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[MThanded]

But when it came to the casting of Rue, Thresh, and Cinna, many audience members did not understand why there were black actors playing those parts. Cinna's skin is not discussed in the book, so truthfully, though Lenny Kravitz was cast, a white, Asian or Latino actor could have played the part.

But. On page 45 of Suzanne Collins's book, Katniss sees Rue for the first time:

…And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that's she's very like Prim in size and demeanor…

Later, she sees Thresh:

The boy tribute from District 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue, but the resemblance stops there. He's one of the giants, probably six and half feet tall and built like an ox.

Dark skin. That is what the novelist, the creator of the series, specified. But there were plenty of audience members who were "shocked," or confused, or just plain angry.

The tumblr Hunger Games Tweets has collected a smattering of Twitter postings, with the goal of exposing "Hunger Games fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books." What people are saying is disappointing, sad, stomach-churning, and just plain racist.

http://gawker.com/5896408/racist-hu...how-much-money-the-movie-made?tag=hungergames


People are bold...

 

[Dabanton]

All Idiots.

It's not even about being bold nowadays some people don't care anymore, they probably have black people, schoolmates etc on their twiitter and still talk that mess.

Twitter more than Facebook really allows you to see what festering nastiness is in a person mind.

 

[Stumpokapow]

why the hell are screenshots of tweets vignetted? they really couldn't just take a screenshot?

 

[Maleficence]

They don't all sound racist, just a bit caught off guard and confused, but a fair few are full on retardedly racist.

 

[Onemic]

Dumbasses gonna dumbass

 

[RubxQub]

why the hell are screenshots of tweets vignetted? they really couldn't just take a screenshot?

In Web 3.0 all pictures will have random artistic filters applied to them so the entire web looks beautiful!!!

 

[painey]

why the hell are screenshots of tweets vignetted? they really couldn't just take a screenshot?

read the book. the tweets originally had olive backgrounds

 

[Dupy]

All Idiots.

Nailed it.

 

[ultron87]

why the hell are screenshots of tweets vignetted? they really couldn't just take a screenshot?

Obviously they are trolling the racists by making their tweets less white.

 

[Seda]

Some of the tweets seem like harmless surprise, but clearly some (most) show some animosity.

 

[btkadams]

twitter is full of morons. it is the exact same as youtube comments.


i relearned this recently when i found the @homophobes twitter account, which retweets insanely homophobic tweets.

 

[bengraven]

What really rips my heart out is this:

Spoiler for book/movie: http://i.imgur.com/tmO0N.jpg


I saw this and I hoped the person who typed it gets hit by a car today. I'm not a fan of the series, but I'm most definitely NOT a fan of this kind of hate.

 

[Cat Party]

Obviously they are trolling the racists by making their tweets less white.

slowclap.gif

 

[MThanded]

Dark skinned has now become synonymous with over-tanned/olive skinned people instead of black.

 

[levious]

They don't all sound racist, just a bit caught off guard and confused, but a fair few are full on retardedly racist.

all the ones pictured sound pretty racist to me.

 

[Barrett2]

why the hell are screenshots of tweets vignetted? they really couldn't just take a screenshot?

They're not. Those are Tweets from the 1950s I pulled out of a box in my parent's attic.

 

[FairyD]

this should really go in the funny pics thread.

 

[samus i am]

But I thought Obama ended.... something, something, something

 

[CFMOORE!]

I fucking hate humans

 

[3N16MA]

Some people think dark skin is what you get after going to the beach.

 

[lunchtoast]

Had to double take at one of them that has the same last name as me.

 

[bengraven]

The irony of all this is that the main character is described as being ethnic, but is played by a white girl.

Some people really need to read the books they claim to love.

 

[Trouble]

I am not illiterate, so I pictured Rue and Thresh as black because they are described as such in the book. I would have been disappointed if they were cast as white.

Cinna I pictured as white because he was from the capitol. I could care less about that casting decision, though, artistic license, etc.

 

[Mangotron]

So nine racists on Twitter object to the portrayal of a character because they have poor reading comprehension? Time to instagram some screencaps and write an article!

 

[harSon]

Some people think dark skin is what you get after going to the beach.

I blame Woody Allen

 

[ChocolateCupcakes]

All Idiots.

Yup.

 

[Stumpokapow]

So nine racists on Twitter object to the portrayal of a character because they have poor reading comprehension? Time to instagram some screencaps and write an article!

I dunno, I'm totally onboard with this trend of "things happen -> idiots post idiotic tweets -> a single shot tumblr pops up to catalogue the tweets -> a lazy blog just reposts the tumblr content with a few lines of content". The Instagram stuff is the only part that bothers me!

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Not shocking. Some people just have a very hard time identifying with any other human being that doesn't have the same amount of melanin in their skin as they do....

It's a problem, of course. Just not one that shocks me. I'm numb to it at this point.

 

[2th]

Are you sure they are racists or just really wished the movie stayed true to the book?

For example in the Thor film Hiemdall was played by a black guy, but in the comics he is norse (white) and honestly i wish they had stayed true to the comics.

I will say however, i did not mind Idris Elba's performance but i still wish they stayed true to the comics. Does that mean i am racist?

Edit: yes the last tweet is racist but the rest arent that bad.

 

[Dude Abides]

Some kind of dance around it, but that last tweet really sums up the objection succinctly.

 

[Door2Dawn]

Dark skinned has now become synonymous with over-tanned/olive skinned people instead of black.

Blame the media. :/

 

[Vic]

Some people think dark skin is what you get after going to the beach.

I can imagine some people thinking like that.

 

[echoshifting]

Are you sure they are racists or just really wished the movie stayed true to the book?

Read the op man. Read what the author wrote about those characters. Then read the tweets. Then tell me they aren't racist.

This is nothing like Thor.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

From Gawker:

On page 45 of Suzanne Collins's book, Katniss sees Rue for the first time:

…And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that's she's very like Prim in size and demeanor…

Later, she sees Thresh:

The boy tribute from District 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue, but the resemblance stops there. He's one of the giants, probably six and half feet tall and built like an ox.

Sounds like making them black doesn't violate what the author says about them. They expected "Dark brown skinned" white people? They exist but, forgive my ignorance, isn't the book about people under some sort of totalitarian facism? It would make sense that most white people wouldn't have time to tan. From the trailer it seems to be set somewhere where a sunny day is hard to come by.

 

[ultron87]

I always skim over character descriptions. So I guess I could somewhat understand the ones that are just like "Oh, she's black and was in the book too." Of course I would never feel to post on Twitter or anywhere about this realization, because it changes nothing about the character.

 

[Stet]

And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that's she's very like Prim in size and demeanor…

The boy tribute from District 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue, but the resemblance stops there. He's one of the giants, probably six and half feet tall and built like an ox.

this is what passes for writing these days?

 

[Onemic]

Dark skinned has now become synonymous with over-tanned/olive skinned people instead of black.

The author says dark brown skin, so I don't know how anyone could think it was white.

 

[Perspicacity]

So nine racists on Twitter object to the portrayal of a character because they have poor reading comprehension? Time to instagram some screencaps and write an article!

This, seriously.

Why are we letting these people speak for all racist Hunger Games fans. I'm sure there are plenty of racist Hunger Games fans who were more upset by the aryans being villainous and killed off than the blacks being noble. How dare the author try to paint racists in a bad light.

 

[A Pretty Panda]

Those tweets were a little subtle, but the you see that last one...

 

[levious]

Are you sure they are racists or just really wished the movie stayed true to the book?

the three castings in the OP were not contradictory to the descriptions in the book.

 

[3N16MA]

Are you sure they are racists or just really wished the movie stayed true to the book?

For example in the Thor film Hiemdall was played by a black guy, but in the comics he is norse (white) and honestly i wish they had stayed true to the comics.

I will say however, i did not mind Idris Elba's performance but i still wish they stayed true to the comics. Does that mean i am racist?

The author described the character as having dark brown skin.

 

[Salmonax]

How are people comfortable being this overtly racist over Twitter? Couldn't this stupidity have ramifications elsewhere in their lives?

 

[Dresden]

this is what passes for writing these days?

bad writing has existed forever

news at ten

 

[ZeroGravity]

People get too worked up over children's literature.

 

[MThanded]

Are you sure they are racists or just really wished the movie stayed true to the book?

For example in the Thor film Hiemdall was played by a black guy, but in the comics he is norse (white) and honestly i wish they had stayed true to the comics.

I will say however, i did not mind Idris Elba's performance but i still wish they stayed true to the comics. Does that mean i am racist?

Edit: yes the last tweet is racist but the rest arent that bad.

dark brown skin

 

[Dram]

Are you sure they are racists or just really wished the movie stayed true to the book?

For example in the Thor film Hiemdall was played by a black guy, but in the comics he is norse (white) and honestly i wish they had stayed true to the comics.

I will say however, i did not mind Idris Elba's performance but i still wish they stayed true to the comics. Does that mean i am racist?

Edit: yes the last tweet is racist but the rest arent that bad.

 

[CornBurrito]

.

 

[Codeblue]

twitter is full of morons. it is the exact same as youtube comments.

Youtube comments are at least hiding behind some anonymity for the most part. These morons have hate speech with their pictures and names signed at the bottom.

 

[levious]

I'm not getting the "poor reading comprehension" criticism.

I've seen non-black people with dark skin described as dark-skinned.

dark brown skin was the only descriptor

 

[3N16MA]

She should have looked like this: