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talkbaseball2me t1_jdcv4tr wrote

Reply to comment by sekhmet1010 in Appreciating the Hunger Games by Friesandmayo2665

I disagree, I loved the movies but the books are way better. The reason there aren’t more layers is because Katniss, as the narrator, doesn’t know those layers. It would be forced to add those layers in and the book wouldn’t work as well. I prefer the books over the movies because we can see inside Katniss’s head and know what she’s thinking/feeling. I actually think the movies lack a lot of emotional depth because we don’t know how much she’s struggling.

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sekhmet1010 t1_jdd5eex wrote

I find it unbelievable that Katniss living in that very system would know and think so very little about it. If nothing else, there could have been glimpses of things, but there was nothing. Because the book has a very lazy world-building going on.

Seeing inside Katniss' head would have been lovely if she had more of a personality. Even her relationship dynamics with everyone else happens to be oversimplified. It just lacks any complex emotions, in my opinion. Every single relationship dynamic seems to be based off of one thing. That's so unrealistic.

In the movies, i think Jennifer Lawrence brought more to the table than there was on paper. Katniss is so bland. I have gained zero new insights into the character after having read the first two. Maybe the third one will be better, but i doubt it.

Except for The Godfather and this series, i have never enjoyed a movie adaptation more than the books.

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drcutiesaurus t1_jde1tkz wrote

You have to remember that it was common in her district for people to literally just die from starvation in the street. She herself was bordering on starvation before Peeta tossed her that bread. When you're starving (or fighting for survival and your family's survival... dependent on a good hunt or forage) there's not a lot of time or energy people can (never mind want) to put into thinking about life outside survival. It's one of the reasons the Capitol is so effective in all their propaganda.

And her relationship dynamics are simplified... because she's a sheltered 16 year old. It's incredibly realistic for the character, her age, and setting imo.

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sekhmet1010 t1_jde3z86 wrote

I did not find it to be so at all. Realistic, i mean.

And clearly you enjoyed the books and have quite a different view of them. So, let's agree to disagree.

I just hope that these aren't the best that YA has to offer, since besides the concept, these weren't very good books at all in my opinion.

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