The Hunger Games Trilogy

[jmc]

I can't get over some fans being surprised that Rue is black. It's like they rushed through the books and failed to notice that one detail. Personally, I pictured Rue being a lot darker than the girl they cast in the movie.

[kostgard]

Nov 15, 2011 21:01:50 GMT -4 jmc said:

I can't get over some fans being surprised that Rue is black. It's like they rushed through the books and failed to notice that one detail. Personally, I pictured Rue being a lot darker than the girl they cast in the movie.

Are they really? Lord, what is up with people? Please don't let this be a repeat of the people who were shits about Harry Potter's first crush being played by an Asian actress - a development that somehow surprised them even though the character's name was Cho Chang.

[jmc]

Racialicious posted some dismayed and confused fan comments about the actors chosen to play Rue and Cinna.[/color]

At least Cinna's race was ambiguous in the books, there's no excuse for the confusion over movie Rue's appearance.

[kostgard]

Oh, the internet is full of jackasses -- who are apparently "sad" that Rue was indeed written as black by the author and it isn't just a casting choice meant to screw with them.

And yes - Cinna was just described with short brown hair and green eyes and the main thing about him was that he wasn't dressed flamboyantly and he hadn't effed up his face with plastic surgery the way many people in the Capitol had. That could describe any number of people. I think Kravitz is perfect for the role.

Let's hope it ends early. The stuff with Cho Chang's actress was just really, really vile. I mean, I think any girl was going to get shit for being Harry Potter's first crush/kiss from the fan girls, but it got really ugly.

[bitca]

My friend and I were talking about the books last night because we both watched the trailer. And how fine Lenny's looking. But, then I had PTSD when I remembered that Cinna dies. Maybe that'll be one of the things they change from the books. *crosses fingers*

[badtzmaru]

Nov 16, 2011 0:05:44 GMT -4 kostgard said:

Nov 15, 2011 21:01:50 GMT -4 jmc said:

I can't get over some fans being surprised that Rue is black. It's like they rushed through the books and failed to notice that one detail. Personally, I pictured Rue being a lot darker than the girl they cast in the movie.

Are they really? Lord, what is up with people? Please don't let this be a repeat of the people who were shits about Harry Potter's first crush being played by an Asian actress - a development that somehow surprised them even though the character's name was Cho Chang.

I mentioned this a couple pages ago, but I think that the actress they chose is not only absolutely lovely, but she is very petite and delicate, exactly like Rue was described in the books. I need to re-read the book because I didn't remember that Rue was black, but I also didn't flip out when I saw that the actress portraying her is.

Also, Lenny is awesome and I think he's going to be awesome as Cinna.

[kostgard]

Nov 16, 2011 18:04:09 GMT -4 @badtzmaru said:

Nov 16, 2011 0:05:44 GMT -4 kostgard said:

Are they really? Lord, what is up with people? Please don't let this be a repeat of the people who were shits about Harry Potter's first crush being played by an Asian actress - a development that somehow surprised them even though the character's name was Cho Chang.

I mentioned this a couple pages ago, but I think that the actress they chose is not only absolutely lovely, but she is very petite and delicate, exactly like Rue was described in the books. I need to re-read the book because I didn't remember that Rue was black, but I also didn't flip out when I saw that the actress portraying her is.

Also, Lenny is awesome and I think he's going to be awesome as Cinna.

I think Katniss only described Rue's looks once (she basically said that she was black, but other than her appearance very much reminded Katniss of Prim), so it may be easy to overlook. Though they also mentioned that the other tribute from her district (Thresh?) was black, so I wondered if her district was primarily black (while I don't like the idea of any sort of segregation in Panem, given how messed up everything the Capitol did is, it wouldn't surprise me).

I never thought about Cinna's race in one way or another, but I think Kravitz is perfect for the role. For some reason though, I always pictured his partner/Peeta's stylist, Portia, as black, but I don't remember if she was described as such.

[Deleted]

I have to admit, I totally missed that Rue was black when I read the book. I honestly don't remember many of the physical descriptions of the characters. I think I just read it so quickly because I wanted to know what happened next. It is ridiculous that people are upset because out of all the characters in The Hunger Games there was one prominent black character in the book and there are two in the movie. How dare the author/director taint their vision of an all white dystopian future!

Nov 16, 2011 17:06:33 GMT -4 bitca said:

My friend and I were talking about the books last night because we both watched the trailer. And how fine Lenny's looking. But, then I had PTSD when I remembered that Cinna dies. Maybe that'll be one of the things they change from the books. *crosses fingers*

When Lenny was at the height of his fame I used to think he was kind of sleazy. But I was really impressed by him in Precious. It was just a small part but he played it well. It was actually very similar to Cinna. A sweet, gentle man who was supportive of the main character. Even though his death was brutal I hope they leave it in because it is just so powerful and shows the ruthlessness. And it will shock the hell out of people who haven't read the books.

[Ladybug]

One thing I actually found interesting about the way Collins described Panem was that race didn't seem to factor in at all. She described the color of peoples' skin, pale, olive, dark, etc., but never described anyone by their race or ethnicity, i.e. Hispanic or Caucasian, and I think it was a conscious choice. As if to say this is a new world and these people are dealing with a whole new set of problems and injustices in 23rd (?) century Panem than we are in 21st century America. Interesting storytelling choice on her part, but I think that's what has started a lot of the controversy over casting choices.

The way I remember it, Rue and Thresh's district was predominantly African American, largely agricultural, and probably in what we now think of as "the South." The way I pictured it was similar to descriptions of sharecropping in the 19th and 20th centuries.

One think that I liked about the books is trying to translate future Panem into present day America.

[bitca]

Nov 17, 2011 0:01:10 GMT -4 @bronze said:

When Lenny was at the height of his fame I used to think he was kind of sleazy. But I was really impressed by him in Precious. It was just a small part but he played it well. It was actually very similar to Cinna. A sweet, gentle man who was supportive of the main character. Even though his death was brutal I hope they leave it in because it is just so powerful and shows the ruthlessness. And it will shock the hell out of people who haven't read the books.

I will cry my face off!! haha.

I used to think he was sleazy, too, but, dang. He brings the hotness now. Phew.

Didn't really picture Cinna as black, either. But I didn't picture him as any skin tone, if that makes sense. Did the same as ladybug, ran through the first two books super fast. I kind of just made up stuff in my head, aside from the three "main" characters, since they were described quite a bit.

There are people actually having a FIT that some of the characters in the book are black. The fuck? (There's an article over on Racialicious that I'm too lazy to link, but they have screencaps of comments from Facebook.) God forbid we have some diversity in movies and books.