The Hunger Games

[ethiostar]

One of the racist twitter remarks: "Why is Rue a little black girl? Stick to the book, dude," said another.

This person clearly isn't a close reader. It's apparent in the book that Rue is black. It doesn't use the word "black", but other descriptions or her provide strong indication.

For the record, it never states that Katniss is "white."

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/entertain...tars-playing-rue-thresh-2012263#ixzz1qHJzhLXN
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This!

One of the few books where the author provides a description of characters without assigning a racial/ethnic label to them.

 

[ethiostar]

I think this is more like the people who pull the "race card" and try to make everything out to be racist, when most of the time it's NOT.

*edit. No, this is just racist people. But those people ^^^^ are equally as annoying.

So are those who are quick to pull the "they're just pulling the race card" card.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

This!

One of the few books where the author provides a description of characters without assigning a racial/ethnic label to them.

Exactly!

It's called anglo-centric reading; the reader assumes every character is white unless it's stated otherwise.

Writing can also be anglo-centric; the author only states a character's race or ethnicity if he or she isn't white. I'm a big fan of Clive Barker, but many of his earlier works are terribly anglo-centric. They often use terms such as "negro" to describe black characters, but they never use "anglo" to describe white characters.

 

[burmafrd]

Exactly!

It's called anglo-centric reading; the reader assumes every character is white unless it's stated otherwise.

Writing can also be anglo-centric; the author only states a character's race or ethnicity if he or she isn't white. I'm a big fan of Clive Barker, but many of his earlier works are terribly anglo-centric. They often use terms such as "negro" to describe black characters, but they never use "anglo" to describe white characters.

well guess what. The VAST majority of books are that way. wake up to reality

 

[Afigueroa22]

It's called anglo-centric reading; the reader assumes every character is white unless it's stated otherwise.

I never noticed that, but it's true.

 

[ethiostar]

well guess what. The VAST majority of books are that way. wake up to reality

 

[ethiostar]

Exactly!

It's called anglo-centric reading; the reader assumes every character is white unless it's stated otherwise.

Writing can also be anglo-centric; the author only states a character's race or ethnicity if he or she isn't white. I'm a big fan of Clive Barker, but many of his earlier works are terribly anglo-centric. They often use terms such as "negro" to describe black characters, but they never use "anglo" to describe white characters.

Yeah, some authors are more prone to it than others. Elmore Leonard is another one that comes to mind.

But to be sure, its not limited to 'whites' or 'anglos' nor is it only found in reading and writing, you can notice it in everyday conversations as well. Speakers have a tendency to 'naturalize' their own group (whether the group is defined based on race, SES, religion, nationality, etc...) and only use labels to identify those different than they are.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

I've read the book and thought the movie was just alright. The books themselves move extremely fast and don't have a ton of depth and the movie just takes that even further. You don't get attached to the characters enough to give a crap what happens to them.

I'd say 6/10.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

I've read the book and thought the movie was just alright. The books themselves move extremely fast and don't have a ton of depth and the movie just takes that even further. You don't get attached to the characters enough to give a crap what happens to them.

I'd say 6/10.

I don't know. I thought the Fox-faced girl was cool.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Yeah, some authors are more prone to it than others. Elmore Leonard is another one that comes to mind.

But to be sure, its not limited to 'whites' or 'anglos' nor is it only found in reading and writing, you can notice it in everyday conversations as well. Speakers have a tendency to 'naturalize' their own group (whether the group is defined based on race, SES, religion, nationality, etc...) and only use labels to identify those different than they are.

Let me be clear: I'm not judging.

It's a perfectly natural and probably unavoidable approach. It would make conversation extremely difficult otherwise.

But, those twitter comments take it to an unhealthy level.

 

[ethiostar]

Let me be clear: I'm not judging.

It's a perfectly natural and probably unavoidable approach. It would make conversation extremely difficult otherwise.

But, those twitter comments take it to an unhealthy level.

Those comments are something altogether different and most are clearly racist.

To get back to authors, I enjoy reading those books in which the writer provides detail physical descriptions of characters (skin tone, hair texture/length, eye color and shape, body build, etc...) rather than simply identify them by race or ethnicity. Of course, there are instances where racial/ethnic descriptions are appropriate and/or necessary.

 

[Kevinicus]

I think this is more like the people who pull the "race card" and try to make everything out to be racist, when most of the time it's NOT.

*edit. No, this is just racist people. But those people ^^^^ are equally as annoying.

Off topic, but nice avatar. I wish that movie would come out on blu-ray. I don't think it ever even came out on DVD though, so it's probably not going to happen.

 

[Afigueroa22]

I don't know. I thought the Fox-faced girl was cool.

Which girl are you referring to, Katniss?

 

[Afigueroa22]

Those comments are something altogether different and most are clearly racist.

To get back to authors, I enjoy reading those books in which the writer provides detail physical descriptions of characters (skin tone, hair texture/length, eye color and shape, body build, etc...) rather than simply identify them by race or ethnicity. Of course, there are instances where racial/ethnic descriptions are appropriate and/or necessary.

Just because someone has a dark complexity does not mean he or she is black. They could be Puerto Rican or Cuban.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Which girl are you referring to, Katniss?

No, the fox faced girl. Her name was never stated. She had an interesting strategy for playing the game.

 

[Phrozen Phil]

I've read the books and saw the movie. My fear is that the point of the books might be missed. When Collins wrote the books, she was expressing concern over the impact of violence and war on adolescents. My wife was wtching ET and they seemed to be focused on how it would appeal to "Twilight" fans. For anybody who has not read the books, I will offer a conditional spoiler in that the series is sad and tragic for the characters involved. The ET assessment is trite and without depth or merit. I will also state clearly that this is NOT a series for small children.

I thought that Jennifer Lawrence did a credible job portraying Katniss. I think that the challenging part of this movie was showing the violence without making it too graphic. The sequels will offer similar challenges.

 

[TheCount]

Just because someone has a dark complexity does not mean he or she is black. They could be Puerto Rican or Cuban.

No it doesn't, but there are black Puerto Ricans and Cubans, that doesn't exclude them from being "black" either.

In this case, the author specifically meant for Thresh and Rue to be black.

Heck, in truth, Jennifer Lawrence doesn't match the character form the book. She looked physically formidable in the movie, but in the book she's supposed to be slight and frankly a bit naive, which would explain the asinine love triangle. In the movie, she looks and acts like a woman.

If they were going to ignore the olive skin and black hair, they probably would have been better off going with someone like Dakota Fanning, who at least does not look physically imposing, not that Lawrence did a bad job.

When I read the book, I was picturing more Lord of the Flies type kids running around killing each other, in the movie everyone is good looking, physically fit and mature looking, except for the tributes with very minor roles.

 

[Afigueroa22]

No, the fox faced girl. Her name was never stated. She had an interesting strategy for playing the game.

Yeah the runaway girl.

 

[The30YardSlant]

i put it close to perfection.

I'll have to check it out.

Two films that I consider perfect movie-making are Shawshank and Gladiator. Every scene, every dialogue and every character seems flawless to me. I could watch both a hundred times and never get tired of them.

 

[ethiostar]

Just because someone has a dark complexity does not mean he or she is black. They could be Puerto Rican or Cuban.

You are correct, but whats your point?