You guys, The Hunger Games was a good movie. I was really excited about it, like many of you, because I absolutely loved the book, and I was expecting to love the movie as well, just because of that. Honestly, I figured it would probably be a little like some of the Harry Potter movies (Prisoner of Azkaban and Half-Blood Prince, specifically), where I didn’t love the way it was done, but I couldn’t not enjoy the movie. But I thought it was really well done, thanks in large part to Jennifer Lawrence‘s acting.
I should have known that many people would be too shitty to enjoy it.
First, there was the insane issue of several people being pissed because Rue was black. I’m sure most of you have heard about that by now, but here’s what some fine men and women had to say about it:
why does rue have to be black not gonna lie it kinda ruined the movie
why did the producer make all the good characters black smh
I was pumped about The Hunger Games. Until I learned that a black girl was playing Rue.
on the real though, rue was not supposed to be a little black girl
On the real though, Rue was supposed to be a little black girl. In the book, she’s described as having “dark brown skin,” so that’s probably why that happened. Even then though, why does it even matter? The actress who played Rue, Amandla Stenberg, was wonderful, and nothing about her performance or her skin ruined the movie, quite the opposite. But I guess haters gonna hate, and racists are going to say awful things about a little girl all over the internet.
Speaking of haters gonna hate, have you also heard about all the people calling Jennifer Lawrence fat? Because that’s a thing too. Here, let me show you a few excerpts from reviews, all right?
From the New York Times:
A few years ago Ms. Lawrence might have looked hungry enough to play Katniss, but now, at 21, her seductive, womanly figure makes a bad fit for a dystopian fantasy about a people starved into submission.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Lawrence is one of those performers the camera loves; her appearance alters in different scenes and shots — lingering baby fat shows here, she resembles a Cleopatra there — and she can convey a lot by doing little.
From Hollywood Elsewhere:
She’s a fairly tall, big-boned lady (I’ve been in a hotel room with her) who’s maybe 5′ 8“.
Can someone please explain to me in what universe Jennifer Lawrence is “big-boned”? Because I’m fairly certain it isn’t this one. I don’t even want to get into the fact that her character wasn’t starving, which is a pretty big deal. Except, ok, I will for a minute: have people gotten so sick of screaming “the movie was nothing like the book!” that they have to start bitching about how the movie is like the book?
Ugh. We can rant and debate and discuss this all in the comments, but for now, I think I’m going to sit down and watch that old fat ass, Jennifer Lawrence, in Winter’s Bone. I hear she’s pretty good in it, but I just hope all that whale’s blubber fits on the screen. Fat.
Actually, in the book, there were a few incidences during the Games where Katniss described herself as emaciated, or far thinner than usual, with protruding ribs.
That said, Jennifer Lawrence isn’t fucking fat. RAWR.
Crazzzzy. I’m approximately the same height and build as Jennifer Lawrence (minus, sadly, the boobage), and I can’t tell you how often I’ve been referred to as “big-boned” or “a bigger girl” over the course of my life. The only time I wasn’t was after I had mono, and then I’d either get comments about how great I looked (um, never mind that I haven’t had an appetite or the ability to function like a normal human being for the last six months, thaaanks) or I had to to field questions about eating disorders. You just can’t listen to people’s BS, man. Do what makes you feel good in your skin.
Fat? No. But for Hollywood’s altered sense of reality, she also isn’t “skinny”. Look, she’s a beautiful woman with a cute kind of chunky face and again, I’m saying this from a Hollywood perspective so please dont think that I think she should lose weight because I think the vast majority of Hollywood should in fact gain weight and match Lawrence’s healthier appearance. Did it detract from the story…no because she is described as being in better shape than most but I also don’t think that they did a great job to show that their district was hungry. Poor, yes, starving, you’d have to assume it, at the mercy of the capital, yes and I think that is more important to the developing story than simple hunger. So she was great for the role, she’s beautiful, does have a chunky face (she’ll probably have to start fighting her figure in a few years…but still, that’s endearing because she’s more relatable) and she played a great Katness. Remember, people say that Miley Cyrus has chubby cheeks, in comparison, Lawrence would also has to have what would be called a chunkier appearance. As far as the race crap, what a bunch of bull.
My Gawd, if she’s a “big girl” then I’m just going to sign up for The Biggest Loser. After all, I’m a size 6. I should just go ahead and eat a tapeworm now.
Here’s the thing….these people who are writing these reviews are probably horrid looking themselves, and so it’s easy for them to bash on a gorgeous, healthy, and fit looking person who is at the age when weight issues are a huge deal. It’s borderline predatory in the way they go after girls. I wish that being tough, healthy and physically fit were seen as characteristics to be praised rather than degraded.
It’s just such bollocks and misoginy it makes me want to throw up. Nobody has mentioned Liam Hemsworth is also really muscly when he, too, should be thin. And Jesus, The New York Times, “seductive, womanly figure”. Fucking degrading. Fucking sexualising the girl when the film is all the contrary. She’s a human being, stop looking at women like objects. Fuck the male gaze. That comment was so out of order.
Jennifer Lawrence did a great job as Katniss and as a fan of the books I couldn’t be more pleased the film version was also good.
Not one of the people you mentioned said she was fat. The only thing they said was that she didn’t look emaciated like was SUPPOSED to be in the beginning.
If you notice, both her and Gale are the only people in district 12 that don’t look like they’re starving and it just doesn’t make sense. Later in the book Katniss does gain weight though since she has good food to eat in the city. It makes sense later on that she’d look healthier but not at the beginning when she’s supposedly more concerned about her mother and sister get food than herself.
Getting*
You know, in the books, it CLEARLY states that Rue is black. So I find it really ridiculous and stupid that anyone was “expecting” anything else. And I think it’s important that Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t look like a starved African child. She’s not fat, but she’s supposed to be strong. I know that I would have a hard time seeing her as a strong heroin if she was very skinny, she would just look weak and frail.
If that’s FAT, Angelina’s curvy and CHristina’s obese. -,-
she shouldn’t have even played katniss. katniss is supposed to have tan skin and dark gray eyes………….ugh.
Don’t blame the girl. The casting call was only for white actresses (white women can have olive skin by the way –like me–, but I see your point). She has done an outstanding job though.
Appreciate her appearance but it’s a misfit for the role of Katniss. When she was running around attempting to act stealthy, her movements were clunky … didn’t jibe with my prior vision of the character.
This girl is gorgeous in such a healthy and classic way. She’s lovable and acts quite well. For once, I am very happy with an omnipresent celebrity, she deserves it!
You will be awe-struck by Winter’s Bone. I couldn’t believe a girl that young could pull off such a perfect performance and that’s probably why she got tapped for Hunger Games. No, she doesn’t look like someone fighting for a meal and that could throw off some of the viewers and I hope she gets out of the “action” genre, because she much better suited to dramatic roles. I was really surprised when I heard she was going to be in it. Well, it will get her a lot of exposure and money. All this fat/thin shit is just the same old shit. What uneases me is the level of racism coming from very young people. How the hell did THAT happen?!
I absolutely loved the book and hated almost everything about the movie. The character descriptions didn’t match. The characters’ outfits weren’t even what they were supposed to be. They did a fantastic job of fucking up the story line. Lots of elements that tie back in later were left out altogether. I don’t see anything wrong with Jennifer Lawrence or Liam Hemsworth personally but neither of them was what I had pictured for the characters. Then again Josh Hutcherson wasn’t either. I hated that Peeta was smaller than Katniss. What pisses me off more than anything is that Buttercup wasn’t even orange/yellow when that’s supposed to be how he got his name. Just about the only good thing they managed to do was the fire in the arena.
I haven’t seen the movie, because in the country where I live it hasn’t been released yet, but I read somewhere that Suzanne Collins worked in the movie, is it true? I do have read the books and now reading your comment I’m afraid I will be let down… How could be so many inaccuracies if Suzanne work in it?
*worked
Come on, the film was brilliant. You can’t expect every detail from the book to be in the film, it’s two hours and a half long already as it is. E, the film’s great. Everyone I know liked it. Also, are you Spanish? It’s coming out here on the 20th of April and people are ANGRY about it.
I didn’t expect every detail of the book to be in the movie but they could have at least got the damn cat’s color right. How hard could it be to find a yellow cat that would hiss for a half a second? Or to make the outfits that were so clearly described in the book. When you already have every detail written out for you it shouldn’t be too hard to follow.
Personally, I loved the movie, hated the book. And for me, it’s usually the other way around.
Then again, I just didn’t like Suzanne’s writing style and that made it so hard to get into the book. In fact, I found myself skipping around a lot, hoping to get into it farther into it, but I ended up reading the last couple of pages with no interest at all. The second book was my favourite and I finished it in a day, and the third book is alright, but I made it half way through, put it down and never picked it up again.
The technical aspect of the movie was simply mind blowing, and they did a FANTASTIC job. And Angelia, if you read some of the director comments on the movie, you would have learned why they changed the outfits a bit for the movie.
“What uneases me is the level of racism coming from very young people. How the hell did THAT happen?!”
– Agreed!
Okay – I know I’m a little “tardy to the party” but I wanted to read all the books before seeing the film and reading any gossip.
I saw both Rue and Thresh as black, seeing as it’s kind of difficult to get “dark brown skin” any other way, but whether or not their skin colour was specified in the book it shouldn’t matter.
It makes me sick to my stomach.
I thought the girl playing Rue was a wonderful casting choice. Petite and utterly adorable!
Jennifer as Katniss and the movie in general I had to get into, but I’ve decided I kind of liked it (the book is pretty much always better than the movie and that considered the movie was pretty good!).
For me I would’ve prefered (for both Katniss and Gale) a more lean body type, a runners body, skinny/slender with long strong muscles, but honestly who the hell cares.
It’s not a deal breaker for me.
As long as they can act somewhat, get the story across … and whether or not Jeniffer resembles Katniss, there’s no denying she is beautiful … and I think – more importantly -, in all relevant aspects, she can pull of Katniss!