The Hunger Games is one of the most popular YA book series of 2011 and 2012.The film version was lauded for its multiracial cast and strong female lead; however, backlash at three major characters cast as black actors rocked the fan base after the release of the movie and its previews. Suzanne Collins' original description of Rue, a young girl entered in a fight to the death, reads,
"She has bright, dark, eyes and satiny brown skin
and stands tilted up on her toes with her arms slightly extended to
her sides, as if ready to take wing at the slightest sound. It's
impossible not to think of a bird." This bubbling rage of fans -- often from young teenagers -- reeks of overt prejudice and racism.
These tweets send a message: that a character with such sweet and lovable qualities such as Rue can't possibly be black. Another Twitter commenter expressed, "Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the innocent blonde girl you pictured." Black means bad, or evil, and certainly not naive and innocent. Those traits for reserved for little white girls, and specifically, little white blonde girls. While
The Hunger Games seemingly takes place in a post-racial world where wealthy citizens dye their skin tones of green and orange, these slurs against black actors in the film (particularly against a child) indicate that racism is not gone from today's world, but has only gone into hiding.
- Dana Ammann
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