Wednesday 2 December 2015

Film Review (Adaptation) - The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012)


Fig 1. The Hunger Games Poster.

The Hunger Games was originally a trilogy of books written by the author Suzanne Collins. The film 'The Hunger Games' was released in 2012 and is an adaptation of the first book in the trilogy. When it was first released it was incredibly successful and set a record for the opening day of a non-sequel. When comparing the film to the book, it appears as though very little has been lost and no key pieces of dialogue have been left out. Overall the film seems to have been made very closely to the narrative in the book. This makes sense as the author of the books, Suzanne Collins was part of the team that wrote the screenplay for the film.

As the film appears very close to the original book, there are no notable or significant changes. Nothing specific has been added either. In terms of bringing the book to a more visual medium and the risks of such a move, the film appears to have captured the mood and look that the book portrays. As a result nothing has been lost in giving the world a specific look.

What is perhaps the most important part of the book are the themes and messages it sends to the reader. It speaks prominently about the problems and exploitation in reality television. The book also has a strong female protagonist which is a rarity in significant works of fiction. The film doesn't lose any of these traits, there are key pieces of dialogue in the books that speak to the audience about reality television. Those are still prominent in the film. The film also keeps a strong female protagonist.

Overall, this film is a rather successful adaptation of the book and there are no notable issues with its representation of the key aspects that are important in the book.

Illustration List

Ross, G (2012) Figure 1. The Hunger Games Poster. http://www.hungergamesdwtc.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/The-Hunger-Games-Poster.jpg (Accessed on 01/12/15)

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