A Comparison Between Film and Novel

The movie and the book of The Hunger Games had both similarities and differences, but overall thought the movie stayed true to the major themes of the book. The beginning explained why the games were occurring, mostly for those viewers who have never read the books, it may have not been from Katniss's point of view like the book, but it thoroughly explained the events that took place before the Hunger Games began. Even though there are differences, the general flow of events is the same throughout the movie. There will of course be differences in the movie because things need to be edited or changed to fit the time limits of the movie as well as what is humanly and technologically possible to create into a movie, yet make it appealing to the eye.
 

One of the major differences that I noticed between the book and the movie was Seneca’s death. In a way it bothered me, because the first time I watched I did not understand what was exactly happening in the scene where he enters the room alone and looks into the bowl of berries. It took me a few times to understand that he had to commit suicide because of the loss of control of the outcome of the games and not foreseeing the possibility that nightlock could be used for suicide. Since nightlock was the choice of death Katniss and Peeta attempted to use to take advantage of the games, Seneca is locked into an empty room with a bowl of nightlock, he has no other choice but to commit suicide. The book is very different, no mention of Seneca’s death is addressed until the second book, Catching Fire, which isn’t described at all in the way the movie portrays it. This was a more creative approach that the film makers created, which is most likely why the creators chose to show Seneca’s death is such a way. I actually like the movie’s version more than the book’s version; it allows us to draw our own conclusions of what happens to Seneca and makes the audience imagine what happens to him instead of just saying he died. Although this was not mentioned in the book and only briefly shown in the movie, I feel like it is an eye opening scene. It shows us even those with high power are still defeated.
 

 

A similarity between the book and movie is the depiction of the Capitol; everything from the food, to the people, to the design and architecture. The film creators made the movie very similar to way I imagined it based on the descriptions in the book. The novel clearly paints a picture of Panem, “All the colors seem artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, the yellows painful to the eyes, like the flat round disks of hard candy we can never afford to buy…” (Collins 59) The film has very bright colors and extreme amounts of makeup on each of the Capitol citizens, it looks like Halloween. Perhaps the creators chose to do this because it would give the audience a strong image of how materialistic the Capitol citizens are. Even though it is not my personal taste, and it is almost blinding how eccentric some of them are dressed I did like the approach the creators took to show what the Capitol was like. It gives a true image that the citizens clearly only worry about one thing: appearance. 

 
Both the novel and the movie show feminism through stereotypes, equality, power and culture. The characters, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, all have strong personalities and qualities that are either very feminine or very masculine. The way the book describes them gives the reader a clear picture of Katniss being protective, strong and independent which tend to be our cultures more masculine qualities, she is often shown hunting or protecting others. Peeta is more reserved and takes the less aggressive approach to survival. The film shows this when he paints himself to look like a rock after being attacked, rather than fight Cato back or seek revenge. Gale is the stereotypical male, like Katniss, he hunts and takes care of his family; he is definitely a provider. Other roles in the film are fairly neutral,men and women are the sponsors, the mentors and the game makers.