Lindsey: Being a fan of the
Hunger Game Series and reading the books multiple times, I was shocked to see
Hollywood’s response to the actors in the movie. I admit when I saw Rue in the
movie for the first time I was a little surprised but only for a little before
I realized they had described Rue as dark skinned in the book. What I found
most interesting about the article is the concept that the reader projects
themselves onto the character, so even though it is printed in the book Rue is
dark-skinned the readers' mind overrides this when they are picturing the book
play out in their heads. Even though Cinna’s or Thresh’s race were never
specified neither was Gale nor Peeta’s, but it is the othering formed by
society that sets the Caucasian race as the dominant and expectant one. Analyze
each book, story, or article you’ve read, and think about what you pictured the
characters’ and authors’ physical appearances to be, did they look like you?
Kristen: When I first saw the
movie, I admit that I did not exactly picture those actors portraying those
characters. But on taking a minute to think about it, what is the problem with
having black actors play those roles? There isn’t one. I must have fallen into
the trap of identifying those characters with my skin color while reading the
book, as the article stated that many others do too, but the book does in fact
describe two out of the three of them with dark skin. I think that regardless
of their skin color they were all great actors and played their parts very well.
It confuses me though that people wouldn’t be happy with actors of black skin
playing roles that correspond to the book, while other movies let a white
actress play an Egyptian queen.
Craig: I think the
article “'Hunger Games' and Hollywood's Racial Casting Issue” by Stephanie
Goldberg speaks the truth. I personally don’t care whether a character is
black, Asian, Latino, or white. If the actor has the skill set and is the best
person for a part I feel that said actor deserves the role. The only exception
to this thought though, is if the movie is based on a book and the book
describes a character a certain race. People can be too closed minded about
what they think and they just need to be more open.
Demoye: I did not know that
there was racial tension within Hollywood of that magnitude. I
understand that sum people are upset in the fact that white actors have the
opportunity to play black role, that is very controversial. Why cant they give
it to black actors? is like there are implying that a white person
can portray a black role as good as a black person could. This idea i
think is offensive in anyway, you never see black actors playing white role in
the movies? And the roles black people get are either portrayed as being
slaves, gangsters or involved in some type of criminal actions. We as a society
is involved with this issue ourselves, we are quick to racial profile someone
based on their name pertaining to Rue the actor in "The Hunger
Games". Just because they hold a certain name does mean we should start
throwing this racial discrimination or the word "race" into it,
Hollywood can choose whoever they want to act in their movies but we as movies
critiques and movies goers cannot turn it in a racial debate. But i for myself
also believe that actors should play the role within their ethnicity, because i
have seen movies that they play Jamaicans in, they way Jamaicans are portrayed
in those films makes me upset because for one we do not act or speak that way, for
example "cool Running". Myself being a Jamaican, i have never acted
that my or spoke that way in my entire life. But society as a whole, we need to
eliminate these racial thoughts and actions.
After reading through the comments that follow the article, I found a couple opposing thoughts and ideas that I found to be interesting. Some respondents simply didn’t see the point of the article at all, some were referring to the situation described as racist, and one even pointed out that they thought black people bring the racism upon themselves. A couple people commented on the article saying, “who cares” and “let it go,” while others said how this was just another example of how racism is within everything in America. One particularly interesting comment pointed out how it is okay for a traditional white character to be played by a person of color, but if the opposite were to happen, the minority population would be up in arms. I don’t particularly agree with this comment, but it got me thinking. When a black person plays a perceived white role, white people are normally surprised. Similarly, if a white person is cast in a perceived black role, the black population immediately refers to this as racism and segregation. This clearly portrays the constant battle between races, and in a world free of prejudice and discrimination, I would think that none of this would occur at all. Furthermore, there would be no need for this article in the first place. Even though I can see how some would refer to this issue as racism, I also believe that people generally perceive a character of a novel to be similar to themselves. If a character is not given a clear physical description, it is easy to let the imagination create what it wants to. There have been several instances in which the character of a movie was nothing like I pictured them to be in the book. This isn’t exactly racism; it’s something we all are guilty of.
ReplyDeleteI agree that even though we automatically project our physical characteristics on characters it is not racism, just normal to do in our own minds. Although I think those speaking out in protest to the character's race not being right for their roles is racism. What would we do if movies were done once with an all white cast and again with an all black cast would that make things better for everyone or cause more turmoil?
DeleteLindsey makes a good point that although most people don't try to do it, they automatically think of characters as having the same skin color as themselves. Some people would say this is racist, even though it's usually automatic. But if they didn't do think of characters as having their own characteristics, what would people say when they thought the characters were suppose to be played in complete opposite of what the majority thinks? In other words, if I assumed (being white myself) that all the main characters whose appearance weren't described as being dark skinned were African American, along with every other white fan of the Hunger Games, what would people think then when they saw the casting?
DeleteThe actor or actress for a movie should be chosen as the one who can best portray the role given, although this is not always the case. In the case of The Hunger Games, the African American actors were chosen because the characters were described as having darker skin in the book. This upset people because in their minds the characters were being portrayed as white. Its normal for people to imagine the characters as white since they are also of Caucasian decent, but why get mad when the actors are African American. People need to realize that although they believe one thing, Hollywood will do whatever they think is best for business. Hollywood is going to choose actors that either fit with the book they are making a movie off of, the ones that will bring the most money to the box office, or cost the least to use. Therefore, people can't get upset over the race of a character, as it isn't in their control and shouldn't matter to a great extent of the color of a character's skin.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the source of controversy originating in Hollywood. It's an interesting thought maybe not for this film, but do you think they purposely use a diverse cast in order to start drama among critics and viewers to obtain free press in a way? Also, what do you think the effect of having black characters in the movie and not asian or other races present have on the movie?
DeleteI personally think that they don't use a diverse cast in order to specifically cause drama or controversy, but I could be wrong. I think that they pick those actors because they portray the best version of the character and will help the movie out in terms of making money, making fans, and other things like that. I could be wrong, but thats just what I think. As for the effect of having black characters, it does make the players in the games more diverse and it does hold true to the book, so there shouldn't be a huge effect. But on the other hand, if they were to have other races represent those characters then I think people wouldn't like that even more since it doesn't go along with the book. Does anyone else agree/disagree?
DeleteIn the book, the author describes two of the characters as having dark skin. The fact that some fans were shocked to see these actors in the movie played by African-Americans is understandable, unfortunately. In the world we live in today, subliminal racism is just a part of live. People make assumptions based on race without even thinking. When a character's race is not included, many white people could just assume the character to be white. Even after reading that the characters were dark-skinned, Caucasian readers can still assume the character to be white. It could not be until they see the movie that they even realize those characters were black. Many people can unconsciously expect those characters to be white. Unfortunately, some people could have had different views on the "Hunger Games" had they seen the movie before reading the book. Even though it isn't explicit, this is an example of how people continue to pass judgement based on color of skin.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is sad that even though people read the books and knew that the characters were described that way they were still shocked/surprised to see that they chose African American actors to represent them. Why would such a response be so strong when people knew thats the way the author described the characters?
DeleteI find it disheartening that things like this are still happening in America today. We have evolved enough as a country that we should be able to realize that skin color truly should not matter anymore. I understand that when you read a book you may picture a character as looking one way because many people picture what is happening as they read. That does not mean when the movie equivalent to that book comes out that you should be disappointed or upset when the character does not fit the image you had. Like many people have said before on here, skin color should not matter when obtaining acting roles. The best actor should be able to win the spot for a role that can be played by any race (i.e. making the character's skin color up to the reader by saying dark skinned). The fact that discrimination of this kind is still alive today shows that we have not come as far along in this department as we thought. People need to throw the notion of skin color away so we can truly have equality in society.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, but can the notion of skin color ever really go away? Children are raised by their parents, and these parents put the notion that one color of skin is less equivalent than another. This idea gets passed down from generation to generation. It isn't anything that is very easily disregarded in our society, which is why we still have this problem, and most likely always will.
DeleteI really do not see this as a very big deal. i know that for me, when i am reading a book i tend to imagine myself in the book. It happens automatically that you project yourself into the plot, and in most cases youre going to imagine yourself and the people around you as the same race that you really are. There are always going to be some ignorant people who will be upset because the characters in the movie are not what they thought they would be. its really not that important, and i dont believe this should be a big issue.
ReplyDeleteEven if you do not believe this issue deserves this much media attention do you think the director had any other motives to cast black actors for parts where race was never specified in the book? In other words, do you think these particular characters gave the movie a whole different mood versus what it would have been like if they were white, essentially asking why he chose a diverse cast and what the movie would have been like without them.
DeleteI dont understand what the problem is with staying true to the book. When the first Harry Potter came out noone was upset that they were white actors or British; the producers were just staying true to the novel. True fans of the series should be happy that they decided to pay attention to the details of the novel. The only reason why anyone should be angry about their casting choices is if the actors are absolutely terrible and the movie ends up being garbage. Color has nothing to do with acting talent.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, did not read the book or watch the movie. But from what i understand of the article, there should be absolutely no problem at all. This shouldn't even be a topic of discussion. The characters that were black in the movie were dark skinned in the book. I don't see where the problem is at. The fans who are upset because they pictured somebody white should be ashamed that they actually made a big deal about it. And really, what did they expect to see? Maybe i'm wrong, but is there really a dark skinned white person? That doesn't even make sense to me. The people who were wrongfully upset should have just stayed quiet and just let it be. From what i hear, the movie received very good reviews. Also, all of the people that i spoke to who have watched the movie didn't even mention the race thing. So thankfully, that shows that most people didn't even care about what skin color the actors were.
ReplyDeleteSince I myself am an Asian, when I read a book, if some characters in it are portrayed as colored people, I would imagine they are also Asian, just like me. I think it is reasonable and comfortable for me to imagine in that way because most of my friends are Asian. I believe readers of other races may also have the same experience. I have not read this book or watched this movie before, but I do not think it should be a problem. However, the discussion of racism about this movie must happen for its own reasons. The author of the novel may think that not describing the characters’ appearances and races so specific could make the readers of different races feel comfortable and close to themselves. So one of reasons I think may be that the actress does not fit the readers’ imagination for the character in the book and they do not feel so comfortable, even feel surprise about that. The other one reason I can think about is that maybe they think “color” should not be equal to “black”. The movie has two black actors to play the role of colored people may let them think that way. From this discussion we can see that though maybe this movie does no show racism, racism may still exist in the society. If people cannot feel the any pressure of racism in their lives, they may not understand this movie as racism.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t read the book or see the movie The Hunger Games, but after reading the article, I found a few aspects of the controversy interesting. I think that it is ridiculous that there is so much debate about certain roles being played by people of dark skin. I don’t understand how people could argue that the roles were cast wrong when the book specifically states that two of the characters are dark skinned. If the movie follows the book very accurately, fans of the series should be happy the movie relies on the book, not upset because the actors have different skin colors than they thought. If it is really that upsetting, go make your own movie. It isn’t racist that the roles were played by dark skinned people, it would be racist if all of the people, even those specifically described in the book, were a specific race. People need to understand that even though you may picture something one way, the way you picture it may not always be correct.
ReplyDeleteI have never read the book "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, nor did I ever believe that that book would be made into such a good movie. Being just a movie-goer that did not read the book, I have biased view, but as I was watching the film, I felt that all of the actors were chosen perfectly for their roles. The acting was great and I thought that the white and the black characters fit well into their roles as well. Even so, the author of the book even said that Cinna and Rue were of a darker complexion to begin with. I don't quite understand why anyone should have a problem with it. Maybe if they played the role poorly I'd be disappointed, but I believe that they did a good job. It's a shame that race has to be brought into something so trivial such as this. Of the majority of people that I've spoken with, have never brought up the issue of race regarding the movie and it's actors. In accordance with Matt's comment above, I'm proud that most viewers don't really care about the skin color of the actors. As long as they did their jobs well, there should be no problem.
ReplyDeleteI have never read The Hunger Games or seen the movie, but I found a few aspects to this article interesting. If the movie made that much money within the first weekend it was out, how can people complain about the actors/actresses just because of their skin color. How can people complain about the color of some of the actors/actresses skin when the casting director stated that those characters had a darker skin complexion. Obviously the acting by these characters was great because of the fan reaction the movie got, so why do people have to complain about it. It's a shame race had to be brought into this discussion because it sounds like it was a great movie.
ReplyDeleteI too fell victim to associating the characters with my own skin color even though it had said in the book they had dark skin. I thought the actors did a wonderful job fulfilling their role and do not haave a problem with them in those particular roles. It is sad to see that this goes on today in Hollywood, the best person should get the part. Regardless of race, i know it never is like this. But maybe over time race will not play as big of a factor in selecting an actor.
ReplyDeleteThere would be a lot of conflicts come out when a film adapted from the famous novel. Each person has its own perspective of the character especially when they are reading the books. Yes, the book Hunger Games is really interesting and I actually imagined Rue as an African American. It is interesting that I “automatically” category people with darker skin as African Americans. And I guess some people may have the same imagination as mine, too. So personally, I do not care about the actor’s appearance. Instead, I think the acting is the most important part of the movie. Thus, I do not think the actors are the problem. Race is the real point people care about. It still remains in this society and people just brought it up from this movie. Moreover, I think it is still not necessary for people to discuss that whether the actor should be Africa American or a white people with darker skin. We are here to watch the TV show not to judge the actors’ skin color. Besides, the acting is really good.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie but have never read the book. I didn’t read the books so I cannot say what I would picture the characters. But it’s reasonable that the fans were upset when they found the characters did not look like what they expected. It is also reasonable that they expected the roles have the same skin color with them. I think if the opposite happens, similar things will happen to black fan. But I don’t think the skin color is really important. The actors are good, and their performance made the movie great.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I have never read the hunger games book and I didn't see the movie, but from what I've read pertaining to the racial casting conflict their should be some form of explanation. Nothing against Caucasians but when a book describes a person as dark skinned the natural mind thinks of an African American person and some black people would get upset because the roles were played by white people. The whole othering of who should have played what role is silly, if you have the skill, go for the part.There is no need to start racial tension between two races who are still not as equal as they should be.Let the media display what they are given to work with, but one thing I can say, is that the media wouldn't let an African American play the role of a Caucasian and its sad to say that but its true. If people would realize we were all made equally and no one is better than the next person, life would not have these racial issues.
ReplyDeleteLike Kayla, I never read or watched "The hunger Games" because I am not much of a reader, but I do hear that they are a great read if you want something quick and interesting. Therefore, I feel that the author did a great job on conducting his interviews because the speaker was able to allow other to relate to the topic and gave other references to other books and movies that way others can comment or relate to them. I like how the author of the article did his best to stay non-bias as possible because he added a great quote at the end of the article, saying that he really doesn't care what race the actor is, as long as the performance is great. I also noticed that the author threw in comments from a producers side saying that what race plays a certain role can and will affect how much money is made in the end. This shows that people need to understand that certain actors are better for the role and that holloywood can do whatever they want with a book. I also feel that the setting of the movie can affect what roles actors get. For example think about Roots, it would look weird if a white person was a slave but he was a better actor. Can you say awkward?
ReplyDeleteI have also, like a lot of people said, not taken the time to read the book but I quiet enjoyed the movie. For a lot of people to understand a movie and be entertained and have not read the book,I find that this means that the director did a great job. Directors take books and spin them to how they view it, movies are always going to be different than books because people interpret things differently and most books are to long and detailed to add every element. The author of the article showed both sides of the spectrum and was surprisingly not biased on one side or the other, more focused on the issue at hand. I agree with the author that it doesnt matter what race the actor is, its whether or not the actor is good at the part. There always going to be people who don't like certain things in movies, whether actors, scenes, or portral; but that only accounts for a few and all in all, I thought the movie was great all around.
ReplyDelete