Character consistency vs. character development

This is not a review, but something I thought was important enough to put on here I guess.

I posted this gifset on Tumblr last week after the new TV spot for Catching Fire aired for the first time, because her expression in the bottom gif really struck me. But the responses to it have seemed to indicate that it struck other people for a different reason, and it's not really a reason I agree with. I think that saying this represents "character development" disregards Katniss's circumstances as well as her actual character development. So I wrote this long post about it.

Oh, by the way...

To some extent, I saw this coming. But I also really expected to be Ravenclaw, because the in-depth psychoanalysis of Ravenclaw described me almost perfectly. But these questionnaire things tend to focus on dormant qualities I never really noticed I have.

So, let's get this straight. I'm District 12 and Gryffindor on thefandom.net

I'm District 12 on thecapitol.pn

and I'm Gryffindor on Pottermore.

So like, if Katniss Everdeen and Harry Potter-- no, Katniss and Neville Longbottom-- had a kid, it would be me. 

*Hyperventilates*

Signed. Mockingjay. Giveaway.

I WANT IT SO BIG.

That is all.

Rules.

So, I've now heard the song Rules by Jayme Dee at least 10 times, and it just hit me. I always vaguely knew what it was about, but I wasn't really listening until just now, and OH MY GOD. Yet another perfect Song from District 12.

Let's do another line-by-line analysis, shall we?

You say you know love, but you are just reflecting words you hear

No iron in your veins to give you any sense of pain or fear

Hokay, so it's obvious from the first two lines that this song is from Peeta's perspective. Which is good, because we've got a bunch from Katniss's perspective, one from Gale's (or so I interpret it to be), and even one from the Capitol's perspective.

It's just another lie, it's just another calculation

And when the power's out, we're just another old sensation

This so accurately depicts how Peeta feels at the end of the first book, when he says, "It was all for the Games, how you acted." He goes from thinking Katniss is in love with him to thinking she doesn't actually care about him at all and was only calculating how to win the Games.

This blood keeps me alive, but what is it that runs through you?

Electricity and wires, dictating everything you do

This kind of shows how harshly Peeta judges Katniss at the end of the book, but he's still asking questions about her because he still loves her. THE NEXT LINES ARE MY FAVORITES:

You tell me that you hear me and all your memories are real,

But how do I know you don't just feel what you've been told to feel?

GAH. *breathes* These lines are so perfect. "Memories"-- "I don't want to forget"-- He wants her to remember them as real too, but he's afraid she only thinks of them as steps toward a destination. Also, the whole memory thing applies beautifully to Mockingjay, but I can't say how. And then the word "real," obviously, applies to Real or Not Real, which is SO PERFECT I CAN'T HANDLE IT. And then "how do I know you don't just feel what you've been told to feel" is kind of obvious, but I'll explain anyway. Peeta has just figured out that Haymitch has been telling Katniss to be in love with Peeta for the audience, so he doesn't know if her feelings are, you know, Real or Not Real (not a Mockingjay spoiler, don't worry).

Then there's the chorus:

We run around the rules

We run around the rules

We run around the rules

Round and round, two by two, we run around the rules

Running around the rules is exactly what Peeta and Katniss do, from the moment they held hands in their flaming chariot, to the moment they put the nightlock berries to their lips and get the Gamemakers to allow two victors.

There's water in your eyes, and I know I'm the reason that it's there

But still I don't feel bad, because I know that you have more to spare

On some level, Peeta knows it wasn't "all for the Games," but he's too upset to care. And he knows that Katniss isn't (figuratively) going to cry out all of her tears over this. She has "more to spare" for other things, like Rue and all the fallout from the Games.

And just behind your eyes are switches that can turn back on

To clear away today 'til all your memories are gone

He's convinced that she's going to "try to forget," which means leaving behind all memories of Peeta from the Games. She's not going to remember that part of it was real. Again, he's being harsh because he's hurt, so he sees her as a kind of emotional lightswitch-- flip the switch, and she loses all emotional attachment to him.

And then it repeats the chorus twice, emphasizing how heartbroken Peeta is. He's like, yeah, we run around the rules, but what do I have to show for it?

The Hunger Games soundtrack

Oh. My. Gosh.

Here are my top 10 favorites:

1. Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift & the Civil Wars (obviously. Nothing trumps this song.)

2. Eyes Open by Taylor Swift

3. Kingdom Come by the Civil Wars

4. Rules by Jayme Dee

5. Run Daddy Run by Miranda Lambert feat. Pistol Annies (people should really give this one a chance-- I didn't like it the first time, either, but the second time I did a complete 180. "Mama's been cryin' in the kitchen, sister's been afraid of the dark, I've been gatherin' the pieces of all these shattered hearts." SO GOOD)

6. Tomorrow Will be Kinder by the Secret Sisters

7. Come Away to the Water by Maroon 5 feat. Rozzi Crane

8. Just a Game by Birdy (the last line. AHH)

9. One Engine by the Decemberists

10. Dark Days by Punch Brothers

TWO DAYS!!!!!

The Twilight Problem

There is a severe problem in the world of fiction, or rather fiction reviewing, that needs to be fixed.

This problem, I like to call "the Twilight Problem."

"I know he's a vampire, and I know he's standing behind me looking at me like he wants to eat me, but I'm gonna stay right here in these creepy woods with him because I think I love him even though I just met him."

The Twilight Problem is a classic problem of comparisons-- no matter what, books are always compared to other books. But this one is unique, because it clumps a wide variety of books into a single category that is harshly and unfairly judged based on the mistakes of ONE book. More specifically, any book that involves any kind of romance is deemed "Twilight-esque," for some reason.

I am not only talking about The Hunger Games here, although that comparison is the one that bothers me the most because it is so completely unvalidated. I'm talking about every young adult book that involves some level of romance, or a love triangle. Cassie Clare's books. Divergent. Beautiful Creatures (okay, yeah, that one I get). Delirium. Starcrossed. Mara Dyer. Etc.

IT NEEDS TO STOP.

Twilight did not invent romance. It did not invent the love triangle. Anyone who dismisses a book because it has a "Twilight-esque" romance should take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask themselves, "Is this the kind of person I want to be?" Someone who will leave a harsh review of a book based on how similar it is to another book? Someone who maybe will not even read a book because of those comparisons? Someone who avoids romance and the beautiful lie that true love conquers all, because of one book that took it a bit too far?

I have never read two stories in which the romances were exactly the same. Meaning that a very small percentage of them were comparable to Twilight-- by which I mean insta!love, obsessive love, destructive love. Usually love stories are sweet and believable and romantic, which is how they should be. I'm not going to avoid a love story just because it might be like Twilight. Because chances are, it won't. After all, it's not the romance that makes Twilight bring on The Cringe Factor; it's the relationship. The fact that Edward and Bella own each other. The fact that Edward is dangerous and for some reason Bella isn't as concerned with her own safety as she should be. That he literally has to change who she is in order for them to be together. That's the problem.

Not the fact that there's a love triangle.

Not that fact that it's a romance.

It's the characters themselves, which have never, not once, been replicated in another book. You don't see the love interest stalking the girl from afar, or watching her while she sleeps before they even know each other, or having to constantly weigh his desire to be with her against his desire to kill her. THAT is all Twilight.

Here is where I contrast the books to prove that comparing them is useless:

You want to tell me that Peeta and Katniss and Gale are like Edward and Bella and Jacob? Tell me, when does Katniss ever say she needs them? Because Bella's a blithering fool when Edward leaves-- she walks hunched over, with her hand to her stomach at all times because she has a PHYSICAL AFFLICTION when he's gone. She thinks she needs him. Katniss knows that she won't die if Peeta and/or Gale were to leave or die. The one she chooses, she doesn't need him because she has an unhealthy attachment to him; she needs him because he helps her. He makes the world better for her. 

You want to tell me Jace and Clary and Simon are like Edward and Bella and Jacob? Jace is rude; Edward is annoyingly polite. Clary is full of fire and art; Bella is full of dissatisfaction and dependence. Simon is a vampire; Jacob is a werewolf (sorry, cheap shot, but I had to. Simon is also smart and geeky; Jacob is... Taylor Lautner).
You think Will, Tessa and Jem are like Edward, Bella and Jacob? Will is self-destructive because it helps everyone else. He will not let people love him, no matter how bad he must make himself seem. Edward gives a halfhearted warning about how loving him is a bad idea, and then he lets her do it anyway. Tessa is selfless like Bella, admirably, but she also thinks more logically about her decisions. Jem is the safe choice, like Jacob, but if he knew about Tessa's feelings for Will, he would never try to tear her away from him. Heck, he probably wouldn't even make her decide. And here's the kicker: Will and Jem are best friends. They have a relationship, whereas Edward and Jacob do nothing but fight with each other.

You think Tris and Four are like Bella and Edward? PLEASE. Tris wields a gun and beats people up. Four loves that she wields a gun and beats people up. Bella would probably end up shooting herself with the gun, if Edward were to ever let her near one. Which he wouldn't.

Think Lena and Alex and Julian (blegh) are like Bella and Edward and Jacob? Snort. Lena doesn't decide to join Alex's world because it's the only way to stay with him; she does it because she realizes that her world is dead wrong. Julian's certainly no Jacob (this one, actually, is a compliment to Twilight. Sorry, I really don't like Julian).

Think Helen and Lucas are like Bella and Edward? I admit, the love story in this one is reminiscent of Twilight in the most superficial ways-- they're thrown together, he brings her to school every day, his family is big and strange-- but these two are literally destined by the gods to be together. This story is one of the most original things I've ever read.

Finally, you think Mara and Noah are Bella and Edward? Excuse me while I *sips water* SPIT OUT MY WATER AT YOU. Mara Dyer is the antithesis of Bella Swan. She's seriously screwed up, and dangerous, and awesome. Bella wishes she were Mara Dyer. Noah Shaw, like Edward, has a mysterious bad boy reputation. But, unlike Edward, he earned it. It's not gossip; it's fact. He doesn't write poetry in script or talk about death as a romantic ideal, and he certainly isn't the 100-year-old virgin. Hah.

So, there you have it. I'm sure there are more examples of the Twilight Problem, but these are the 7 I chose to address.

Me, I'm not going to be influenced by it. I'm going to read love stories. I'm going to revel in the healthy relationships in books. I'm not going to be the cynic who confuses Twilight romance with romance in general. 

My Victors Village guest post!

Click here if you want to see it on their website
Otherwise, click "Read More"

Book Survey!

One rule: You can't use the same answer twice.
1. What book are you currently reading?
Well, I'm between books. I'm waiting for Pandemonium to get to my house on Tuesday, and I finished The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer yesterday (review to come).
2. What is your favorite book?
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (I say this not because Mockingjay isn't also my favorite, but because I saved it for a later answer)
3. Who is your favorite character in any book?
Augustus Waters.
4. What character are you most in love with?
Peeta Mellark.
5. What character are you most like in personality?
Katniss Everdeen.
6. What character do you look like?
Tris Prior. Small, with a plain face that competes with blond hair and blue eyes.
7. What character do you wish you were more like?
For some reason I want to say Alaska Young, even though I know she's all tortured and whatnot. It's the self-assured thing.
8. What book do you think is underrated?
Mockingjay. Severely.
9. Favorite bad boy character?
Noah Shaw. Because he actually did earn his reputation.
10. Favorite bad girl character?
Mara Dyer. She crazy. (Those two are such a pair)
11. Favorite English character?
Etienne St. Clair ("But he's not English! He's American! And he lives in France!")
12. Favorite author?
This is such a hard question to answer. Because my favorite books are The Hunger Games books, Suzanne Collins. Because he and his books are both made of awesome, John Green. Because I agree with her on everything and I love her books more than is probably healthy, Stephanie Perkins. Because she talks to her fans more than any author I've seen, and treats them like their questions are worth her time and their theories are valid, Cassandra Clare. And because she's completely crazy, Maureen Johnson.
13. Name a character with a psychological problem that you share (be it serious or not).
Anna Oliphant, obsessive compulsive.
14. Name a character you will/would defend to the ends of the Earth.
Will Herondale.
15. Favorite redheaded character?
Finnick Odair.
16. Favorite love triangle?
Will/Tessa/Jem.
17. Favorite blue-eyed character?
Cricket Bell.
18. Name a character people wouldn't expect you to love, but you do.
Gale Hawthorne.
19. Favorite book you've read this year?
The Fault in Our Stars
20. Favorite villain?
President Snow.
21. Name a book you could/would not finish.
Incarceron.
22. Name a book that made you angry.
Imaginary Girls ...I'm still not over what a waste of time that one was. I want to wring the main character's neck, as well as her sister's, as well as EVERYONE ELSE'S.
23. Name a book that made you happy.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
24. Name 5 books you're looking forward to.
1. Insurgent, 2. Mara Dyer #2, 3. Promised, 4. Isla and the Happily Ever After, 5. Clockwork Princess
25. A random fact about your book preferences.
I am fascinated by books involving secret societies (especially within schools) or factions, i.e. the Loyal Order of the Bassett Hounds in The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks; the territory wars in Jellicoe Road
26. Favorite childhood book?
Well, I didn't really read that many books as a child. There was the Series of Unfortunate Events, but I was 11 when I started reading those. In 4th grade I read this book Wait Till Helen Comes and I loved it (early sign of my taste for the dark and twisty).
27. Bad book habits?
Lately I have not been timing my book-reading correctly, so I'm left without one to read for a couple days until I get back to my dad's. Also I buy them instead of, like, getting them from a library, so I have a lot of books and not a lot of money. Also I buy them on Amazon instead of from real book stores :/
28. Do you have an e-reader?
No.
29. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
One at a time. I feel like I'm cheating on them if I don't do it that way.
30. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
No.
31. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
My comfort zone is pretty expansive, so not often.
32. What is your reading comfort zone?
YA.
33. Can you read on the bus/in the car?
No, unfortunately.
34. Favorite place to read?
Don't have one.
35. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No.
36. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Only school books.
37. What makes you love a book?
Above anything, I have to care about the characters and they have to be interesting. And then the plot has to be interesting. And then the writing has to be awesome, obviously.
38. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Depends on the person I'm recommending it to.
39. Favorite genre?
Don't really have one, other than YA.
40. Genre you rarely read?
Adult. haha
41. Have you ever read a self-help book?
No
42. Most inspirational book you've read this year?
Considering I already said TFiOS, probablyyy... The Sky is Everywhere
43. Favorite reading snack?
Pretzel M&Ms
44. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone. I kept expecting it to get better instead of appreciating what I actually did like about it.
45. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I don't have exact percentages, but usually I do.
46. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I'll only do it if I really, truly hated the book and want to stop people from wasting their time on it. If I'm lukewarm about it, I'll usually give it 3 stars and try to focus on the things I did like.
47. Most intimidating book you've ever read?
I don't really read intimidating books. Buuuuut I just had to read one about the politics of the Swat Valley for political anthropology, and it was not fun.
48. Books you're most likely to bring on vacation?
Ones I haven't read yet. If it's a beach vacation, summer books. Obviously.
49. The longest you've gone without reading?
Recently? Probably a weekend.
50. What distracts you easily when you're reading?
My FATHER intentionally TALKING TO ME when he can see that I'm REALLY INTO a book.
51. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Water for Elephants. I liked the movie better than the book, I think.
52. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Twilight. Obviously.
53. The most money you've ever spent on books at one time?
Huhuhuhuhhh... about $220.
54. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Well I never just buy a book on a whim. I make sure I'm interested first, either through reviews or reading the first chapter on Amazon.
55. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through?
Only boredom can do that.
56. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I like to keep everything organized.
57. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?
If I liked them, I keep them. If I didn't, I try to sell them.
58. Are there any books you've been avoiding?
That I already own? Yes. That's all I'm willing to say on the matter.
59. A book you didn't expect to like but did?
Birthmarked. I avoided it for a while but got it for Christmas and was surprised by how much I liked it.
60. A book that you expected to like but didn't?
Tiger's Quest, the second in the Tiger's Curse series. It was pretty horrible.
61. Favorite historical fiction book?
The Book Thief
62. Hardcover or paperback?
I don't care. A book is a book.
63. Favorite book nobody has heard of?
Well, I know people have heard of her, but I feel like Deb Caletti is seriously overshadowed by the likes of Sarah Dessen. So anything by her.
64. Favorite classic book?
The Great Gatsby
65. Write something that only people who have read a certain book will understand.
Okay.

One obsession leads to another

So remember how when Safe & Sound first came out I was all like DOIFHASDF;OIHSDF; THIS IS THE MOST PERFECT SONG EVER?

You know how I still go all SODIFHAEOS;IHFSD THIS IS THE MOST PERFECT SONG EVER when I hear it?

Well, I think Safe & Sound might just be the beginning of my oncoming obsession with The Civil Wars. I had no idea I'd like them so much. Honestly, I didn't even know they were this country. I love me some country music, and this is kind of like oldschool country meets The Wreckers meets something totally different that fills a hole in my life I never knew was there. Soooo. Yeah. I would have gone to bed by now if it weren't for the fact that I just bought their full-length album as well as their EP and must finish listening to both before sleep.

It makes me kind of angry that they aren't played on country radio, but it also makes me kind of glad. Country radio, as much as I will defend it against all the old-timers who think everything was better in their day, has evolved so much since music like this was played on it. It doesn't really fit anymore, but it's still a shame. GOOD THING THEY HAVE TWO SONGS ON THE HUNGER GAMES SOUNDTRACK! soperfectsoperfectsoperfect.

Get your stories straight.

WRONG.

I am starting to get really annoyed with the number of times The Hunger Games gets confused/compared with other series in the media. First, people who write professionally for magazines call it "Twilight meets Battle Royale," which is just ridiculous in and of itself, and then people started all the comparisons between it and Harry Potter-- which, yes, I appreciate, but only to a certain extent-- then came the dystopian YA movement in which every single dystopian book is/was compared to THG, and now THIS?

The Hunger Games is not like any of these things. It's not like anything else at all. This story, these characters... there is nothing like them anywhere, and acting like you can attract people to it by pretending this is the case, it's misleading and unfair. Just as confusing the series and its characters with other series/characters is totally ignorant and wrong. Do some research, Empire Magazine. If you're writing an article about The Hunger Games, you should know that Katniss Everdeen is not "the girl who played with fire." This is not the Millennium Trilogy. Katniss does not play with fire-- she doesn't even particularly like fire. The concept of her having anything to do with fire was thrust upon her by circumstance. The circumstance of being from District 12. The circumstance of being an otherwise unappealing tribute for the audience. And even if you take "played with fire" as meaning "took risks," it's wrong. Yes, Katniss takes some risks, but most of the time she fully thinks out what she's going to do. She doesn't see something as a risk if she's planning her course of action; she sees it as a necessity. 

So, let's think about this.

Twilight meets Battle Royale: So, The Hunger Games is a series in which supernatural creatures fight to the death, and some of them become obsessed with each other and call it "love"?

No, actually The Hunger Games is a series in which normal children who live in a post-modern United States with a dictatorial president are forced to fight to the death in an annual show of the government's power. The central conflict is making it out alive; the secondary conflict is remaining yourself when everything around you is trying to force you to be someone else.

Harry Potter: So, The Hunger Games is about kid wizards trying to defeat an evil dark lord?

No, actually The Hunger Games is about [extremely mature] kids, and a country of people whose hope has been stuffed down one day at a time, until it's no longer visible. But it's still there.

Dystopian YA: So, The Hunger Games is in some way like every single dystopian book out there?

No, actually The Hunger Games is one of the few actual dystopian books out there. The rest are utopian books masquerading as dystopian, which is fine. But they are not The Hunger Games.

Millennium Trilogy: So, The Hunger Games is a murder mystery?

No. They are, in fact, nothing alike.

Playing favorites

I have decided to do a "Best of" list for this year, except I'm breaking the rules because these are not all from this year. I'm doing my top 5 favorite books that I've read this year (and also breaking the rules because a series counts as one book). So here goes:

1. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Honestly, if you didn't see this coming, I don't know what you're doing reading my blog. I realize that the last book came out in 2010, but I just read them for the first time in March (and the second time 3 months after that) and I don't think it's ever been safer to call myself obsessed with something. I cannot choose a favorite. All three of them are tied for my favorite book ever. No explanation necessary, as I have explained my love for this series countless times.

2. Looking for Alaska by John Green. Yes, this book came out in 2005. No, I didn't read it until this year (honestly, I didn't read much of anything until this year-- let's not talk about that). I love this book. I love that it made me cry. I love that it made me laugh. I love Alaska Young, and "I will always love Alaska Young, my crooked neighbor, with all my crooked heart." She is one of the most complex and unknowable characters I've ever encountered, and I love that. I love that she's sad and mean for no apparent reason, because I feel like a lot of times in books it seems like every character has to have a specific reason why they act the way they do. And it's not like that in real life. Sometimes people are just sad. It doesn't make you a bad person.

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth. This is the only dystopian book I've read that even comes close to The Hunger Games. And by "close," I don't mean that it's similar; I mean that it's dark and has good characters and serves a purpose. The main character is not a whiney teenaged girl who's incomplete without a boy. She's smart and she fights for what she believes in, but at the same time she isn't a robot. She's vulnerable and she misses her family and she questions her choices and she has fears (seven of them, to be exact). The thing about Tris, though, is that she isn't fearless; she acts in spite of her fears.

4. Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. I know, I know, these are not a series, but they are companion novels so I'm counting them as one book because I can't pick a favorite. Allow me to tell you the story of my relationships with these books. I read Anna in September and it took me two days (50 pages the first day, 300-something the second day). It brings the funny. When I was finished, I immediately went looking for more Stephanie Perkins books because I was not aware that this was the only one thus far. I did, however, find that another one came out in exactly two weeks: Lola. I had the same exact experience reading this one as I did with Anna (50 pages the first day, 300-something the second day). It brings the adorable. Both books bring the awesome. See next year's list for Isla and the Happily Ever After, because I guarantee it will be there.
(*update: Isla will NOT be on the list for next year on account of its released was pushed back to 2013. I'm a little bitter.)

5. The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. There seem to be mixed feelings out there about Cassandra Clare and her books, but I am pretty sure the haters have not read these books. Granted the plots I actually care about appear to be secondary to the automatons and the Magister and those types of things, which I don't care about, but the characters make up for this. Every single one of them is complex and flawed and occasionally infuriating, but that's what I love about them. Do I always agree with Tessa? No. Do I sometimes want to scream at her and rip her head off? Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't like her. And Jem is unhatable, even if you love Will as much as I do. Which brings me to my next point: William Herondale. That is all.

Some Honorable Mentions:

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Wild Roses by Deb Caletti

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Everything's on fire

So, it's just about 2:00 in the morning and there is no possible way I am going to sleep anytime soon. Because I must write about this song.

At approximately 1:00, Taylor Swift tweeted the announcement that she wrote and recorded a song with The Civil Wars for The Hunger Games soundtrack.

Um, WHAT WAS THAT?!

Yes, Taylor Swift. Lyrical and musical perfection. Plus The Hunger Games. Literary perfection. Plus the movie, which I'm sure will be pretty close to theatrical perfection. Needless to say, I have been listening to this song on repeat for the past 50 minutes or so. It's currently on its 9th play, totally screwing up my most-played songs, but I don't care. Because this just became my favorite song.

That's right. I picked a favorite of something. This song is gosh-dang gorgeous. Like, the acoustic part is so District 12. But the drums are so Arena. And her voice in the song sounds so innocent, but also like she's facing something so dark and horrible and people are counting on her. And the lyrics... they're my favorite part.

I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go

When all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said don't leave me here alone

But all that's dead and gone and past tonight

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

Don't you dare look out your window, darlin' everything's on fire

The war outside our door keeps raging on

Hold on to this lullaby

Even when the music's gone, gone

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

Just close your eyes

You'll be alright

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

If you've read the book, I'm sure you have an EXACT scene in your head for this song to be played in the background. Actually, I have two, but I think it applies most to one in particular (Hint about this scene: it particularly relates to the "Hold on to this lullaby" part).

Every single lyric has a significance though. I knew Taylor Swift could do things like this, but that doesn't stop me from being wide-eyed in fascination over this song. I just... I'm still having trouble coming up with words, even as the song starts playing for the 11th time. It's got the perfect mixture of creepy, scared, innocent, dark and haunting. The guitar. Her voice. The lyrics. "Everything's on fire" --YEAH? LIKE WHAT? Oh, you know, some characters, some trees, some logos. "I remember you said don't leave me here alone" --This relates not only to The Hunger Games, but to Catching fire too ("Stay with me?").

It conveys perfectly how hopeless the situation is. It sounds hopeful, because that's what the person in this scene is trying to do for the other person, but in reality it's not. "Just close your eyes, you'll be alright, come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound" ...using this for the scene I have in mind, it's heartbreaking. Because the person she's talking to won't be alright. She's just trying to comfort him/her. "When all those shadows almost killed your light" --she won't let the "shadows" (aka the Capitol) kill the light (innocence) inside of this person. She doesn't leave; she stays and does something about it. She saves the light by not leaving.

It makes me wonder how they are going to top this for the movies that follow the first one. Lionsgate has done every single thing right so far. They gave us the moving poster. Then the teaser trailer. Then they made us wait in frustrated anticipation for the trailer, but not for too long. The trailer is perfect. I was just saying I will probably even buy the soundtrack the other day, and now I find out they've put Taylor Swift on it. So now I HAVE to buy it. I honestly don't think Suzanne Collins could have picked a better production company to give the movie rights to.

I think I have calmed down sufficiently to attempt going to sleep. After the song is done playing for the 14th time. (P.S. Please note, on my blog I have the tags "My obsession with The Hunger Games" and "Taylor Swift is not human." I never thought I would be able to use both at once. AHHHH)

On the first day of the Hunger Games, Lionsgate gave to me

A new poster to look at for the next 98 days!

I just have to take a moment to talk about this. My first reaction to it was OHMYGODTHAT'SSOCOOL, probably just because it shows more than the mockingjay pin on fire and it's NEW and SHINY. But now that I'm looking at it longer, I'm not sure how I feel. I mean, I like the general idea of it, with Katniss and Peeta and how it looks like they're eyeballing the flaming mockingjay and whatever. But then there's the "The world will be watching." Um, wrong. That is more of a reference to the fact that this is a movie, than a reference to the movie itself. The world doesn't watch the Hunger Games; only Panem does. We don't know anything about the rest of the world. And then there's the fact that there is an audience on either side of what I'm guessing is supposed to be the Arena? What? Maybe it's not the Arena, but then why is Katniss wearing her Arena clothes? And if it is the Arena... there's not supposed to be an audience. There are supposed to be cameras.

And oh, now that I think about it more, why is the mockingjay symbol in the sky? I like that it kind of seems like it's replacing the Capitol seal, but then again the pictures of the dead tributes go in the sky right after the Capitol seal. Putting the mockingjay symbol where the dead tributes are supposed to be... it seems a little bit like saying that what it symbolizes is dead too. Which it's not.

But either way I still like that there's a new poster. Makes it seem CLOSER.

Ignorance is the most frustrating quality.

So, in my fiction class we're reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. We were talking about how the main character, Catherine assumes that the proclaimed "hero" of the story, Henry doesn't read novels, because novels are generally frowned upon. Especially by males. But Henry, he says he loves novels and has read hundreds of them. So my professor asks the guys in my class, "Do you guys think you could, like, go on a plane and read-- without getting any strange looks-- like.... [long pause].... The Hunger Games, or something?" The reactions were as follows:

1. "What do you mean?" To which my professor said something about it being "girly" (I am already trying to block this out of my mind, even though I am about to rant about it)

2. "I've never heard of it." -___-

3. "BUT IT'S SUCH A GREAT SERIES! Of course they wouldn't get funny looks for reading it!"

4. "It was recommended to me by my 13-year-old cousin... so..." (to which I said "that doesn't mean anything" ...the first thing I have said out loud in that class all semester)

and finally, 5. "Um, I actually don't think it's girly at all. I mean, they like... kill each other." (this was the same girl who said the thing about the 13-year-old, so I forgave her)

Now, I was extremely pleased with the number of people who came to the defense of my beloved Hunger Games because my professor has obviously not read it. One girl I know to be a Harry Potter fan went all jumping-up-and-down-in-her-seat and talking about how great it is, and the girl next to her (the one who brought up the series earlier in the semester) was the one yelling about how GREAT a SERIES it is! So yes, everyone in the class who has read it attests that it is not girly and that guys would like it just as much as the rest of us do. And everyone else has never heard of it, which I suppose is okay, because it's one of those things that I like to keep to myself even though I know it's going to be huge (*pouts*). I only tell people I really like to read it, because everyone else will either a) not read it, b) read it and claim they don't like it, or c) read it, like it, and act like they discovered it.

I guess despite all of this acclaim in my class for the characters and the story, I can't get over my teacher insinuating that it is "girly." I have heard it called "dark" both negatively and positively; I have heard it called "gruesome" and "intense." Never once has the word "girly" even crossed my mind or seemingly anyone else's to describe this series.

Since when are fights to the death girly? Since when is sacrificing yourself for someone else "girly"? Since when am I "girly" (I say this because the main character is just like me)????? Since when are rebellions girly?

But no, it has a female main character so that means it is obviously a girly book. Seriously, that is the only reason I can think of why anyone would consider THIS series girly and not Harry Potter. Harry Potter has magic and violence; The Hunger Games has starvation and violence. Harry Potter has a boy with a group of friends who will do anything for him; The Hunger Games has a girl with ONE friend who has to take care of her family for her while she's off fighting for her life. The 3 main characters in Harry Potter have either dead parents, or parents who are alive and care about them; The Hunger Games has 2 main characters with one dead parent and 1 main character whose parents don't care about him or believe in him. Harry Potter lives here:

Katniss Everdeen lives here:

And Harry Potter has just as much romance as The Hunger Games does. While Peeta and Gale are both technically swoon-worthy, they have faults. They are not idealized figures for any romance novel-lover to latch on to. What each of them have with Katniss can hardly even be described as "romance." Their relationships are more a result of the need to survive than they are of the desire to be with each other (which of course changes, but I'm saying that they didn't come to know each other only because of some kind of attraction).

I just can't tolerate it when people say things like this, because it's going to make even more people automatically assume it's like Twilight, which it's not. That's probably my biggest fear about this movie coming out: that it will become the next Twilight. Except with Twilight, people have valid reasons for making fun of it. If they make fun of this, it's because they are ignorant and can't bother to learn what it is actually about.

And as for the argument about it being for 13-year-olds: I do not understand this at all. Yes, young teenagers can probably read it without being too disturbed by it, but they will not get it. They will only see it for what it is on the surface, without acknowledging all of the deeper things that make me love it as much as I do. Everyone should just listen to what John Green said about its being under-appreciated critically. Honestly, you would never catch John Green praising anything about Twilight critically-- the most positive things he has to say about it are the world-building and the "beautiful lie" that true love conquers all.

The Hunger Games is not about true love. But it's not just about kids fighting to the death either. I don't know how many times I've said it, but I'll say it again: it's about standing up for what you believe in, not letting anyone-- no matter how powerful they seem-- turn you into a piece in their games. And it's about appreciating what you have, realizing that this world really isn't that bad, and having the will to do what's right.

To sum up, the things that make The Hunger Games not-girly

-Katniss is not girly. (see picture above, notice bow and arrow AND knife, the fact that she is wearing pants-- note also that she is not a fan of dresses-- and does not seem to be phased by the fact that there is a giant gash in her leg. Accurate depiction.)

-the romances are not exactly romantic

-there are awesome genetically-engineered creatures, like giant wolf things with human eyes and monkeys and birds that sound like humans and so on

-um, the main character gets set on fire twice. As does another main character once.

-a lot of people die, including main characters. Generally death is not considered girly.

-there are highly advanced weapons. WEAPONS. Pods that do unique and awesome things, bows and arrows, machine guns, bombs, human-sized snares, tridents (TRIDENTS!), and so on.
-none of the books even have pretty titles.
-the villain is just a man with too much power, not a jealous female who wants to kill the main character and only her. He kills anyone he wants (or rather, has them killed). And his mouth is full of sores because he drinks poison so his enemies won't suspect him, so his breath smells like blood. And he has a beard.

-there is a song about a murderer who wants his love to come commit suicide with him.

-there is torture. Actual, psychological and physical torture. Memory altering torture. Torture that results in death, or having one's tongue removed.

Am I getting my point across here? Because if you still don't believe me, you could... you know, go READ A BOOK.

The Games... will change... everyone.

I have been trying all day to think of a way to properly express my excitement over the Hunger Games trailer, but it has just been coming out in fangirlish Tumblr posts and inarticulate "AHHHHHHH"s. Which is perfectly fine, for if I'm going to fangirl about something, it should be The Hunger Games. But here is my attempt at a mature reasoning behind my jumping and screaming and tumbling:

My 13 Favorite Things about the Hunger Games Trailer: A Coherent List

1. It basically starts the same way the book starts. Yes, the book starts with Katniss waking up and noticing Prim has gone to sleep with their mother, but immediately after that she goes to the woods with Gale and they talk about the reaping and the Capitol and the [im]possibility of running away together.

2. It explains the story just enough. It gets people interested (although, the people who didn't know anything about it until they saw the trailer and are now interested because of the trailer... yeah, I'm giving them the stink eye) without giving away spoilers. It does this by only including footage from the first half of the film. The Games themselves are a mystery. We only see glimpses of Rue and Foxface and the rest of the tributes, rather than seeing Katniss's interactions (or lack thereof) with them.

3. The reaping. Amazingly, it's exactly how I pictured it. I'm not even just saying that. I pictured Effie up on the stage with her crazy getup, picking the names from the glass bowl and reading them with a note of triumph in her voice, seemingly ignorant of what that little piece of paper means for the people whose names she's reading. I pictured all the people in their nicest clothes, which are still pretty casual, and I pictured Katniss and Gale looking at each other before the names are read, knowing that if one of them gets reaped, it's up to the other one to keep both of their families taken care of. I pictured Prim starting to walk up to the stage with her head down and Katniss running up and screaming "I volunteer!" (P.S. the crack in her voice when she says this= SO heartcrushing), and the Peacekeepers trying to haul her away until they understand what she said. And Peeta. God, J-Hutch, how do you do it? His face when he walks up to the stage. He's not a killer. Nobody is going to volunteer for him, and he's certain he's going to die. Welcome to life as a regular District 12 tribute. We'll come back to Peeta later in this list.

4. Actually, we'll come back to Peeta now. The look he and Katniss give each other on the stage... I'm sure only people who have read the books will understand its full impact, so here are a couple excerpts:

"Oh no, I think. Not him. Because I recognize this name, although I have never spoken directly to its owner. Peeta Mellark.

No, the odds are not in my favor today.

I watch him as he makes his way toward the stage. Medium height, stocky build, ashy blond hair that falls in waves over his forehead. The shock of the moment is registering on his face, you can see his struggle to remain emotionless, but his blue eyes show the alarm I've seen so often in prey.

...Why him? I think. Then I try to convince myself it doesn't matter. Peeta Mellark and I are not friends. Not even neighbors. We don't speak. Our only interaction happened years ago. He's probably forgotten it. But I haven't and I know I never will.

...The mayor finishes the dreary Treaty of Treason and motions for Peeta and me to shake hands. ...Peeta looks me right in the eye and gives my hand what I'm sure is meant to be a reassuring squeeze. Maybe it's just a nervous spasm.

We turn back to face the crowd as the anthem of Panem plays.

Oh well, I think. There will be twenty-four of us. Odds are someone else will kill him before I do.

Of course, the odds have not been very dependable of late."

"Peeta and I know the other's survival means our own death."

5. Prim. I don't know why, but I never really became that attached to her reading the books. But watching the trailer, and seeing her face while she's fighting Gale as he's carrying her away from the reaping, I felt so bad for her.

6. Effie's accent. It's exactly how the Capitol accent is described... and I always imagined it sounding a little British.

7. The Capitol. It's supposed to be this bustling metropolitan center where all the luxuries are enjoyed, but it just looks like an over-industrialized place where nothing is real. Looking at it for too long would probably make you feel like you can't breathe.

8. The timing of all the Training Center footage. First with Katniss saying "So you're here to make me look pretty?" and Cinna saying "I'm here to help you make an impression." And then the President Snow voiceover explaining the tradition of the Games, saying "One young man" --insert shot of Caesar Flickerman holding up Peeta's hand and Peeta looking slightly more confident than when his name was first called-- and then "and woman"-- they show Katniss and then, for an instant, Rue-- and then "trained in the art of survival, to be prepared to fight to the death"-- footage of Cato being a killing machine-- and then cut to Peeta giving his speech on the roof about not wanting to be a piece in their Games and showing them they don't own him and, if he's going to die, he wants to still be him.

9. Katniss's reaction to Peeta's speech on the roof. I'm so glad they didn't have her immediately understand what he was saying. It's important. "I just can't afford to think like that" shows the difference between Katniss and Peeta. Katniss is focused on making it out alive at whatever cost; Peeta is more concerned with being the right person, showing the Capitol they can't change him. Not because Katniss is selfish, but because Peeta genuinely doesn't believe he stands a chance.

10. The three-fingers-to-the-lips-and-then-up-in-the-air signal. "At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love."

11. I love that they show the people in the square watching the Games on the jumbotron. I also love that the trailer shows things we don't get to see in the book, like Gale in the woods by himself and people's reactions to what happens in the Games back in District 12.

12. How it ends with all of the tributes running either to or away from the Cornucopia and then the Hunger Games logo shows up and baaaa-baaa-baaa-baaaa, Rue's 4-note tune that sufficiently creeps me out and makes me squee with joy at the same time. I just love it.

13. #HeadForTheSquare ...????? Intrigue!

Additional noteworthy components:

-Cinna's head nod before Katniss enters the Arena

-The soundtrack

-It shows the *twirl* during Katniss's interview with Caesar

-The fact that the Training Center itself is not at all how I pictured it. Which is to say, it does not look like a gymnasium.

-"THE GAMES... WILL CHANGE... EVERYONE." =O EPIC.

The Hunger Games Dictionary

The Capitol- The dictatorial government of Panem, who suppressed rebellions in 13 districts (and obliterated District 13) approximately 100 years before the book starts.

Panem- the post-modern country (located where the United States once were) governed by the Capitol, which is located in the center. The still-existing 12 districts surround it in order, meaning District 12 is the farthest away. If I'm not wrong, District 12 is around the Ohio/Pennsylvania/New York area. Of course.

The Seam- the edges of District 12 where all males work in the coal mines starting at age 18 and most people are on the brink of starvation, and most natives have dark hair and gray eyes. Except Prim, because she takes after their mom, who is not from the Seam.

The Hob- the black market where Katniss trades the animals she hunts in exchange for more meager food products.

The Hunger Games- an annual fight to the death forced upon all 12 districts (because the Capitol itself is exempt from its own cruelty) as a reminder of the Capitol's power. Each district sends one boy and one girl, ages 12-18, randomly chosen, and only one person comes out alive.

The reaping- the ceremony in which the tributes (see next term) are chosen for the Hunger Games. It's required viewing for the whole country, children get the day off from school, and while volunteers are allowed, they're only common in Districts 1 and 2 (and sometimes 3 and 4).

Tributes- those selected to fight in the Hunger Games

Tesserae- the option for children to enter their names into the reaping more than once in exchange for a year's supply of oil and grain. For example, Katniss enters her name 4 times every year: once because it is required, once for Prim's oil and grain, once for her own, and once for their mother's.

Peacekeeper- a "police" type of person sent from the Capitol or District 2 (because they're tight with the Capitol even though they still have to participate in the Hunger Games) to patrol the districts and punish criminals. "Criminal" is a loose term.

The arena- the intricately planned-out setting of the Hunger Games, different every year, and designed so that the Gamemakers (see next term) can throw in their own challenges if it gets too boring

Gamemakers- the people who control what happens in the Games, i.e. fires, storms, etc. They don't, however, control who gets killed or who kills whom.

Cornucopia- the big golden... cornucopia... at the center of the arena every year in the Hunger Games, which contains things that could help the tributes in their fight, only it is dangerous for them to try to reach it because all of the other tributes will try to kill them if they see something they want. Usually there is something specifically placed there for each particular tribute, so they are always tempted to go in after it. This results in...

The initial bloodbath- the beginning of the Games when a ton of tributes die trying to get things from the Cornucopia.

Jabberjay- the bird that the Capitol created to spy on the districts, only it backfired and the districts fed them lies and then the Capitol tried to get rid of the rest of the jabberjays, but...

Mockingjay- the jabberjays mated with mockingbirds to create these, who cannot memorize entire conversations, but lengthy tunes.

The Quarter Quell- every 25 years the Hunger Games are an even more special event to the Capitol named the Quarter Quell, in which the rules are changed in a previously-designated way. i.e. Haymitch's Hunger Games were a Quarter Quell in which the Capitol called for the number of tributes to be doubled. In fact, they're SO previously-designated that they were all planned out and written on cards when the Hunger Games first began, signifying that the Capitol expected the tradition of the Games to last a looooooong freakin' time.

Avox- A person (for some reason usually redheaded) that committed some sort of crime against the Capitol and has had their tongue removed as punishment, so they can no longer talk. They're also forced to be servants for people in the Capitol, including the Hunger Games tributes/mentors/sponsors/Gamemakers/etc.

Tracker jacker- a genetically altered wasp created by the Capitol to track down anyone who makes them (the tracker jacker) angry and kill them. Sometimes they don't succeed in the killing part, but their venom induces hallucinations like you're on an acid trip or something like that.

Muttations- all of these Capitol-created species that are made for a specific purpose, i.e. jabberjays and tracker jackers [and also these giant wolf-like creatures I can't tell you about yet].

The Treaty of Treason- the decision that resulted in the tradition of the Hunger Games, the purpose of which is to remind the citizens of Panem that the Capitol has complete control and any attempts at rebellion will be squashed.
Morphling- basically, the Panem version of morphine. It's a pain medication that's addicting and causes people to have severe withdrawals, but even whey they're on it they're not totally *there* mentally.

If you know of any additional terms that need definining and don't include spoilers, put them in the comments and I'll add them.

Villains

If you disagree, I unapologetically tell you: TOUGH COOKIES.

I just listened to a version of Hank Green's song "This is Not Harry Potter" that I haven't listened to before, and in this one he slams books closed as a drum beat. One of the books he uses is Mockingjay, but no, I am not about to complain about him abusing the greatness that is Mockingjay.

I am going to complain because one of the lines in this song says "President Snow is no Voldemort," implying somehow that President Snow isn't quite as malevolent or cruel as Voldemort, which is NOT true. I realize posting this publicly will probably make *someone* disown me as a friend. I hope that *that person* can see it from my perspective, though. :)

Yes, Voldemort is evil and cruel and selfish. Yes, he kills people for reasons similar to Hitler's reasons for killing people. HOWEVER, Voldemort has people who support him for reasons other than fear. He has a pet, which generally requires some bit of care. Now I'm not saying that he is the one who takes care of the snake; maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I'm just saying that the snake is his pet and he loves it (granted that is probably mostly because the snake holds part of his own soul). He believes that what he is doing is for the greater "good," no matter how convoluted that seems. He doesn't enforce laws that squash the quality of life; he doesn't take from the poor and give to the rich. The worst things he does are kill some people and make others live in fear.

President Snow does this and worse. He does not love anything but himself. He doesn't hesitate to kill anyone he perceives as a threat to him and his system. He is so cruel that even the system he has created is cruel by nature. The minority reap the benefits of the majority's suffering, and he benefits the most of all. His only loyal followers support him because they fear him, not because they believe in what he's doing. He doesn't just kill people; he tortures them. He gets inside their heads, takes away the things they love, forces them to become people they're not, and lets the whole country watch while it happens. He'll tell someone to do something, and then when they do it, he'll use it against them to make them do something else (I cannot explain this without giving away probably the biggest spoiler ever, but trust me it proves once and for all that he is an evil genius). He will willingly drink poison in order to trick his enemies into drinking it. He has people's TONGUES REMOVED if they disobey him... that is, assuming he doesn't just have them killed.

Oh, and here's the kicker: he forces TWENTY-FOUR CHILDREN TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH ONCE A YEAR ON LIVE TELEVISION. YEAH, I KNOW, WTF, RIGHT?!

And the worst part is that he's a human being. He's not a wizard, he's not a master of dark magic, and he doesn't have seven pieces of himself waiting to keep him alive if he's ever defeated. Because he truly believes he is invincible. And, honestly, when you believe that strongly that you are invincible, other people start to believe it too. And people stop believing they can change anything... which is kind of the worst thing you can do to someone. President Snow does that to a whole country.

In my opinion, Voldemort is a perfectly sufficient villain, but President Snow is the villain of all villains. His blood and roses kind of make Voldemort's wand look like a cat toy.

Hank, I think you need to reevaluate your definition of a proper antagonist.