#anti THG

[sparksinthenight]

I’m thinking about The Hunger Games. It … it somehow manages to represent the world we live in and more specifically the Global North - Global South power dynamics and oppression systems in a truthful and insightful way that no other media does, and yet it completely mischaracterizes the power dynamics within the Global South and the class and race hierarchies that characterize the internal power structures in the Global South. The prequel also horrifically mischaracterizes immigration, the immigrant experience, and what immigrants are like. To the point where that book literally psychologically triggered me and I had to stop reading it because it was such terrible representation, dear gods.

So like, the thing is, there is not and never has been and never will be solidarity between the poor and the comfortable in the Global South. Yes, the North oppresses the South and the North exploits and profits from and metaphorically and often literally enslaves the South. But the well-off in the South do all of these things too. And from what I’ve seen and experienced in my personal life and what I’ve heard from other people who grew up in or live in the South, the well-off Southerners are probably worse than the North when it comes to oppressing and exploiting and profiting off of the poor people of the South. You can say that America is the Big Bad and everything bad happens because of it. But the fact of the matter is that without comfortable Southerners doing all the direct things required to keep the poor in line, the international and intranational hierarchies of the world would fall apart. Global Southern police officers and military members and government and businesspeople and employers and bosses and moneyed people are directly the reason the poor people in the Global South are being exploited, even if the North benefits from this all a whole lot too.

And … what the hell was the mountain scene in District Two? Those guys were peacekeepers. They were COPS. The poor people of the Global South don’t need to and should not feel any sense of solidarity with the COPS that keep them held down. And I’m not only saying this because I’m anti cop but because the people in that mountain benefitted from harming and oppressing the poor people, they benefitted from keeping the poor people from gaining power, and they benefitted from the system that kept the poor people poor. Those peacekeepers and peacekeeper-adjacent were not oppressed in any way, despite being from the Districts (aka Global South). They were the oppressors. You could argue that actually they were oppressed because their kids could be reaped. But two kids get reaped a year and there’s thousands of kids in the district. But even ignoring that fact, the point is that the mountain scene was meant to parallel real-world dynamics. And no real world cops are oppressed. Even ones in the Global South, or perhaps especially them to be honest.

And we need to talk about TBOSAS and the way it paints immigrants. Immigrants are not worse than non-immigrants, but they’re not better either. They are not would-be rebels full of empathy and compassion for the poor people they left behind. They are not brave heroes who will die for the Global South. I’m saying this from experience, I have moved in immigrant circles all my life. Immigrants are no better than anyone else in the Global North, they are only tied to their homelands in the most superficial and shallow ways possible, and they ally and align themselves with the Global North and against the Global South most of the time, just like most Global Northerners do. They’ll wear traditional clothes but those clothes will be made out of fabric the cost of which could feed a whole family back home for a month. Yes, there are immigrants who are the brave hero-martyr with undying loyalty that the book showcases. But those cases are really rare, they are really more of an anomaly than anything else. And I’m not saying this to say that immigrants are bad. I’m saying this to say that immigrants are far more part of and loyal to their adoptive countries, and cannot be expected to act differently from non-immigrants in any way that substantially matters.

I also think that Primrose is an example of all that is wrong with Collins’ understanding of the South. Prim looks like and can be said to symbolize the more affluent parts of the district. She resembles her mother who is from the more wealthy part of town while Katniss represents her father who is from the Seam. Now the moderate wealth of the Town does not hold a candle to the extravagance and excess of rich parts of the South. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it, there are penthouse vacation homes blocks away from shantytowns. Literally. But still, the Town in District Twelve represents what Collins thinks is the wealthy part of the South. (And in my opinion the Town is also very guilty for not sharing what they have and not helping the literal starving people of their district. If you saw someone with no food and you had money and you spent that money on a party dress instead of food for them then guess what? You’re completely fucking evil and going to hell. But anyways, back to the actual point.) Prim has the Town genes and Katniss had the Seam genes. And who is good and pure and innocent and must be protected? Prim. And who is able to withstand inhuman amounts of hardship and do child labour? Katniss. Who has to sacrifice her own innocence and goodness and childhood to protect the other one? Katniss. Whose life and safety is considered not quite as valuable? Katniss.

And Gale and Peeta. I couldn’t care less who Katniss got with. She can pick who she wants. But just like Prim and Katniss, Gale and Peeta represent the rich and poor sides of the South. Despite Peeta not being nearly as rich as the most rich people in the South actually are. He’s still richer. He still fits into the metaphor and symbolism. And who is more kind and reasonable and right? Peeta. Who is more good and pure? Peeta. Who is shown as not being able to see past their emotions and grudges? Gale. Who is seen as stubborn and overly violent? Gale.

There are ways in which The Hunger Games is revolutionary and amazing. But there are ways in which it feels like some kind of disguised psyop.

[irontrashglitter]

"you could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve that boy" is the WORST thing to happen to fandom ever

[lesbianclaryfray]

see how that surface level analysis of peeta=peace and gale=violence is only ever used as shipping fodder and never addresses the actual structure and politics of the books??? but y’all wanna act like it’s soooo smart and different and leftist baby no it was just BAD

[sincerethoughtsblog]

katniss being the person who gave hope to everybody during the rebellion but peeta being the person that always gave katniss hope and strength since the moment they met is so poetic lord

[enobariasdistrict2]

there's something to be said about gale telling peeta that katniss will choose the person she can't survive without - a sentiment that katniss notices lacks any mention of love or comfort or affection, only partnership and practicality. because survival is the basis of gale and katniss's relationship - their relationship is the product of an oppressive regime where so many people starve and die and suffer. they built a partnership out of pragmatic necessity - friendship and affection and yes, even love, did spring from that, but nevertheless, survival was the foundation for them, and the fact that the majority of their dynamic is spent in the woods and this is the only place gale sees her happy is symbolic of that.

but her relationship with peeta is extremely different. he gives her laughter and comfort and joy no matter where they are. he balances out the temperamental and volatile nature (a characteristic she shares with gale as a result of their conditions) with peacefulness and an appreciation for beauty and goodness. they have a trust and camaraderie and friendship that extends far beyond the need for survival, a bond that connects them beyond merely the need to stay alive and protect their loved ones. it is with peeta that she truly lives and laughs and loves and betters herself. peeta notices and brings out the most wonderful parts of her cold, dispassionate exterior (mockingjay, suzanne collins), gives her an appreciation for beauty in life (dandelion in the spring, the pearl on the beach, etc). he's the calmness and peacefulness that she needs to truly live and feel free and safe, while gale is violence and storms and outbursts (which she may agree with, but his tendencies to choose violence don't satisfy katniss's emotional needs in a relationship like peeta does).

to gale and katniss, love and relationships and friendships and human connection come second to practical concerns and the mere desire to simply not die. for peeta and katniss, love and life are about far more than just survival, which is why they share an emotionally charged connection that's stronger than what gale and katniss have.

[elainiisms]

personally, idc how hot young snow was or how "sad" his backstory was, none of that can EVER make me sympathise with a man who killed hundreds of children for amusement and sold the children he didn't kill into s*x trafficking.

[madeofjules]

Boggs to Katniss: "I'm planning for you to have a long life"

Boggs, 2 secs later: *sends Katniss on a suicide mission to assassinate the president, which has no chance of happening*

[starrrbakerrr]

gale is so insane for saying this with his whole chest. like it’s true that peeta was a threat to katniss’s life and katniss said that killing peeta would be like “shooting another of the capitol’s mutts,” but as readers we knew she was saying that from a place of hurt. and you’d think gale, being her best friend and closest confidant, would also see this, but instead he offers to kill peeta unprompted and unprovoked. peeta who is only deadly because of extreme psychological and physical torture.

and it just further reminds me that haymitch was the only person that was there for peeta in d13 🥺😭 (with no fault towards katniss, she was depressed and traumatized and thought she lost him forever)

[solstices-dreams]

just imagining my s/o, shirtless in my bed, bathed in sunlight from our bedroom window, hair mused, husky morning voice

i’d go into cardiac arrest.

[fantasy-nerdddd]

The reasons I dislike Gale

Most obvious: He invented the bomb that killed Prim. It's not the problem that it was Prim specifically. He couldn't have known. But if it wasn't Prim it'd be hundreds of innocent children.

He was emotionally manipulative to get Katniss to like him. Example: "I knew you'd do that. Because I'm in pain." This is a) true and b) evil. The definition of manipulative.

He only saw the world in black and white. Are you from the Capitol? Evil. Are you a rebel? Good. There is no pure good or pure evil, and you should be able to judge if you're willing to act on the shade of gray you're going to.

He didn't care about human life. This ties with the first point but I want to add something else. One of his first quotes: "You know how to hunt" "animals" "it's no different". Like it should be! You cannot just waste human lives. Killing people means one of two things: a) it messes up with your psyche or b) you have a messed up psyche. Sorry Gale but you might be number 2.

He was blinded by his hatred. I mean yes the Capitol is horrible. As Gale said "We're using the same rulebook Snow used to hijack Peeta." Well that makes you no better than the enemy! Be a bit more humane at least. The rulebook you're using is an immoral one.

He was overly jealous . I mean how dare she not love me back? How dare she kiss another man for survival? Even when I have never ever proposed the idea to her that I love her? Movie fans might say that he realised he loved her during the 74th Hunger Games. This is wrong, he did about 6 months before when Darius tried to pay for some of Katniss' game with a kiss. Apparently, Gale got jealous and he realised then that he cares about her romantically.

[vasilissadragomir]

i do enjoy olivia rodrigo’s music and i think the new song is really nice, but i just wish they’d chosen a roma singer, or even an indigenous american singer, for the ABOSAS single. especially since they didn’t cast a roma actor (no shade to rachel) as lucy gray, it does feel like they’re minimizing the overt roma-coding of the covey, which is SUCH a massive layer to understanding the oppression of the capitol not just as an authoritarian regime, but as a colonizing entity of an indigenous and nomadic population

[megala-theia-praxidike]

[punkeropercyjackson]

My 2000s/2010s kid medias wisdom:

Azula deserved a redemption arc and Ty Lee is the girl who got shafted by not being Zuko's love interest

The Soul Society is a military state and Ichigo was a good person for never joining it and Orihime was the best Bleach character

Sasuke was right and Kishimito made him an extremist as ableist victim blaming propaganda and Sakura and Hinata are equally good

Ben 10,including the sequels,is better than Danny Phantom

Flynn Ryder was a creep and a dickhead who didn't deserve Rapunzel

Hiccup was trans but so was Astrid,only transfem instead

Teen Titans is a beyond good show but the influence it's had on DC's comics is bad and Young Justice Animated should've never existed

The Hunger Games and Chronicles of Narnia derserve better than to be grouped in with Harry Potter because Thg is an anti-bigotry story rather than liberal bs and you can actually pull 'Death of the Author' with the problematic elements of Tcon because C.S Lewis is actually dead

Adventure Time is an almost perfect show and so're it's comics and sequel miniseries' and you can't pull 'It's bad because it got too serious in later seasons!!!' as a fact because that was the point,that it was trying to be different from most kids cartoons and it not being your thing dosen't mean it's not good writing

Winx Club,W.i.t.c.h,Totally Spies,The Powerpuff Girls,Kim Possible and MLP are feminist even if they have their flaws and they're brought in a girly packaging because they're meant to be heroes for little girls

Johnny Test is fine and y'all are weird fow visceral your reaction to it was

Percy Jackson and the Olympians dropped the ball by having Percy end up with Annabeth because they're 'destined to' since the point of Percy's story is that he never gets to choose what they actually want and they should've either ended up with Rachel or stayed single to work on character development and healing,Luke never actually cared about other demigods and was only using them as ammo against the gods because if he actually cared he wouldn't have abused them,Toa should've instead been a third Percy series of them destroying Olympus' corruption because they've had enough of the gods and replacing it with an actual good societal system and Percy is a super cool autistic Team Parent who'd be femme and kidcore if Rick bothered to develop their interests

Star Vs The Forces of Evil should've made trans Marco and autistic Star canon,endgamed them with Tom and Janna instead of eachother,made Jackie an mc and done none of that 'no magic' shit

Gravity Falls,We Bare Bears and Undertale/Deltarune's icon status are well-deserved

Craig of the Creek only gets ignored because it's a black show that's good

And She Ra and the Princesses of Power is called cringe nonstop because it's fanbase is largely wlw and trans women who're loud and proud with their queerness and the creator at the time of it's airing identified as a nonbinary lesbian and people hate female queerness while hyping up male kinds that play into stereotypes(Stiles and Derek from Teen Wolf,Magnus and Alec from The Mortal Instruments,the Shiro/Keith discourse,the Boyfriends Webtoon,Marauder's Era even being a thing,etc.Note that i am not calling Stevenson female but rather saying he knows what lesbophobic experiences are)

[theweeklydiscourse]

I’m getting really sick of seeing people claim that Katniss and Alina’s ending are effectively the same and have the same effect on the narrative as one another. That because both stories end with the heroines settling down, it must mean that both are at the same level of thematic coherence and satisfaction for readers.

But they aren’t.

If they were truly as similar as people claim they are, Katniss’s story would have ended with herself and Peeta being plucked out of the games via some deus ex machina, and given the opportunity to run off together where they could settle down and start a family. The hunger games wouldn’t have ended, Katniss would’ve just escaped from it and washed her hands of that experience. The games would still exist, but Katniss would have the chance to escape from it all and live a “normal” settled life.

This is why Shadow and Bone’s ending is not of the same calibre as The Hunger Games. The issue of Grisha persecution isn’t resolved in Ruin and Rising, therefore Alina would still have had to live as a member of a persecuted group even after the Darkling had been defeated. So, to end the story in a “happy” way, Bardugo gives Alina a “get out of oppression” free card by fabricating a contrived narrative about power corrupting and relieving her of her marginalized status so she can live a “normal” life. Alina doesn’t have to confront any difficult truths or use her status to rise to the occasion and contribute to Grisha liberation when she’s been conveniently disempowered.

It isn’t even Alina’s choice to give up her powers, it happens because the narrative needs it to happen. Sure, you could take it at face value and accept the conditions of the story, but people aren’t misunderstanding the story when they criticize this ending. The truth is, one is clearly better than the other at what it tries to accomplish.

[girls-and-guts]

mansplain: gale

manipulate: president snow

malewife: peeta (love of katniss’s life) mellark

[stardust948]

If I see one more person compare Everlark to k*taang I'm gonna start pulling teeth. And it's not gonna be mine.