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Race issues over characters in the Hunger Games


Doom Saber

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http://news.yahoo.com/hunger-games-lenny-kravitz-criticized-racist-tweets-215018788.html

 

Apparently, people have issues over the race of several black characters in "The Hunger Games" movie. Some readers claim that they pictured the character, Rue (played by an African American girl) white. (Before someone out there goes on a PC race change rant about how Hollywood loves to change people's race for PC reasons, please read this entire paragraph.)Now I understand that people hate it when movies pull a race change, but the thing is, the characters that are played by black characters in the movie are described as being black in the book. Stupid, racist people...My head hurts from the stupidity of some people. Clearly they lack reading comprehension skills.

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I don't get it.. the characters are black in the book but people wanted them to be white in the movie? WTF?

 

 

 

EDIT: only 1 of the characters was described as black in the book... the other was never given a description.

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Haven't read the books, dont know what color ANYONE was SUPPOSED to be.... But in my experience with race changes in alternate adaptions of things, I never hate it when it happens, and this Hunger Games movie was pretty stinkin great, so... ignorance be damned!

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I don't get it.. the characters are black in the book but people wanted them to be white in the movie? WTF?

 

 

 

EDIT: only 1 of the characters was described as black in the book... the other was never given a description.

 

Two characters were described as black in the book, the guy that Lenny Kravitz played was debatable, though I though I read his character black in the book. I will check my book once I find it.

 

The reason people are upset is because they didn't read the book carefully to realize that most of the black characters protrayed in the movie is described as black in the book. Honestly, I pictured Rue, the African American girl, as white until I came across a line in the book that describes her as having dark skin - so my image of her quickly changed.

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ALSO, you link needs a SPOILER alert

 

 

You're right, it does. However, it is expected in the movie that all but one person will survive the games - that tibit I just mentioned isn't a spoiler since that is the rule for the game.

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ALSO, you link needs a SPOILER alert

 

 

You're right, it does. However, it is expected in the movie that all but one person will survive the games - that tibit I just mentioned isn't a spoiler since that is the rule for the game.

 

 

well.. that is only if you know the story.. I don't know the book at all. I have a slight idea of what it is about. And you are wrong about it should be expected that all but one character dies. Haven't you ever seen a movie where something that was supposed to happen, DIDN'T? lol but now you have spoiled it and told us what happens.

 

also link told me that at least one character (named in the yahoo story) dies, and another gets all injured up or something... and some other minor story elements.

 

we didn't all read the book. so it should have a spoiler alert..

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ALSO, you link needs a SPOILER alert

 

 

You're right, it does. However, it is expected in the movie that all but one person will survive the games - that tibit I just mentioned isn't a spoiler since that is the rule for the game.

 

 

well.. that is only if you know the story.. I don't know the book at all. I have a slight idea of what it is about. And you are wrong about it should be expected that all but one character dies. Haven't you ever seen a movie where something that was supposed to happen, DIDN'T? lol but now you have spoiled it and told us what happens.

 

also link told me that at least one character (named in the yahoo story) dies, and another gets all injured up or something... and some other minor story elements.

 

we didn't all read the book. so it should have a spoiler alert..

 

Watch the movie. You won't regret it regardless.

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So an accurate representation with NO race changes is somehow an issue? It sounds like these fans need to read the book again.

 

Either that, or [the fans need to] accept the fact that not everyone in books are white. I can somewhat see people how mistaken Rue as white - her description states that she has dark skin and black hair, and that her demeanor and size reminds the main character of her sister. However, that doesn't mean that she is automatically white because of that.

 

What is funny about the whole "Hunger Games" race controversy is that it clearly shows that there are quite a lot of people who are racist. A few fans implied that the main character is either non-white or biracial in the book - I personally vaguely remember the olive skin tone description mentioned in the book. They are angry that they casted a Caucasian lead in the role. However, the issue doesn't seem to be much of a problem. On the other hand, when three characters are cast as African Americans (two of which are accurately described as being black, whereas the other one's ethnicity is ambigious) people are outrage. It is silly since Lenny Kravitz, once an a-list music celebrity, is biracial - his father is Russian Jewish and his mother is black. It shows that a lot of people are very judgmental and racist. According to some facebook comments and tweets, Rue being black is a contradiction to the book since she is suppose to be innocent and cute. As for Cinna (kravitz' character,) they claim that he can't be black because he suppose to be calm with an easy-going voice. Have they not heard of Lenny Kravitz or even listen to his songs? The guy is a calm individual with a smooth voice. He's perfect for the role so is the little girl who played Rue - she's cute and innocent-looking.

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kind of funny coincidenceI saw this posted after I watched the episode of King of The Hill where Hank thought his dog was racist for biting an african american repair man

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I read the article. The people who posted those comments were obvioulsy very young, very stupid...probably both.

 

Unfortunately this is the age we live in. Before, only friends and immediate family had to put up with blithering idiots. Thanks to the social media, now we all do. The internet gives everyone a voice...only not everyone SHOULD have one.

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I don't know but I think racism is on the rise in the US. I read an article on MSN about this issue a couple of days ago and I was scratching my head, because I didn't know there was a big enough audience to clang loud enough that this story has now received national attention. The problem is the attacks, so ok if you didn't like the race switch (even though there isn't one) but to start with all the name calling and the racist attacks that have come out just show a deeper level of problems in the world. This world is forever ugly.

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I always thought that Green Lantern and Nick Fury where white. Maybe now we can have a Black Batman/Wonderwoman.... :)

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I read the article. The people who posted those comments were obvioulsy very young, very stupid...probably both.

 

Unfortunately this is the age we live in. Before, only friends and immediate family had to put up with blithering idiots. Thanks to the social media, now we all do. The internet gives everyone a voice...only not everyone SHOULD have one.

Agreed.

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I don't know but I think racism is on the rise in the US. I read an article on MSN about this issue a couple of days ago and I was scratching my head, because I didn't know there was a big enough audience to clang loud enough that this story has now received national attention. The problem is the attacks, so ok if you didn't like the race switch (even though there isn't one) but to start with all the name calling and the racist attacks that have come out just show a deeper level of problems in the world. This world is forever ugly.

 

I think the "rise" in racism is because of what yojoe wrote earlier - the social media. because the internet and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, everyone thinks they have a voice. Normally, you would hear such racist remarks in tight friend circles. However, thanks to the Internet, someone outside the circle or are offended by such remarks, can post it for other to see - this is the case with the "The Hunger Games" issue. Someone said on another blog that a lot young adult literature written by American writers do not feature minorities. With that said, a white child who has been exposed reading literature and watching teen shows with mostly white characters (the OC or the original 90210) are shocked or disappointed that they are Black, Latino, or Asian characters in the book.

 

Not a lot of people like to be labelled racist because it is such an ugly word; therefore, they deny or hide it. However, because the Internet doesn't forget and isn't prone to being tampered, it is hard, if not impossible to try to spin one's racist comment to a non racial one.

 

People defending their racist behaviors is ignorant as well. Some of the people complaining said that having minorities in a book/movie like "The Hunger Games" ruins their fantasy - they read books to escape the issues in the real world. Apparentl,y people of color ruins the fantasy world people want to escape to. SMH This is the same BS a few of us here on TNI said about gay people in comics - I remember one poster said "I read comics to escape from the real world. I don't want gay people in comics since it ruins the innocence in comics!". Although I am not gay, I find statements like this very crass and ignorant. Gay people needs inspirational figures too. Not just the dominant group. While I do agree that some authors add gay people for shock value, some do not. It's been proven that having minorities in comics, books, and other properties is beneficial for the audience that aren't white; it also helps all audience members to accept diversity.

 

The reason why the main protagonist in the US media are mostly white humans is to appeal to the audience; it helps the audience relates to the character. A good example of this can be seen in "The Hunger Games" article I posted. Some people felt that Rue's outcome is meaningless after finding out that she's black. With that said, that is why, unfortunately, you have white, handsome heroes in movies like "Avatar," "The Last Samurai," and "Dances with Wolves". They are written as such to appeal to the mainstream, western audience. if "The Last Samurai" had an Asian lead, it would be seen as too "ethnic", therefore not a lot of ticket sells. The same goes with the Bay Transformers films - if the movie didn't have humans in it, some non-tf fans might not bother watching it.

 

It all boils down to accepting change within our society. it is to accept the fact that the character doesn't have to be one type to be an inspirational figure. If we look hard enough, we can feel for the character. Personally, I had a few drops of water coming from my eyes (I am an emotionally hetero male, so sue me) when Katniss' sister is chosen as a tribute and especially with the outcome involving Rue. The thing is that I don't have a younger sibling, I am not white nor black, yet felt strongly about these characters.

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I always thought that Green Lantern and Nick Fury where white. Maybe now we can have a Black Batman/Wonderwoman.... :)

Nick fury is white in the original comics it's just everything seems to be based of the Ultimate version theses days

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I don't know but I think racism is on the rise in the US. I read an article on MSN about this issue a couple of days ago and I was scratching my head, because I didn't know there was a big enough audience to clang loud enough that this story has now received national attention. The problem is the attacks, so ok if you didn't like the race switch (even though there isn't one) but to start with all the name calling and the racist attacks that have come out just show a deeper level of problems in the world. This world is forever ugly.

 

I think the "rise" in racism is because of what yojoe wrote earlier - the social media. because the internet and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, everyone thinks they have a voice. Normally, you would hear such racist remarks in tight friend circles. However, thanks to the Internet, someone outside the circle or are offended by such remarks, can post it for other to see - this is the case with the "The Hunger Games" issue. Someone said on another blog that a lot young adult literature written by American writers do not feature minorities. With that said, a white child who has been exposed reading literature and watching teen shows with mostly white characters (the OC or the original 90210) are shocked or disappointed that they are Black, Latino, or Asian characters in the book.

 

actually, I don't really think there is a "rise" in racism going on... there is actually alot less than there has been before. The differences is that now you hear it more, like you mentioned, because everybody is accessible now. You "get to" hear what everybody thinks now, hurray! lol

 

as for exposure to non-white characters in literature, it is a common occurrence. Alot of what students are forced to read in highschool and college feature non-white characters and stories, prominently. I have a BA and MA in English, and I have seen tons and tons of material on course reading lists that are all about non-white characters. In fact, I might say the majority of the modern AMERICAN stuff that students have to read will focus on these kinds of issues. The English lit is of course much older and less in tune with these issues as a focus. But modern English lit does its fair share, with plenty of stories focusing on English/Indian relations (there are a LOT of Indian people in the UK).

 

err... I just realized that I am talking about California's educational system.. where our super-liberal mentality bleeds down into the schools. so maybe in other states it's not like this

 

 

 

People defending their racist behaviors is ignorant as well. Some of the people complaining said that having minorities in a book/movie like "The Hunger Games" ruins their fantasy - they read books to escape the issues in the real world. Apparentl,y people of color ruins the fantasy world people want to escape to. SMH This is the same BS a few of us here on TNI said about gay people in comics - I remember one poster said "I read comics to escape from the real world. I don't want gay people in comics since it ruins the innocence in comics!". Although I am not gay, I find statements like this very crass and ignorant. Gay people needs inspirational figures too. Not just the dominant group. While I do agree that some authors add gay people for shock value, some do not. It's been proven that having minorities in comics, books, and other properties is beneficial for the audience that aren't white; it also helps all audience members to accept diversity.

 

I can see how somebody that thought a character was white wouldn't want that character changed to black. I don't like it when they change the races of characters for movies either. (no matter which way the change goes. Like I hated it when all the kids in The Last Airbender were white and the bad guys were Indian.. when they should have all been Asian). But if the characters were depicted as black all along, then that is their bad, not the movie's.

 

As for gay characters in comics.. It makes sense to me because there are gay people in real life too right? So why wouldn't there be gay superheroes? But like you said, I don't like it when it's done for shock value or publicity or whatever. And I hated it when Shatterstar, a character I had been reading for years, who previously had NO sexuality at all, suddenly became gay years later when Peter David started writing the character. It was completely out of character for Shatterstar because he doesn't have human emotions like that, he has no ability to love.. and then suddenly he and Rictor were boyfriends just because Peter David wanted to make a splash in the industry.

 

The reason why the main protagonist in the US media are mostly white humans is to appeal to the audience; it helps the audience relates to the character. A good example of this can be seen in "The Hunger Games" article I posted. Some people felt that Rue's outcome is meaningless after finding out that she's black. With that said, that is why, unfortunately, you have white, handsome heroes in movies like "Avatar," "The Last Samurai," and "Dances with Wolves". They are written as such to appeal to the mainstream, western audience. if "The Last Samurai" had an Asian lead, it would be seen as too "ethnic", therefore not a lot of ticket sells. The same goes with the Bay Transformers films - if the movie didn't have humans in it, some non-tf fans might not bother watching it.

 

that's true in a big way. If most of your audience is white, then why wouldn't you use white characters? I never understood when Jessie Jackson was boycotting the Oscars because there weren't any black leads nominated that year or whatever... but if only something like 15% of the US population is black, then it stands to reason that most lead characters won't be black.

 

as for those movies you mentioned, at least for The Last Samurai and Dancing with Wolves.. the leads pretty much had to be white because of the time period those movies represented. Last Samurai was in 1876, and there were pretty much ONLY white soldiers in the military (although plenty of freed slaves had joined the North for the civil war. They weren't really on equal footing in the military at the time and I don't think many would have been sent to Japan).. same with Dancing with Wolves, which would have been even earlier (early 1860's during the Civil War).

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I always thought that Green Lantern and Nick Fury where white. Maybe now we can have a Black Batman/Wonderwoman.... :)

 

 

 

NO! I wouldn't ever see a movie with a black Batman, Superman, WonderWoman, or any other iconic character that changed races for a movie.

 

 

I also hate black Nick Fury in the movies.. but that is just because he is the Ultimate version.. and I hate the Ultimate stuff and despise Marvel studios for using the Ultimate universe crap more for their movies than the classic Marvel comics

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as for those movies you mentioned, at least for The Last Samurai and Dancing with Wolves.. the leads pretty much had to be white because of the time period those movies represented. Last Samurai was in 1876, and there were pretty much ONLY white soldiers in the military (although plenty of freed slaves had joined the North for the civil war. They weren't really on equal footing in the military at the time and I don't think many would have been sent to Japan).. same with Dancing with Wolves, which would have been even earlier (early 1860's during the Civil War).

 

It is not so much about the character being the problem, but the whole premise of the story itself. The insertion of the white characters, or rather, people from our own society were used so that it can appeal to the audience - by adding a local character in a story that involves a foreign land, the audience can experience the foreign land through the main character. However, the problem with such a storyline is that the main character tends to make a big impact on the foreign world. It is a plot device that has been used for centuries. I believe it is called the noble savage concept. It is when a character who has a lot of similarities of our own ventures into a foreign place whether it be on another continent or on another planet. As said earlier, the character represents the dominant audience. On his journey to the foreign land to take over(usually), he (notice that is usually a male character) and the other people from his own group goes and fights the natives. However, the main character eventually learns the error of his ways, befriends the natives, shags up the native king's daughter, and fight his own men. At the end, he wins the battle and becomes the greatest hero who ever lived. This form of storyline can be considered racist and has met with many criticism. Racist because these particular type of storytelling is insinuating that the main character's race is the superior race - why does the natives, who are are vastly more in numbers than the foreign threat, needs the help of one person from the outside world to win? Couldn't they do it themselves? It has been argued that such a plot device paints the natives as not as intelligent to protect themselves. Furthermore, the natives tend to be stereotyped as ancient, mystics who are one with nature. In other words, the story tends to depict a foreign land through the "eyes of westeners."

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