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crack_van2012-06-01 12:10 am
arsenicjade.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2012-06-01 12:10 am
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Fandom Overview: The Hunger Games
Hi, I’m ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
arsenicjade, and I’m going to be reccing The Hunger Games as a small fandom this month. This overview is largely book focused, as my recs will be, as well. The links at the bottom are lacking, so if you know of any good fannish resources, please comment to let me know and I will add! Very excited to be getting this fandom off the ground!
Characters
Katniss Everdeen
Illustration from British version of books
Katniss is sixteen years old at the beginning of these books. She has been taking care of her mother and her younger sister since her father died in a mining accident years earlier. She is extremely proficient with a bow and arrow, good at bargaining and most survival-related skills. Primrose, her younger sister, is her main concern. Their mother went into a non-functional depression upon the death of their father, and Katniss has been the one to make sure Prim survives. Katniss is largely anti-social, unless with her closest friend Gale. She’s not one to engage in small talk, white lies, or other social niceties. She is, however, very good at doing what needs to get done, and extremely loyal to those who have earned her loyalty—not an easy thing to do.
Peeta Mellark
Illustration from British version of books
Peeta is the youngest son of the baker in District 12. He develops a crush on Katniss at a young age, and later saves her life by bringing her burnt bread when she had nearly starved to death. He is also the other District 12 tribute chosen her year. He does everything he can to make sure Katniss makes it out of the arena. Peeta is far more socially adept than Katniss, personable and kind. He has a good sense of humor, is excellent at baking and art, the latter of which comes in useful as a survival skill in camouflaging himself.
Gale Hawthorne
As drawn by Sacha11410
Gale has been Katniss’ best friend since shortly after her father died. Although their relationship got off to a rocky start, they soon enough became close friends, and at some point, Gale fell in love with Katniss. They hunt together in the forest and help each other take care of their families. When Katniss is chosen for the Hunger Games, Gale promises to take care of her mother and sister. Gale is, personality-wise, very similar to Katniss: mostly a loner, fierce, stubborn. He also has high-minded ideals and can be a bit unrealistic in pursuing them.
Haymitch Abernathy
As drawn by nievesdos
Haymitch Abernathy: Haymitch Abernathy was the winner of the 50th Hunger Games and is the only District 12 victor still living, possibly, the only one ever. His family was killed by the capitol shortly after his Games as a punishment for winning in a way that showed the capitol up. Haymitch is an alcoholic who seems to have long given up on ever seeing a District 12 tribute win again by the time Peeta and Katniss are chosen.
Finnick Odair
As drawn by lilyluoart
Finnick Odair was one of the youngest Victors ever at the age of 14. From District 4, Finnick is incredibly good looking and almost immediately won over the capitol audience so as to have lots of support within the arena. District 4 is a fishing district, and Finnick is very good at all things water-related. He is seen as a playboy post-victory, sleeping with capitol women, but in fact he is being sold to them by President Snow, and is in love with another victor from 4, Annie Cresta, who went slightly insane during her games.
Johanna Mason
As drawn by Mary_Chan
Johanna is a victor from District Seven, the district which is largely known for supplying lumber. Johanna won her games by acting innocent and fragile and subsequently killing many of the other kids that year with an axe. She has no family or close friends left, although it is unclear when she lost everyone. She has a fear of water brought on by extensive torture. Her personality is often brittle and even unkind, but she is a determined and loyal person.
Plot
Hunger Games
Seventy-four years before the beginning of this book, the 13 Districts of the country of Panem rebelled against the capitol, which put down the rebellion, presumably destroying District 13 in the effort. Since then, the remaining 12 districts have had to send two tributes each—one boy and one girl—between the ages of 11 and 18, to the capitol every year to compete in a televised event called The Hunger Games. In this event, the children are pitted against each other in an arena of the capitol’s devising. The last one alive is considered the victor.
When Katniss’ younger sister, Primrose, is called as tribute, Katniss volunteers as tribute in her stead. Volunteers are not unheard of, but they largely come from the wealthier Districts, such as 1 and 2, and are kids who have unofficially trained for the Games their whole lives. District 12 lives on the edge of starvation, and Katniss’ choice is viewed by those in the District as particularly heroic. The boy tribute called is Peeta, and Katniss is dismayed, as she feels she owes him for giving her bread when she and her family were starving to death in the wake of her father dying.
Haymitch is their mentor, but until Peeta and Katniss get him to realize that they might have a chance he is, at best, useless. He goes with them to the capitol, where Katniss’ designer, Cinna, plays a huge role in making her attractive to the public so that she might receive sponsors—persons who pay for things such as medicine and food to be given to her in the arena. In the interview the tributes give before they go into the arena, Peeta admits to having always had a crush on Katniss. Katniss is upset, thinking that he’s just playing the crowd, but Haymitch points out that it makes her seem desirable, and Peeta has actually done her a favor.
Inside the arena, Peeta teams with the “careers,” those tributes who have trained for this. Katniss thinks she has betrayed him and ends up teaming with a tribute from District 11, Rue, who is the youngest of the tributes, but understands a lot about edible and medicinal plants. Together, she and Rue destroy the careers’ food supply, but Rue is killed while they are separated.
The announcer tells the contestants that the rules have changed and that this year, if two tributes from one district survive, they will be crowned winners together. Katniss goes off to find Peeta, who is dying from a wound inflicted on him while he was trying to save her life. Haymitch signals to her, through the timing of sending sponsor gifts, that acting up the romance gets more sponsors.
Katniss risks her life to get Peeta the medicine he needs to survive and the two of them outlast all the other contestants except Cato, a career from 2. They meet him at the center of the arena and eventually defeat him by working together, but the announcer tells them that the rules have changed and only one of them can be victor.
Peeta tells Katniss to kill him, but she knows she cannot and live with herself, so instead she hands him one half the poisonous berries she has been keeping on herself and tells Peeta that they have to have a victor. The two of them agree to take the berries at the same time, and the announcer tells them to stop, that they are both victors.
Afterward, Haymitch and Cinna tell Katniss that the capitol is upset with her and that if she wants to keep herself and her family safe she has to act as if she was crazy with love, couldn’t have imagined living without Peeta, rather than acting out against the capitol’s power. Katniss does her best.
On the train home, Peeta comes to realize that Katniss was just playing at returning his feelings and withdraws his friendship everywhere except in front of the cameras.
Catching Fire
The second book begins with Peeta and Katniss having to go on a Victory Tour to each of the other districts. President Snow, leader of the capitol, has made it clear to Katniss that he knows she is not in love with Peeta, and that her actions have begun a rebellion. If she does not convince the districts that she is nothing more than a girl in love, and effectively undermine the rebellion, he will kill her family and those she cares for.
Peeta agrees to reinstate their friendship and the two of them work together on the tour, but it is not enough. Katniss goes back to District 12 and tries to convince those she cares for to try and make a run for it in the forest, but Gale refuses. District 12 is sent new “peacekeepers” or overseers from the capital, and Gale is caught selling game: hunting is illegal. He is whipped for his crime and Katniss realizes she cannot run.
Meanwhile it is almost time for tributes to be chosen again. The 75th Games are arriving, meaning that they are a Quarter Quell, or one of the Games that falls every 25 years. Each of these Games have something extra added to them. In this case, it is revealed that all the competitors will be past victors. Peeta and Katniss will be going back into the arena.
In the interviews this time, lamenting over the “wedding” that was supposed to happen—held by the capitol—for himself and Katniss, Peeta “lets slip” that Katniss is pregnant.
Once back in the arena, Finnick Odair and Mags, his co-tribute from four, convince Katniss and Peeta to join with them, by showing Katniss a sign that Haymitch wants her to. Eventually, Johanna Mason joins them, bringing along two tributes from three who figure out what is happening in the arena. One of them rigs a device to short out the force field around the arena under the guise of setting a trap for some of the other tributes. Right before the field is disrupted, Johanna digs the tracker in Katniss’ arm out, so that the game watchers cannot find her. Katniss disrupts the field and is rescued by Haymitch and the head Gamemaker, who is secretly aiding the rebels. She, Finnick and Betee (from three) are rescued, but Johanna, Peeta and one of the other tributes are captured by the capitol.
She wakes up to Gale sitting with her on a ship and he tells her that the capitol has destroyed District 12, there is nothing left.
Mockingjay
In the final installment in the series, Katniss is brought to District 13, which was never destroyed, but made a deal with the Capitol to stay underground and quiet in exchange for being left alone. It has grown into a military-run and modeled society, and they are ready to lead the fight against Snow.
Katniss is half-functional at best, pissed and fractured over the fact that Peeta is a prisoner, but she eventually agrees to become a symbol of the rebellion, “The Mockingjay,” in exchange for certain conditions, such as a full pardon for Peeta and the right to kill Snow.
A war of public relations is waged and eventually, Katniss becomes aware that until they get Peeta back, until she knows he is safe, she is not good for much of anything. A rescue is launched, and they recover Peeta, but he has been under an extreme form of brainwashing which causes him to hate Katniss.
District 13 continues in its plans for rebellion, and Katniss, along with Johanna, who has also been recovered, train in the hopes of going with the armies that will be sent. In the end, Katniss is allowed to go along, and she is sent in with, among others, Gale, Finnick and Peeta, who is clearly in no shape to be fighting. It is more than implied that the leader of 13 now considers her a threat and has sent Peeta as a way to get rid of her.
The team fights their way to the President’s mansion, losing most of the team along the way, and arrives almost at the point of surrender, to see an attack on refugee children, on the lawn on the mansion. First responders are sent in, medical teams from 13, Primrose with them, as a healer. The bombs which had exploded explode a second time and Katniss watches as Primrose is killed in front of her.
She loses consciousness and when she awakens, she is granted permission to speak to Snow, who is now captive. Snow plants the idea in her mind that it was not he who deployed those bombs, but 13. Katniss asks Gale, who was one of the people to work on that type of bomb, and he cannot tell her that it was not 13.
Katniss goes to the execution of Snow, set to be the one to kill him, as was part of her original deal in becoming The Mockingjay, but at the last moment she kills the leader of 13, poised to take over the nation. She is imprisoned and eventually declared temporarily insane, released and sent back to 12. She spends much of her time only half-surviving until Peeta returns, having mostly mentally recovers, and starts to help her get back on her feet.
In the epilogue, it is revealed that they eventually marry and start a family.
Fantastic Sites
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
themockingjay: fanart, fanfic, discussion, filking, etc. Plus, its info page has a number of other resources.
The Hunger Games Wiki: about a million times more informative than this overview
Pretty sweet fansite for both books and movies.
arsenicjade, and I’m going to be reccing The Hunger Games as a small fandom this month. This overview is largely book focused, as my recs will be, as well. The links at the bottom are lacking, so if you know of any good fannish resources, please comment to let me know and I will add! Very excited to be getting this fandom off the ground!Characters
Katniss is sixteen years old at the beginning of these books. She has been taking care of her mother and her younger sister since her father died in a mining accident years earlier. She is extremely proficient with a bow and arrow, good at bargaining and most survival-related skills. Primrose, her younger sister, is her main concern. Their mother went into a non-functional depression upon the death of their father, and Katniss has been the one to make sure Prim survives. Katniss is largely anti-social, unless with her closest friend Gale. She’s not one to engage in small talk, white lies, or other social niceties. She is, however, very good at doing what needs to get done, and extremely loyal to those who have earned her loyalty—not an easy thing to do.
Peeta is the youngest son of the baker in District 12. He develops a crush on Katniss at a young age, and later saves her life by bringing her burnt bread when she had nearly starved to death. He is also the other District 12 tribute chosen her year. He does everything he can to make sure Katniss makes it out of the arena. Peeta is far more socially adept than Katniss, personable and kind. He has a good sense of humor, is excellent at baking and art, the latter of which comes in useful as a survival skill in camouflaging himself.
Gale has been Katniss’ best friend since shortly after her father died. Although their relationship got off to a rocky start, they soon enough became close friends, and at some point, Gale fell in love with Katniss. They hunt together in the forest and help each other take care of their families. When Katniss is chosen for the Hunger Games, Gale promises to take care of her mother and sister. Gale is, personality-wise, very similar to Katniss: mostly a loner, fierce, stubborn. He also has high-minded ideals and can be a bit unrealistic in pursuing them.
Haymitch Abernathy: Haymitch Abernathy was the winner of the 50th Hunger Games and is the only District 12 victor still living, possibly, the only one ever. His family was killed by the capitol shortly after his Games as a punishment for winning in a way that showed the capitol up. Haymitch is an alcoholic who seems to have long given up on ever seeing a District 12 tribute win again by the time Peeta and Katniss are chosen.
Finnick Odair was one of the youngest Victors ever at the age of 14. From District 4, Finnick is incredibly good looking and almost immediately won over the capitol audience so as to have lots of support within the arena. District 4 is a fishing district, and Finnick is very good at all things water-related. He is seen as a playboy post-victory, sleeping with capitol women, but in fact he is being sold to them by President Snow, and is in love with another victor from 4, Annie Cresta, who went slightly insane during her games.
Johanna is a victor from District Seven, the district which is largely known for supplying lumber. Johanna won her games by acting innocent and fragile and subsequently killing many of the other kids that year with an axe. She has no family or close friends left, although it is unclear when she lost everyone. She has a fear of water brought on by extensive torture. Her personality is often brittle and even unkind, but she is a determined and loyal person.
Plot
Seventy-four years before the beginning of this book, the 13 Districts of the country of Panem rebelled against the capitol, which put down the rebellion, presumably destroying District 13 in the effort. Since then, the remaining 12 districts have had to send two tributes each—one boy and one girl—between the ages of 11 and 18, to the capitol every year to compete in a televised event called The Hunger Games. In this event, the children are pitted against each other in an arena of the capitol’s devising. The last one alive is considered the victor.
When Katniss’ younger sister, Primrose, is called as tribute, Katniss volunteers as tribute in her stead. Volunteers are not unheard of, but they largely come from the wealthier Districts, such as 1 and 2, and are kids who have unofficially trained for the Games their whole lives. District 12 lives on the edge of starvation, and Katniss’ choice is viewed by those in the District as particularly heroic. The boy tribute called is Peeta, and Katniss is dismayed, as she feels she owes him for giving her bread when she and her family were starving to death in the wake of her father dying.
Haymitch is their mentor, but until Peeta and Katniss get him to realize that they might have a chance he is, at best, useless. He goes with them to the capitol, where Katniss’ designer, Cinna, plays a huge role in making her attractive to the public so that she might receive sponsors—persons who pay for things such as medicine and food to be given to her in the arena. In the interview the tributes give before they go into the arena, Peeta admits to having always had a crush on Katniss. Katniss is upset, thinking that he’s just playing the crowd, but Haymitch points out that it makes her seem desirable, and Peeta has actually done her a favor.
Inside the arena, Peeta teams with the “careers,” those tributes who have trained for this. Katniss thinks she has betrayed him and ends up teaming with a tribute from District 11, Rue, who is the youngest of the tributes, but understands a lot about edible and medicinal plants. Together, she and Rue destroy the careers’ food supply, but Rue is killed while they are separated.
The announcer tells the contestants that the rules have changed and that this year, if two tributes from one district survive, they will be crowned winners together. Katniss goes off to find Peeta, who is dying from a wound inflicted on him while he was trying to save her life. Haymitch signals to her, through the timing of sending sponsor gifts, that acting up the romance gets more sponsors.
Katniss risks her life to get Peeta the medicine he needs to survive and the two of them outlast all the other contestants except Cato, a career from 2. They meet him at the center of the arena and eventually defeat him by working together, but the announcer tells them that the rules have changed and only one of them can be victor.
Peeta tells Katniss to kill him, but she knows she cannot and live with herself, so instead she hands him one half the poisonous berries she has been keeping on herself and tells Peeta that they have to have a victor. The two of them agree to take the berries at the same time, and the announcer tells them to stop, that they are both victors.
Afterward, Haymitch and Cinna tell Katniss that the capitol is upset with her and that if she wants to keep herself and her family safe she has to act as if she was crazy with love, couldn’t have imagined living without Peeta, rather than acting out against the capitol’s power. Katniss does her best.
On the train home, Peeta comes to realize that Katniss was just playing at returning his feelings and withdraws his friendship everywhere except in front of the cameras.
The second book begins with Peeta and Katniss having to go on a Victory Tour to each of the other districts. President Snow, leader of the capitol, has made it clear to Katniss that he knows she is not in love with Peeta, and that her actions have begun a rebellion. If she does not convince the districts that she is nothing more than a girl in love, and effectively undermine the rebellion, he will kill her family and those she cares for.
Peeta agrees to reinstate their friendship and the two of them work together on the tour, but it is not enough. Katniss goes back to District 12 and tries to convince those she cares for to try and make a run for it in the forest, but Gale refuses. District 12 is sent new “peacekeepers” or overseers from the capital, and Gale is caught selling game: hunting is illegal. He is whipped for his crime and Katniss realizes she cannot run.
Meanwhile it is almost time for tributes to be chosen again. The 75th Games are arriving, meaning that they are a Quarter Quell, or one of the Games that falls every 25 years. Each of these Games have something extra added to them. In this case, it is revealed that all the competitors will be past victors. Peeta and Katniss will be going back into the arena.
In the interviews this time, lamenting over the “wedding” that was supposed to happen—held by the capitol—for himself and Katniss, Peeta “lets slip” that Katniss is pregnant.
Once back in the arena, Finnick Odair and Mags, his co-tribute from four, convince Katniss and Peeta to join with them, by showing Katniss a sign that Haymitch wants her to. Eventually, Johanna Mason joins them, bringing along two tributes from three who figure out what is happening in the arena. One of them rigs a device to short out the force field around the arena under the guise of setting a trap for some of the other tributes. Right before the field is disrupted, Johanna digs the tracker in Katniss’ arm out, so that the game watchers cannot find her. Katniss disrupts the field and is rescued by Haymitch and the head Gamemaker, who is secretly aiding the rebels. She, Finnick and Betee (from three) are rescued, but Johanna, Peeta and one of the other tributes are captured by the capitol.
She wakes up to Gale sitting with her on a ship and he tells her that the capitol has destroyed District 12, there is nothing left.
In the final installment in the series, Katniss is brought to District 13, which was never destroyed, but made a deal with the Capitol to stay underground and quiet in exchange for being left alone. It has grown into a military-run and modeled society, and they are ready to lead the fight against Snow.
Katniss is half-functional at best, pissed and fractured over the fact that Peeta is a prisoner, but she eventually agrees to become a symbol of the rebellion, “The Mockingjay,” in exchange for certain conditions, such as a full pardon for Peeta and the right to kill Snow.
A war of public relations is waged and eventually, Katniss becomes aware that until they get Peeta back, until she knows he is safe, she is not good for much of anything. A rescue is launched, and they recover Peeta, but he has been under an extreme form of brainwashing which causes him to hate Katniss.
District 13 continues in its plans for rebellion, and Katniss, along with Johanna, who has also been recovered, train in the hopes of going with the armies that will be sent. In the end, Katniss is allowed to go along, and she is sent in with, among others, Gale, Finnick and Peeta, who is clearly in no shape to be fighting. It is more than implied that the leader of 13 now considers her a threat and has sent Peeta as a way to get rid of her.
The team fights their way to the President’s mansion, losing most of the team along the way, and arrives almost at the point of surrender, to see an attack on refugee children, on the lawn on the mansion. First responders are sent in, medical teams from 13, Primrose with them, as a healer. The bombs which had exploded explode a second time and Katniss watches as Primrose is killed in front of her.
She loses consciousness and when she awakens, she is granted permission to speak to Snow, who is now captive. Snow plants the idea in her mind that it was not he who deployed those bombs, but 13. Katniss asks Gale, who was one of the people to work on that type of bomb, and he cannot tell her that it was not 13.
Katniss goes to the execution of Snow, set to be the one to kill him, as was part of her original deal in becoming The Mockingjay, but at the last moment she kills the leader of 13, poised to take over the nation. She is imprisoned and eventually declared temporarily insane, released and sent back to 12. She spends much of her time only half-surviving until Peeta returns, having mostly mentally recovers, and starts to help her get back on her feet.
In the epilogue, it is revealed that they eventually marry and start a family.
Fantastic Sites
themockingjay: fanart, fanfic, discussion, filking, etc. Plus, its info page has a number of other resources.The Hunger Games Wiki: about a million times more informative than this overview
Pretty sweet fansite for both books and movies.
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general
Characters/pairing communitys
List of Slash/Femslash fanfiction in THG (http://youcantseeus.livejournal.com/3907.html)
Fanart
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Great overview of THG here!
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