But isn’t that true with a lot of fictional worlds. Wasn’t there a theme of racism in Avatar. People are oddly hypocritical and/or lack self-awareness. Or people can sympathize with the racism and ethnic cleansing that are happening half a world away but look at black citizens like we are animals and aliens who do not…

Yep. I think a lot of younger readers, particularly sheltered ones, are more interested in the romantic aspects of the novel—and by romantic, I mean both romantic and Romantic, in both senses of the word. Also, it’s easy for sheltered and privileged readers (especially younger ones) to romanticize the main characters…

Yeah, at least definitely as a person of color but it’s incredible how your own stereotypes and pre-existing views can influence how you interpret something and what you notice or not and a lot of people were just subconsciously ignoring the cues and then were tweeting that “making” rue black was ruining the movie.…

Wait, but isn’t Rue fairly explicitly described as black in the books? I know Thresh is, and it seemed to me that it was sort of an intentional nod to America’s history with racism/slavery that most of the characters from District 7 are described as darker-skinned.

YES! I was very confused about this after I read the book. I really liked the political angle, and I was just shocked that 1) people really didn’t discuss any of the political elements of the book, and 2) people liked it and took it in somehow without recognizing or acknowledging ALL OF THE MASSIVE SIMILARITIES to our…

As a perma gray citizen i am very pissy about #2

Not necessarily. I imagined her as white because her full blooded sister was described as fair, light eyed, and blonde. But I always knew Rue was black (because it's pretty dang explicit) and was actually surprised she wasn’t darker in the film. Idiots with no reading comprehension glommed onto the fact that Katniss…

I don’t know what’s sadder

Thanks for the info! Now I feel like a dick.

Amandla is a common South African name, it means Power in the Xhosa and Zulu language and was a protest call for blacks in the apartheid struggle. I used to think her name was silly too until I looked it up

Because people love the story of the underdog, but only when the underdog won because we like winning stories more. Martin Luther King, Jr won, so we imagine the strength of courage, the fortitude and the (highly unlikely) fantasy that we would stand with him in the face of all peril.

As cheesy at it is to compare real life to young adult novels I am 100% confused as to how Hunger Games can we one of the most popular media franchises in the country yet so many of those exact same fans don’t support the oppressed IRL in their own country.

What a compassionate and eloquent young woman. Can all of the upcoming generation just be her?

That quote, tho:

Baltimore is not even 1/10 the size of NYC. So put those 1200 protesters in context of of 620,000 residents.

Agreed. I’m sorry that a single mom lost her job, but I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving my kids in the care of someone who claimed to hate them. My real sympathy for Walls is for flood of internet hate she’s getting. She has already received her appropriate consequence: she was fired. There is exactly zero need to go…

The Hunger Games segment was so apt it was creepy.

Ehhhhh, I want to give the benefit of the doubt here, truly. When it comes down to it, I know I wouldn’t be comfortable knowing that one of my daughter’s day care workers hates being there. I’m not asking for it to be their pride and joy or life mission, but as a parent, it would concern me. Especially given how much…

Thanks, now I’m the dreadful bastard who realized I would prefer Diane to have committed suicide over her getting together with Don.

i think she’s supposed to be a manifestation of don’s internal wasteland. i also think she probably committed suicide.