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This is a response to: The new girl power: The record-setting opening weekend of "The Hunger Games" shows the cultural clout of young female readers
petite6
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CNN: 'Hunger Games' fans tweet displeasure over black actors
03/26/12 07:36 PM




You can't please everyone when adapting a book for the big screen, especially one as beloved as "The Hunger Games," but director Gary Ross and the casting team likely weren't anticipating this.

According to Jezebel, there appears to be a group of fans who are displeased that black actors were cast to portray Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Rue (Amandla Stenberg) and Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi). While Cinna's complexion isn't described in the novel, author Suzanne Collins does describe the latter two characters as both having dark skin.

As chronicled on the Tumblr "Hunger Games Tweets," it seems some readers either didn't pick up on the description or didn't read the description as depicting two African-American characters, and as a result have been vocal about their disappointment.


"Why does Rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie," wrote one fan in a tweet posted on the "Hunger Games Tweets" Tumblr.

Another described the "Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the little innocent blonde girl you picture," while another said: "I was pumped about the Hunger Games. Until I learned a black girl was playing Rue."

On Okeniyi's casting, another Twitter user weighed in: "Naturally Thresh would be a black man. #NotImpressed."

In a post, the Tumblr notes that the reactions began cropping up last summer, but since the film's March 23 release, the writer says that "the amount of people who seem to all share these views just increased exponentially."

As a result, the blog aims to unveil "'Hunger Games' fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books."

The writer adds in a separate entry that all of the tweets collected are from people who've read Collins' trilogy.

"Clearly, they all fell in love with and cared about Rue. Though what they really fell in love with was an image of Rue that they'd created in their minds...And then the casting is revealed (or they go see the movie) and they're shocked to see that Rue is black...This is so much more than, 'Oh, she's bigger than I thought.' The reactions are all based on feelings of disgust."

The point of collecting these reactions, the Tumblr's author writes, is to draw attention to what the writer sees as "MAJOR TIE-INS to these reactions and the injustices that we see around the world today."

That..."and to also point out s****y reading comprehension. LOL."


http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/26/hunger-games-fans-tweet-displeasure-over-black-actors/


Entire thread (Refresh)
Subject Posted by Posted on
* The new girl power: The record-setting opening weekend of "The Hunger Games" shows the cultural clout of young female readers
AwfuLeeHandsome
03/26/12 01:50 PM
xx * Saw it today. I think they did a very good job with the movie. Jennifer Lawrence is awesome. NT
mgbaloo
03/31/12 04:50 PM
xx * also saw today
Liss
03/31/12 05:54 PM
xx * CNN: 'Hunger Games' fans tweet displeasure over black actors
petite6
03/26/12 07:36 PM
xx * Idiots...when I saw Lenny in his role..it clicked for me
IggysPINKTights
03/27/12 04:19 PM
xx * Same here Iggy. It didn't dawn on me what the race should be for any of the characters. NT
BettyRubble
03/28/12 03:07 AM
xx * it shouldnt and these kids' parents should be embarrassed for raising these racists. NT
VeronicaLodge
03/28/12 07:47 AM
xx * I saw this yesterday and in light of everything else going on in regards to race it really pissed me off NT
MsB
03/27/12 03:49 PM
xx * I See White People: Hunger Games and a Brief History of Cultural Whitewashing
AwfuLeeHandsome
03/27/12 03:27 PM
xx * OMG!!! No way about Donald Glover!!! He is like one of the most talented guys out there now. I can't believe he got death threats for wanting to
petite6
03/27/12 03:32 PM
xx * It's unbelievable, I feel like we are so much more enlightened as a generation and then I read crap like this and it's just mind-boggling NT
AwfuLeeHandsome
03/27/12 03:36 PM
xx * people just don't know they're racist anymore. Just some of the comments lately have me questioning alot NT
petite6
03/27/12 03:54 PM
xx * exactly. the thing that bugs me the most about this story is that it is one thing if these people thought these things but
VeronicaLodge
03/28/12 07:50 AM
xx * Yes and then they turn it around and claim they are sick of people claiming racism. *****! NT
MsB
03/27/12 03:58 PM
xx * in regards to Rue
zagger
03/26/12 07:46 PM
xx * I don't see how anyone who read the book could think she was blonde. Period NT
MsB
03/27/12 03:47 PM
xx * same here, i always saw the fact that she reminded katniss of prim because of her age, size and innocence. nothing bout appearance. NT
VeronicaLodge
03/28/12 07:52 AM
xx * ok NT
zagger
03/27/12 03:53 PM
xx * The movie sucked because a black actor was cast in the role of a black character? They need to get a grip. Try watching Lord of the Rings and seeing
Gorf
03/26/12 07:42 PM
xx * ugh, i saw this some place earlier, the majority of the people have since deleted their twitters
Dexter
03/26/12 07:40 PM
xx * the guy that said he didn't care about the girl because she was black and he would have cared more for her if she was white or something else NT
petite6
03/26/12 07:47 PM
xx * yeah that was one of them :/ NT
Dexter
03/26/12 07:48 PM
xx * Okay, seriously we must have the dumbest group of people in the world when they actually express themselves on Twitter or FB ranting. I can't
petite6
03/26/12 07:38 PM
xx * Im getting a twitter just to call you stupid. NT
BB53274
03/26/12 07:41 PM

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