Thursday, March 29, 2012

What the Wednesday: What the Hunger Games Reveals

I don't usually read Young Adult literature, I'm more of a self help kind of gal.  But, I've recently read a few articles about the Hunger Games that have me interested in the series.

I recently read that many fans were outraged by the casting of several black characters in the film, who were clearly described as such in the book.  Fans expressed disappointment at not connecting to the character "Rue" because she was cast as a black girl in the film.  Fans shared that they didn't connect with her, didn't view her as as innocent, and didn't feel as heart broken when she died once they viewed her as a black girl in the film.

That's a problem.  A life is a life.  A person with dark skin is no less important than a person with light skin.  And, most of the book's audience are young people, so their racist assessments are even more disturbing.

I also read this article, which points out that we don't live in a world that different from the Hunger Games. Children are at war with one another in many parts of the world- and we, as wealthy Westerners (by the world's standards) may be involved in those conflicts with how we choose to use our purchasing power.

Do we care?  Are we taking a look at our own habits, our own buying power to see where we might be indirectly contributing to the enslavement and exploitation of children?  Because most of the children involved are little dark skinned children.  If we, as a nation, if even our young people see "dark" as "bad" or as "less deserving" -that can impact how we choose to act or not act.

I can't help but wonder, What the...Wednesday?





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