I should probably change my default icon now

[beelikej]

After three nights of bubble baths and theatre, I'm catching up on Tumblr, Twitter and LiveJournal. I'll tell you all about my adventures later, here's already a summary:
Day 1: traveled from Z. to LND, read The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Day 2: did some (book)shopping and started reading Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Day 3: went sightseeing and finished reading Catching Fire
Day 4: traveled back home, read Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Can you tell I didn't have access to the internetz? *grins*

In between reading I made 255 photos, most of them featuring Stonehenge. It will take me a while to sort them and to be able to completely focus on that, I need to get something out of my system first.

I have some questions for anyone who already read The Hunger Games trilogy. First of all: should I watch the film? (I'm leaning towards ignoring it, but am wondering about certain characters, also: Stanley Tucci!). Does it cover all three books, or is it a TBC?


From the nineties I remember a whole bunch of disasterfilms, like Dante's Peak, Volcano, and other Oh Dear THE WORLD IS ENDING films, that all kind of blurred together in my mind. So I don't know which one of these had the scene I always refer to; after a lot of people had died gruesome deaths and our heroes are walking through a devestated city, all of a sudden they hear barking and whatdoyaknow: the dog made it.
Now you may already be aware I'm not a pet-person, and those kinds of scenes do not move me as is probably intended. If anything they piss me off, because all of a sudden it's implied all the deaths are not that bad, because at least the precious pet survived and all is well again.

I was reminded of this by one of the final scenes in Mockingjay, where low-and-behold, the cat turns up alive at the end. I think my "you got to be kidding" was uttered out loud, even before my sigh of exasperation.

Hey, I don't kick puppies, I just can't stand the gratuitous use of them, okay?

I'd rather have found out what happened to the pearl instead of the cat. Or maybe that was explained, while I was moping about my pet-issues?

Don't get me wrong: I loved the books, or I wouldn't have devoured all three of them in four days, regardles of lack of internet. After all I did bring my e-reader filled with BB-fanfics as back up, but I just couldn't stop reading about Katniss & Co;)

Besides being a little annoyed about the 'at least the dog survived'-moment, I am even more frustrated about the epilogue. I should have learned from Harry Potter to not read that tagged on 'happily ever after', but what's done is done.

So even though I thouroughly enjoyed (well, you know what I mean) the story of Katniss and adored her for her doubts and ignorance about other people's feelings and her own abilities, I'm now left with a bitter taste. Because what the fuck? It had to have an ending with kiddies? Colour me cranky.

Nevertheless I'm hoping there is a cure for my grumbles. I was wondering if there is anyone who was thinking like me that Katniss didn't have to choose between Gale and Peeta and they ended up in a relationship together, fighting memories of bad experiences between the three of them. I have no doubt there is HungerGames fanfiction so if anyone knows of a fic about this, I'd love to hear about it. (Even if it features pets;)

There are a lot of specific scenes I'd happily discuss further, but I better get started on selecting photos now:) Feel free to disagree in the comments!

J.

Comments

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Commenting to save a twitter-response from Sean Kennedy: (aka kennsea;)

The cat surviving meant to be a further bitter irony for Katniss. The revolution began because of Prim and her desire to save her. So it didn't come across to me like phew! The animal survived!

And I totally understood why Katniss could never choose Gale. He may not have personally dropped the bomb that killed Prim but he did create it. She could never forget that.

The kids thing was bittersweet to me as well. It wasn't a traditional happy ending. It took them a long time to trust the world again and have them. And even then she was paranoid about their safety. Kind of like the kids would have the same problems that the kids of Holocaust survivors had. To me the ending is a real downer, not a happy one.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

BeeLikeJ Tweets: I got all that and I know it's mostly my knee-jerk reaction to all animals, in stories and images, but I identified with Katniss on a lot of issues (including her initial reaction to the cat) and it was a combination of not wanting the story to end and feeling betrayed by her having to make a choice that made me disappointed (even if the problems with her changed relationship with Gale were explained).

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

And some tweeting on the film (tanisafan told me it's only part one so far)
BeeLikeJ: I'm worried that the actors don't look like the characters I imagine. Plus: is the film as gruesome? I want it to be.

Sean Kennedy: If anything I'm more worried that the ending of the last film may gloss over the bitterness of the boOks.
Definitely watch the movie. I think they did a pretty good job and the cast is great.

I wouldn't say it's as gruesome but it is much more visceral in another way because of the kids - it's a punch in the gut actually seeing them suffer.

BeeLikeJ: I also wonder if they're able to show what Katniss is really thinking while 'pretending'. *sighs*

tanisafan: For me, the best part of the movie was how good a job they did at portraying her thoughts, actually :D.

Sean Kennedy:I agree. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing.

[tanisafan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, so, I have more thoughts!

So, most importantly, like K said, I felt that the cat surviving made the whole thing extra bitter for Katniss? I wasn't expecting an epilogue with kids but I felt like it fit that she did in the end agree to have children, even though history will probably repeat itself? (I have a very grim outlook when it comes to these books, haha.)

One of the things I loved very much about the Gale vs Peeta thing is that (like the boys discuss at one point) she doesn't end up choosing for love. She has feelings, sure, but in the end she chooses the person who she rationally believes she's compatible with, who is calm and steady and convenient and can give her a 'normal' life. I hadn't ever seen that in YA books before, and since it's very much how my mind works, that really impressed me.

The only thing I didn't like about the books (lol, wait, there were plenty of things, but the good far outweighs the bad) was that, especially in Mockingjay, there was a lot of "Katniss woke up in the hospital ward and was informed of alllllll the war stuff that had just happened". I realize there are restrictions when you write in the first person, but that felt lazy to me.

(But omg how mindboggling was it when Katniss and Haymitch voted Yes to one final Hunger Games, and Peeta was all ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Clearly this is why she needs Peeta in her life.)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Right after I posted this I realized I was showing my superficial side again. *hangs head* But I was angry about the epilogue and it was easier to bitch than to explain how hurt I was by all the in depth subjects that the books covers. I apologize for that. I loved this universe very much, as grim and raw as it is. It was painful yet awesome to get lost in this trilogy for four days in a row.

Obviously you and K are right about the cat. I was too wrapped up in my own bitternes to realize that Katniss felt the same way. Huh.

Still don't approve of the kids. I do understand the reasoning behind it from both of you as well as Suzanne Collins, but regardless of my personal feelings about offspring, I just don't like it when the author wraps up a story like that (unless it's fanfic, then I want my happily ever after;). Even if they -hopefully- still have a lot of life to go, I would have prefered it if the book had ended before the epilogue.

I know Peeta was the smart choice, and I wanted him to 'get the girl'. I love that the guys had that conversation and were both aware of Katniss issues and both loved her enough to not get in the way of her decision.

You know what? I wasn't even aware how strict the first person pov was used. Because as a reader I (thought I) could often see what Katniss was missing, for instance when it came to interpretting the guys;) But I absolutely agree with you on the 'recap for Katniss' scenes. It was quite realistic that she had to be patched up every time but it was annoying that we missed out on a lot of the action. I especially was frustrated by the last jump in time (from the explosion to her "trial").

I did like how intense all her emotions (and lack there of) were written. That's the one thing I'm very concerned about when it comes to the film. But since both you and K recommended it, I put in on my to-see list.

(I somehow felt that voting was a test, and not only on the side of power. I thought Katniss had a plan and Haymitch voted yes to go along with her. So I was a bit miffed that wasn't explored more in the end)

Not without shame I admit I will still look for that fanfic I'm hoping for. *ducks*