.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)it has always been there, lurking under the surface. Once Obama got into office, it just came back out in the open. That is my take, as a 44 year old white man living in Texas (god I hate this place)
fightforfreedom123
(87 posts)Treyton Martin (walking while black), Brandon Tina (sitting in house while transgendered), Gwen Ajario (gave great blowjobs while transgendered), Sean Shuland and Alfred Steward (Deaf while drinking in bar), Jonathan Burton (stomped to death while experiencing headache on aeroplane), the list keeps growing. :Sob:
Creideiki
(2,567 posts)How dare they cast young people of color in roles that should have gone to young white people?
The entire country could do worse than to have to start considering the privileges that they have come to expect as theirs. In this case, it's race privilege.