Midnight Movie Premiere:
The Hunger Games
Last night I went to go see The Hunger Games. (No spoilers, I promise!) I have to say, I wasn’t sure that I’d like it, and I’m still torn about it. Maybe because the person I went with was so miserable during the whole movie because I dragged her to see something I knew she probably wouldn’t like, or because I really only watched the movie to see the romance aspect of the novel come to life. Either way, I’m torn.
My question to all of you is, why do you like The Hunger Games? What draws you to the story? When I ask myself the same thing, I come up with two answers:
1. I love a strong heroine, a kick-butt heroine that does what she can to survive and to help others even if helping is an unconscious effort.
2. I love a good romance. I am, above everything else, a romance novelist. I want to see people become better because they found the one person in their lives who can improve them, support them, and in some ways, complete them.
I guess that’s why I write stories that contain strong heroines in a strong romance thread. I want to entertain people with the very things that entertain me. Because honestly, what good is a writer if she doesn’t like her own work?
Back to HG. Now, I wouldn’t classify Ms. Collins’ work as a romance. However, I, and several others, hone in on that aspect of the story (Team PEETA!) because the emotions are so real, so unexpected in such a harsh, unfeeling environment where kids are forced to kill each other (sorry, i guess that counts as a spoiler). The one aspect of the movie I really enjoyed was the interpretation of the cave scene and the kiss. The one where although Peeta is injured (damn, another spoiler), he is so hungry for her, his broken body literally lifts up to get more of her, to stay connected to her. *sigh*. And for that, I’m glad I went to see the movie.
I’m not sure where this disjointed blog post is going, but I guess the best way to conclude is to say that I like my characters to be happy and Ms. Collins’ tortures her characters so much that I’d think this wouldn’t be the type of book for me…except when she writes those tiny moments of insight into the romantic link between Katniss and her men like the cave scene, she makes up for the horrible things that happen in Panem. The moments are so much more important and make a bigger impression on the reader/viewer BECAUSE of the world they exist in.
Kudos to the movie for doing a great interpretation of the movie, and kudos to Ms. Collins for making me believe that love can exist even after the world ends.
