ISU- The Hunger Games transition from book to film

          

          

          Have you ever left the theatre after watching a movie that was transitioned from your favourite book? Maybe you thought it was the worst movie ever, that the book was a million times better. Maybe you thought that the movie was better than the book, making it your favourite movie. Or maybe you thought that the book had better sections, but so did the movie. I’m here to talk about the book to movie transformation of The Hunger Games and why it is so popular.

          I read The Hunger Games books before the first movie came out in 2012 with my Grade 8 class, and I really liked them, the way you knew exactly what Katniss felt while she was in the games, almost like you were in the games yourself. Books that included their reader were always favorites of mine. When I went to see the first movie with my class later that year, I was really excited, and the movie didn’t disappoint. Some parts of the movie were a bit off, and parts out of the book were missing completely, but I understand why it had to be that way, because the book was written in first person by Katniss, and a movie wouldn’t be able to show her thoughts easily. Taking this into consideration, and the way the directors of the movie worked their way around this and added certain scenes, the movie was very well done, and it provided the same atmosphere as the book did.  

I think the most important changes between The Hunger Games book and the movie are as follows:

1         1.  In the book, after all of the tributes have been chosen for the 74^th Hunger Games, Peeta’s mother mentions that District 12 might actually have a winner, and the audience thinks she is talking about her son, but she quickly clarifies, referring to Katniss, saying that “She is a survivor.” This scene doesn’t exist in the movie.

-The level of this change is minimal, but personally I would have liked this scene in the movie because it would have established that fact that Peeta’s mother doesn’t have a lot of faith that Peeta will win the games, so it’s yet another reason he would prefer for Katniss to survive rather than him, because she actually has a family that believes in her.

-I think the director of the film chose to cut this scene out of the movie because they wanted the audience to figure out for themselves later on in the film why Peeta wanted Katniss to live rather than him.

2        2. In the book, Cinna states that Katniss’s Mockingjay pin “barely cleared the review board,” but in the movie, Cinna smuggles in the pin so Katniss can wear it into the arena.

-The level of this change is fairly big compared to the book, and I know that some people like the book version of this scene better, but personally I like the fact that Cinna smuggled it in because it shows that Katniss is not just another tribute that he has to designs costumes for, that he genuinely cares for her and appreciates how she volunteered for her sister at the Reaping. I think this was also a personal  ‘friend to friend’ moment between them, because Katniss earlier witnessed how the Capital handles things, so she knew that Cinna took a big risk for himself to smuggle it in for her.

-I think that the directors decided to change this scene because they changed previous scenes about where Katniss had originally gotten the Mockingjay pin (from the Mayor’s daughter), and what it symbolized (a sort of rebellion against the Capitol). So since they removed that scene from the film, there would not be any reason why the review board would decide not to let Katniss have the pin in the games, other than the reason than she might have an unfair advantage over the other tributes, while in the book, Cinna would be forced to smuggle the pin in because the Capitol would not allow it as it was seen as a rebellion symbol.

3        3. In the book, when Katniss befriends Rue and they work together to blow up the Careers’ mountain of supplies, Rue gets caught in a net and is speared and dies while still in the net. After Katniss grieves over Rue’s death and it becomes clear that she was a real friend to Rue, she receives a gift of bread from District 11 to thank her for befriending and being kind to Rue. But in the movie, Rue’s death is more dramatic as she escapes from the net but is later killed. Katniss receives no gift from District 11 in the movie.

-I like how in the movie, Rue escapes from the net before she is killed, as it almost gives the audience a false hope that Rue might live. It also sets up how Katniss mourns over Rue’s death, which I found to be a very emotional scene because of how well it was edited.

          When The Hunger Games movie first came out, I saw lots of people wearing the mocking jay pin, and I swear there was an increase of girls braiding their hair just like Katniss’. The movie was a huge hit, selling $152.5 million movie tickets on opening weekend, only to be followed with Catching Fire’s $158.1 million, making it the 4^th largest box opening weekend ever! Just like most popular movie series, including Twilight, Harry Potter and Divergent (even thought Allegiant hasn’t come out yet), Mockingjay was split into 2 parts, which would bring in more money as you would be paying to see 4 movies instead of 3, which is very smart for the businesses, especially since Mockingjay part 1 cut off with a huge cliffhanger. I've read all the books as I've mentioned earlier, but I'll be sure to see the Mockingjay part 2 when it comes out!

Kaylee's 3 Mini Reviews

THE SHINING Mini Review

To view the summary of the shining, click here.

         I think this movie was very well done. When it first started with Jack being interviewed for the job as caretaker and when he is warned about what had happened previously, I think it grounded the movie for being considered a horror film. I think the music in this movie is very overdramatic, which adds to the film’s atmosphere, but sometimes it was too dramatic. For example, when Wendy and Danny were walking through the maze, the music was rising and the audience was getting ready for something to happen, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred, so I think it was almost a waste to use the music like that.

          There are also many unanswered questions in the movie, like what really happened in room 237, and the picture at the very end of the film. I find these unanswered questions very annoying and makes me more curious as to what the answers may be, but I also understand why they are there, because it also adds to the movie’s creepiness. 

           I’m not a big fan of horror/ thriller films, but I really enjoyed this movie because there wasn't a lot of blood and guts, but the suspense and creepiness was still there throughout the whole movie. Overall, I rate this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

PSYCHO Mini Review

         
To view the summary of Psycho, click here.
          I’m going to be honest here, when the movie first started and I saw that it was done in black and white, I thought it was going to be a really boring movie. I think the fact that I grew up in an age where movies were made in colour contributed to why I thought that black and white movies were always boring, which I now know is very untrue. But during the first few scenes when Marion was getting ready for and while she was at work, I was a little bored and I felt like some of the scenes could have been shortened to move things along. In the spur of the moment when Marion decided to keep the money and run away, I thought the scenes, especially with the camera angles and dramatic music, did an amazing job in making the audience feel as if they were the ones who took the money, and it really made me wonder if she was actually going to get away with it or not because of all the people she kept running into.

       

          
          When Marion arrived at Bates Motel, I knew right away that something bad was going to happen because of how stereotypically creepy the place looked and how weird Norman was acting. After Marion was murdered, I had a quick thought that Norman and the old woman was the same person, but as the movie progressed, I told myself that it didn’t make any sense because of how Norman was acting. At the end of the movie when Norman busted into the room dressed as the old woman, I instantly though “I KNEW IT!!”

          This movie did a great job at making the audience think one way when it was really another, and I really liked some of the camera angles and transitions. I think that since this film was black and white, it made the movie seem creepier than it would have been if it was done in colour. Overall, I would rate this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.



THE TRUMAN SHOW Mini Review

 To view a summary of The Truman Show, click here.

          I really enjoyed this movie because of the unique story line of how Truman Burbank, an insurance salesman who lives in a “prefect” world on the island of Seahaven, happens to be the star of a very popular TV show, but he doesn’t even know it. I think the huge plot twist is amazingly well done when Truman realizes that his whole world was made up and his decisions were being manipulated by the God-like director of the show, Christof, in order for Truman to essentially live the “perfect” life. It was very interesting to see how Truman slowly finds out that his life was fake, like at the very beginning of the movie when a stage light falls from the sky, seemingly out of nowhere, or when he accidentally tunes into a radio station that is broadcasting his every move. I found it really cool to see how Christof decides to explain to Truman through a radio station the explanation of the fallen stage light, reporting that a passing plane shed some parts. 

          I liked the whole “star-crossed lovers” kind of feel between Truman and a girl he met in college, Lauren, but whose real name is Sylvia. When she is fired for having a forbidden interaction with Truman, it seems that she is the only one who has a problem with the fact that Truman is being lied to. 


          

          It was really creative how Truman decided to leave Seahaven via boat, and I was kind of amazed at how no one noticed him leave. I found it very weird how Christof was okay with risking Truman’s life just so Truman would go back and forget the whole thing ever happened. My favourite part of the whole movie was when Truman’s boat crashes into the end of the dome and when Christof has this whole speech planned out about how Truman should stay and continue to live in Seahaven away from the depressing pains of the real world, and how Truman dismisses this offer with the traditional greeting he has heard every day for many years of his life: “In case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight.” I thought it was the perfect way to end this movie. Overall, I rate this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars

         

Metafiction Song

Pop 101- Marianas Trench

 

Metafiction- occurs in fictional stories when the story examines the elements of fiction itself. In this case, the song Pop 101 illustrates exactly how a pop song is constructed.

 

         
         Marianas Trench's Josh Ramsey wrote this song wanting to list and explain many conventions that can be found in almost EVERY pop song there is modern pop culture. During an interview, he mentioned, “A little while back, I did an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit. I ended up getting a lot of hilarious flak about ‘Call Me Maybe,’ which inspired me to write a list of instructions on how to create a huge pop song. I basically went on to write lyrics that explain step by step exactly what’s happening in the music at that moment. It’s meant to illustrate how big artists do their thing, like a magician revealing his secrets to an audience. It definitely pokes a lot of fun but it’s also meant as a tip of the hat to those artists. Above all, it’s very me – clever, silly and sassy to the core.”

 

          And true to his word, all of this song's lyrics are exactly what you would find in almost any pop song. To view the lyrics to this song, click here. For example:
          “The bridge is The part where You bring in A rapper friend You simplify, and slow the beat Abbreviate "feature to feat." ”- This so called 'instruction' is exactly like what you would find in most songs these days, where a song group would bring in a rapper to rap where the bridge part of a song is and feature his/her name in the song.

         To view a website that breaks down Pop 101's lyrics further, click here.

          Writing lyrics like this add to the overall song piece because we as the audience have learned to like how this layout is used for most pop songs, and to write a step-by-step song explaining exactly how this method is used is amazing, and gives us a chance to make fun of the pop music industry. When I first listened to this song, I found it really interesting because Josh Ramsey really excelled in basically making a how-to song that was both funny and entertaining.

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:)

        



The Reality of Reality TV

CHOICE #4: Persuasive Argument

          Statement: Reality TV is a positive force in our modern day popular culture, and it reflects the best values and ideas in our society.

         I DISAGREE with this statement. I do not believe that reality TV is a positive force in the pop culture of today. Reality TV is only there for our enjoyment and for people to laugh and relate to. Think about what we laugh at on TV. Its usually because someone makes a fool of themselves right and we think it's funny right? Right. The following are examples of how reality TV is a negative force in modern pop culture.

Jersey Shore

          This is the show summary according to tv.com: "MTV takes you to the Jersey Shore to meet eight young adults living in a summer share in some of the most popular vacation spots. Angelina, Jenni "JWOWW," Mike "The Situation," Nicole "Snookie," DJ Pauly D, Ronnie, Sammi "Sweetheart," and Vinny live together for a summer in Seaside Heights and we watch them go through work, love, friendship, drama and hookups."
          I think that this TV show is a very negative force in our modern day pop culture because it focuses on everything that these young adults do wrong: getting drunk every night, going to clubs all the time, and having sex with way too many people. This show highlights all the negative drama that never seems to leave these people alone, from getting in car accidents to intense fighting within their house. 
          I don't believe that these people are the right role models for the young adults for today, as they make the impression that all young adults do all day is fool around and party, when the reality is they should be finishing up school or working at a job.

          That being said, I don't think that the cast of Jersey Shore are a positive force in our modern day pop culture,  because they seem to only do the negative things, and that reflects back on our society in a negative way.

          So really, do we want our next generation of young adults to sit around all day like this:

       

Or this:

This is a video about the best and worst moments on Jersey Shore.

Toddlers and Tiaras

           This is the summary of Toddlers and Tiaras according to TLC: "On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. Toddlers and Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles, and lots of cash.

           The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns and suits, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it's all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful." 

          I used to love this show as a kid because I liked to see the transformation of what the kid usually looks like compared to when they are attending a pageant. I really think this show is a negative force in the pop culture of today because of what most of those kids have to go through in order to be considered "beautiful." From years of watching this show, I know that the parents will do almost anything to make their children win a pageant, such as spray tanning them or caking their faces with makeup. It's very obvious that most of the kids don't even want to do pageants, so as a result parents basically spoil their kids and give them whatever they want. As parents continue to do this throughout their kid's pageants, the kids will grow up expecting whatever they ask for, and the young children that watch this show may or may not expect the same thing, yet another reason why this show is a negative force in today's pop culture. 

          As I said before, some of these pageant kids don't even WANT to do pageants, and the things these beauty-obsessed parents make their children go through could be considered child abuse. Below is a video illustrating what I'm talking about.
Do you consider this child abuse? Click here to view an article by foxnews.com regarding this topic.
          A lifestyle like this can often lead kids to think they're better than everyone else and they can become self obsessed and ignorant. In almost every episode of this show, there is at least one child that is an absolute jerk and acts like they're Queen of the Universe and all they care about is winning, as illustrated below:

           Here are some of the before and after pictures of the pageant contestants:

          While some kids love all the attention that the pageants give them, others just want to live normal lives. While looking for information on this topic, I found something that really disturbed me. Some of these pageant parents are actually telling their kids that they are too fat or that they shouldn't eat a calorie-filled food. We wonder why this world is full of people that are always concerned about their weight or what they wear, and I'm sure that at least lots of these kids will grow up to think the same things because of what they are being told at a young age. If parents telling their kids such things on TV isn't a negative force in pop culture, then I don't know what is.

This is a really good diagram I found that illustrates how fake these little kids are made to look. Excessive makeup, hair extensions and skimpy outfits are not what beauty looks like, ESPECIALLY ON A 5 YEAR OLD! This show is supposed to show how "beautiful" kids can get, and I bet it does feel good when you win, but what about the rest of the 100 kids that didn't win? They probably feel as if they aren't good enough or pretty enough and if these kids almost never win and eventually grow out of pageants, they might always feel like that and have low self-esteem. This is not what should be happening! All kids are beautiful and we shouldn't have to put on beauty pageants to prove it, especially when children are almost unrecognizable onstage. The only thing being critiqued on those pageant stages is what the makeup artists do, not the kids.
          To view an article by CNN titled 'Toddlers and Tiaras' and sexualizing 3-year-olds,' click here.
          In conclusion, I think that Toddlers and Tiaras is a negative force in todays pop  culture because of what some of those kids are put through in order to be considered "beautiful." All children are beautiful, and we shouldn't be critiquing their beauty at such a young age, because it's not what's outside, but what inside that really counts.

Honey Boo Boo

          The show's summary according to tv.com: "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" follows Alana Thompson, the outspoken 6-year-old beauty queen from TLC's Toddlers & Tiaras. Viewers can take an inside look at the family home in rural Georgia, where the Thompson clan indulges in their favorite pastimes, such as free-wheeling through mud pits and picking up road kill for grilling."

          I don't think that Honey Boo Boo is a positive force in modern pop culture because it not only follows a family that has an unhealthy lifestyle and emphasizes most of the redneck stereotypes out there, but it features a family that basically has no manners and where the kids can get away with anything.

          For example, one redneck stereotype is that rednecks take a meal wherever they can get it to save money. Honey Boo Boo and her family have really proved this stereotype to be true with their road kill meals. I honestly don't find anything wrong with this. I may not agree with it, but that's their decision and not mine. I just find it hard to believe that TLC actually agrees to put this in an episode. Information like this can reflect badly on the town that they're from, and can cause a lot of controversy as to how June is raining her family.

          I don't think that the Thompson family has a healthy lifestyle either.  I don't watch a lot of Honey Boo Boo, but when I do, at some point during the episode they either go to buy doughnuts in bulk or they are hitting up a fast food place. This is a negative force in pop culture because for the younger kids that might be watching as they may think that it's okay to do that because hey, a big TV star is doing it. But in reality, it is extremely unhealthy to do that as much the Thompson family does it. And for most of the episodes, the family is usually just sitting on the couch talking about their weight or "cup farts." when  people, especially young kids, watch episodes like these all the time, they might begin to think that this type of lifestyle is normal, when instead it is just plain lazy.

          Honey Boo Boo also disobeys her mother constantly, especially during interviews. It's understandable for someone that young to act the way Honey Boo Boo does because she's the center of attention, but this is a little too far. The scary thing is, it seems her mother has just accepted this, as she doesn't seem to be doing anything to try to fix her daughters behavior. This is definitely a negative force in pop culture because kids around Honey Boo Boo's age may see this behavior and think they are allowed to do it to, which may cause problems for parents.

 

This is a video demonstrating how Honey Boo Boo does not listen to her mother.
          As a side note, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" has recently been cancelled because June Thompson is dating a child molester that has been released from jail a short time ago. To view an article on this subject, click here.

 

In conclusion, I think Honey Boo Boo is a negative force in the pop culture of today because of how the many wrongdoings on the show can influence younger kids and even young adults to take on this kind of lifestyle, which may not always be the best as it contains a lot of disobedience and unhealthy choices.

Wrap It  Up

          I disagree with the statement that "Reality TV is a positive force in our modern day popular culture, and it reflects the best values and ideas in our society" because the majority of reality TV is not positive, but rather negative in the way that it shows life at its worst. Programs such as Jersey Shore, Toddler's and Tiaras and Honey Boo Boo all demonstrate how low in life people can get, and it also shows us how easily we are amused by such things. The attitude and actions that can be found on these shows are not what anyone would expect or want in their daily lives. They are not there for anyone to role model after, they are just there for the laughs.