Introduction to the Speedrun
Something that I have slowly learnt about myself is that I can almost ‘speedrun’ media. Not in the sense of watching something at 2x speed and quoting it by heart. But I naturally run through media pretty quickly, so I thought it would be a fun concept to bring up as part of a blog post, and maybe it can become a series of sorts?
The victim of this first post is the Hunger Games series. Now, I want to preface this by saying I have NEVER seen any of the movies in full before or read the books, I think they were aimed at a slightly younger audience when they came out (I was more of a Twilight era kinda girl). After hearing that Taylor Swift contributed to the soundtrack of some films, whilst also being bombarded with clips of the movie on YouTube Shorts, I thought it might be fun to watch it from my perspective now, an adult who thought the concept of the movies may have not been for me necessarily.
If you have not watched any of the movies, including the newest prequel installment, my suggestion is that you go watch them first, otherwise there is going to be a LOT of spoilers ahead.
Deep Dive into the Hunger Games Movies
We will start off with the first movie, which was released in 2012. The concept of this movie is what triggers them all into the revolution and change; starting with Katniss’ bold move to take the place of her younger sister. This hit really close to home for me, as I could see myself doing the same thing in her place. Her relationship with Peeta (and Gale) is one of the things that confused me the most throughout the series, as I think realistic looks at what was happening without the drama would have helped her find her way quicker. The scene with Rue was utterly heartbreaking, and was something I had seen a clip of and was waiting to happen, but it was still just as shocking. The song she sings to her as she passes is beautiful, and the thing that brought it together in the end. This concept of the hunger games is horrific, and people are watching children take each other from this world. I did notice the shock on Marvel’s face, again proving the point that death almost doesn’t seem real for his children until it is right in front of them. The sacrifice that Peeta and Katniss almost make at the end showed how much they wanted no part in the spectacle of the game, and I think this was one of the main aspects that brought them close together.
The next movie moved on 1 year from the last, showing us that hope was spreading among the Capitol, and seeing Katniss back with her family was really lovely. In an ideal world could have been where the story ended, However, the show must go on. Because this was the 75th Hunger Games, it meant that something big was going to happen, which meant that Peeta and Katniss go back to the area for a second time. I heard someone mention a theory they had about this happening which I thought was very interesting, and will mention here even though it involves the prequel movie (spoilers!). Maybe Snow made it so past winners had to fight, in the hope that he would see Lucy Gray again? While she is more than likely miles away from The Capitol, and his hatred for Katniss was pretty apparent, I like that this theory still holds onto the last bit of hope that Snow might have. I enjoyed watching older tributes fighting, many that have fantastic careers now (The one that shocked me the most was Reacher’s Alan Ritchson, who has changed a whole lot since this movies release in 2013). The ending of the movie clearly marked the need for a sequel, and with that in mind I was grateful that I could watch the next one right away instead of waiting another year for it.
With Peeta captured by the Capitol, we move from the idea of hope to rebellion, with Katniss’ main focus being finding Peeta, but having to move with the rebellion in order to make this happen. Something I want to stress here is that Katniss is still so young in this movie, and became the face of an entire army of people. In comparison, that would almost be like a teenage being the face of a large company or political alignment, it just doesn’t sit right, which is the perfect feeling to not let people get too swept away with Katniss’ ‘heroism’ here; she just wanted Peeta back. She does finally get to him, but he now wants to kill her because of The Capitol’s brainwashing. Hasn’t this boy been through enough? I mean, he pretended to be a rock to not face conflict in the first movie, he deserves the simple life like Katniss want’s too. But I digress, and we move on to the second part of Mockingjay, which came out in 2015.
The Capitol is causing more death and destruction, and Katniss wants to kill Snow for what he has done to both Peeta and the world she once knew. However, there is another threat that comes… the leader of the Rebellion Alma Coin. I figured from the middle of the first part of Mockingjay that her intentions were not all she wanted people to see them as. Her choosing other things over saving others out in the Capitol rubbed me the wrong way, as she knew that in order for the rebellion to be successful, more people had to be with them, and choosing to abandon them was just as bad as what Snow was doing. Something that solidified this idea for me (and for Katniss to I think), was the death of Prue, Katniss’ sister. She has joined the rebellion to heal others, but was caught in the destruction the rebellion chose to happen (including Gale who also made the call). I laughed when Katniss made the choice to kill Alma, and watch as Snow was met with his demise by the rebellion people. It seemed almost poetic that Katniss was still choosing hope over anything, as she knew the only way for people to move forward was without this strong leader making questionable decisions.
Now, on to the prequel movie. I enjoyed watching Snow become more like the Snow we know now, and how it all happened over love, and the hope that people can change and be different. Lucy Gray one the hunger games with the cheating help of Snow, and left him when things turned questionable. She wanted a simple life too, and not to be involved in the power that Snow wanted for himself. He choose to give in his friend, because he did not want to set people free, he wanted to be the best at the game, and he needed players. While I think Lucy could have been the one to make the other movies not happen, they were way to different with what they wanted out of life.
The Cultural Impact of the Hunger Games Series
Overall, watching the Hunger Games as an adult was a really enjoyable experience. I could sympathize with all the characters, and almost ignoring the love triangle that seemed very forced to me, I believe that the ending of Katniss and Peeta together was the right decision. Katniss and Lucy were so alike which is what angered Snow, but I think Katniss had the hope for people to keep fighting, instead of running away with Gale. She asked him to run for safety of her family, not to have a better life. I say good riddance to Gale, and it is a shame that Prue could not have gone with her home, to finally have some peace too.
Speed running the movies helped me to keep the plot fresh in my head, and also meant that the movies moved on after each other, with no waiting! I can understand what all the hype is now, and waiting for the next release must have been agonizing.
I also want to take a moment to commemorate the work of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Donald Sutherland, who have passed away since writing this post. Hoffman unfortunately passed away in between the Mockingjay movies, and his performance was so real, and made me believe that people were still normal with all of this madness going on. Sutherland unfortunately passed away only a few weeks ago, and the weight of his performances was so impressive to me. He was the perfect villain, as he still showed the humanity he had left, even if he wanted to use it for no good. The movies would not have been the same without them.