The Hunger Games will be released on Friday, and Lionsgate (whose logo is notorious in my house for resembling the opening credits of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is expecting it to be the next Twilight (It's certainly being marketed as such. I just saw three hideous red t-shirts at Hot Topic. Who designs those things? The same people who make karaoke videos, probably).
The opposite should be true. When I first picked up the book a couple years ago, I prayed to the Book Gods it wouldn't be like most of the teen fiction on the shelves. Don't get me wrong, there are gems in YA Fiction. I was hoping this one would be one of them.
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| Spray tan + dirt + earthy tones = dystopian poverty |
And it was. After a whirlwind that never once allowed me to catch my breath, the book left me with a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger!
Before it becomes a franchise, another marriage of mass marketing and an obsessive demographic gone horribly right, I just wanted to think back to the stunned, quiet moment right after I had turned that final page in my bedroom. Before the sweaty photoshoots and nail polish campaigns that would put the Capitol to shame, I simply read one of the most exciting books in a while.
Honestly, when I saw the way they were marketing the movie, I was upset that they were feeding the same spiel as they had done with the Twilight movies. As though they had to win us over with tons of merchandise and hot stars. We were won over some time ago, simply with a great book. I have nothing against teen movies, but can we be treated as intelligent beings rather than a massive herd of cows to milk?
All things said, I will be watching because I can't wait to see it on screen. Ironically, marketing campaigns don't always reflect their film (see Hugo). Reviews so far are generally positive, so there's hope yet.
P.S. The Mockingjay's song at the end of the trailers is so haunting. It sends chills down my spine.
P.P.S. This brings up another question: to what extent do the gears of a machine have to be united? I mean, does the marketing need to reflect the themes of the book itself? If so, what do you think of the nail polish line, etc, that seems to perpetuate the ideals of the Capitol, a quasi-villain of the book?
Photos via Entertainment Weekly
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