Hunger Games Book Vs. Hunger Games Movie
I have been waiting for this thing for soooo long, as I’m sure everyone else has too. March 22nd finally came and I was ecstatic for the night’s events to begin. I took a nap to ensure maximum attention for the festivities and headed out to the movie theater in Bloomington, IN around 9:30pm. First stop, gas station to fill my excessively (and suspiciously) large bag with all the goodies I’ll need to get through the next 2 ½ hours. I arrive at the movie theater, thinking I’m pretty early, thinking I’m the biggest fan, but no, I am the 200th biggest fan, in just Bloomington.
There was a line wrapping around the ENTIRE theater, which I had to work my way around, climbing mountains to finally get to the back of this thing. And, I wasn’t even dressed up! What was I thinking? So now I’m completely embarrassed for my lack of commitment and creativity, sitting on a concrete sidewalk at the very back of a theater, by myself.
We are finally allowed in around 10pm, not bad, and everyone scurries to their respective theaters to find the very best seats. Oh and boy did I score some! Right before the very back, a bit past the middle, and on the end. Remember, in a crowded theater, the end becomes your best friend, easy access to the food, drinks, and bathrooms.
12:01am finally arrives and the screaming begins!! OMG, it was really better than expected truly amazing. I think the best adaptation yet.
The differences
These differences really weren’t that annoying, but were noticeable for hard core fans, so here it goes…
First of all, the issue with the Mockingjay. That was given to Katniss by the mayor’s daughter. In the movie, to save space, they decided to cut that out and Katniss found it in a pile of knick knack’s in The Hob. This was fine because really, it’s not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, yet, it is. This transaction between the mayor’s daughter and Katniss is the first time the reader is exposed to this idea that an uprising was inevitable. We see that even parts of the government aren’t on board with the capital, they support Katniss, the future Girl On Fire.
Next, let’s move on to the tribute parade. In the book, Cinna was the one who gave Katniss and Peeta the idea to hold hands during the parade, solidifying his position in the rebellion. In the movie, Peeta thought of this on his own and it kinda bothered me. I mean, how hard would it have been to add a small scene where Cinna motions for the two to hold hands?
Moving on to the games. The biggest annoyance here were the vicious dogs at the end. In the book, Suzanne Collins focuses in on the eyes of these capital beasts, the eyes of the dead tributes. This exemplifies the capitals tactics in mind games and torture, physically and psychologically. The movie didn’t make this connection and was bothersome.
Then, after the games end, the book goes through chapters of post interviews and focuses in on the relationship that starts to form between Peeta and Katniss. The late nights when Katniss wakes up mid nightmare and Peeta is there to comfort her. Don’t get excited about seeing those precious moments brought to life on the big screen, cus it doesn’t happen.
I’m obviously focusing on all the differences here, making the movie sound horrible, but overall the movie was seriously satisfying. Fantastic casting, the plot well told, and the necessary changes to move the story along were well done and didn’t hinder the overall meaning of the story.
Follow The Hunger Games here.
Learn more about books and Suzanne Collins herself here.
Happy reading/watching,
B
B as in Book 