Tuesday, August 30, 2011

BLOGGING THE HUNGER GAMES, pt. 9: Katniss On A Hot Tin Roof

Hey, so it's taken a while for this book to grab me, but I think it finally did. And I'm happy about that! I've been reading those blurbs on the back of the book from people like John Green (oh hey here's a picture of me with his autograph), calling it “perfectly paced,” and I was kinda like “what?” I didn't see what the big deal is. And now I sort of do!

This chapter concerns the pre-game interviews that take place two nights after the Gamemaker's scores are released. The Hunger Games have a long preseason, huh? When we last left our heroes, Peeta had elected to be coached separately for the duration of said preseason. Ouch, Peeta! I feel like there is a Smith's song about being hurt by the son of a baker, but I can't remember which one it is. “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”? Meaning a pilot light in an oven? That can't be right.

Chapter 9

Katniss goes through two paragraphs of rapidfire inner turmoil after hearing the news about Peeta. But in the end she concludes that it's probably a positive thing, as it will put most of her inner turmoil to rest. (Oh how wrong you are, kid.)

“Good,” I say. “So what's the schedule?”

Here we see how practiced Katniss's cold, unfeeling act is—this chapter picks up seconds after the other one ended, but in between Katniss cycles through several emotions and thoughts. It's a very nice effect produced mostly by a simple chapter break. So after breakfast Katniss goes off with Effie, who gives her a crash course in poise. Expect a montage in the movie: Katniss falling down in heels, Katniss trying to smile while she speaks and grimacing by accident, and so on and so on. Later that day Haymitch takes over interview prep, but rather than helping much he just gets frustrated and drinks (understandably). He's not sure what angle to take with Katniss (let her be on top, that's what I say).

“[Peeta] has a sort of self-deprecating humor naturally,” says Haymitch. “Whereas when you open your mouth, you come across as more sullen and hostile.”
“I do not!” I say.


Hahaha. Katniss, you tend to assume everyone has bizarre ulterior motives when they interact with you. “And what do you REALLY mean by that?” After a few failed hours with Haymitch, Katniss goes to her room and trashes it in a fit of rage. YES! ROCK AND ROLL! It's short lived, though. That redheaded Avox girl shows up for turndown service and Katniss helps her clean the mess. Then our narrator apologizes for not saving her when she (sort of but not really) had the chance. The Avox notes the obvious (I mean not out loud, but with like, gestures) fact that Katniss would just be an Avox too if she'd done anything, and Katniss realizes that's probably true but still feels like a bitch. They have a nice moment together (I'm not going to make a lesbian sex joke because NO TONGUE!) and, uh, I guess that plot line is resolved?

Next day Cinna takes over the My Fair Lady duties and succeeds where Haymitch failed by saying, basically “You're not a cunt, you're just a cunt around Haymitch.” The (mostly bogus) realization puts a spring in Katniss's step, and she and Cinna resolve that honesty is the best policy on the interview stage. Cinna will be up on the dais, and he tells her to look at him when she talks, to answer like she's talking to a friend. Also: picture everyone naked! Act like you are in a room full of your naked friends! Except Peeta, that might be weird.

Then Cinna rolls out her dress, which is a “covered in reflective precious gems” in a flame-like pattern.

The slightest movement gives me the impression I am engulfed in tongues of fire.


Maybe we should get Cinna a therapist, no? I mean, this is getting kind of ridiculous. I'm sort of surprised his interview strategy wasn't “what if you keep a bunch of lighter fluid in your mouth and then light a match?”

That night Katniss takes the stage with the other tributes in front of a screaming crowd. The interviews are conducted by a Dick Clark-like figure named Caesar Flickman whose appearance has also remained unchanged in forty years of broadcasting. We again get a vague sense that body modification is pretty extreme in the future, but Katniss could as easily be describing current, Montag-ian levels. And the outfits/hair colors would seem ridiculous (Flickman's got blue hair and lips) if we weren't living in the era of Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry. The future is now! I went to a restaurant last night where they took orders on iPads!

Every one of these tributes is underage, right? Because Katniss describes the girl tribute from District 1's “see-through gold gown” and I was like hey! But then I was like HEYYYYYYY...and suddenly I'm seeing all of Katniss's talk about half-naked tributes in a creepy child-beauty pageant kind of way and not just the normal sexy objectification way. We hear briefly of the other interviews: one boy is a “ruthless killing machine,” one girl is “cunning.” Rue gets interviewed and explains that her advantage is that she's difficult to catch. I'd make a relatively innocent playing hard to get joke but again KIDS EWWWW. Then it's Katniss's turn.

And guess what? She's perfectly charming! She says her favorite part of the Capitol is the lamb stew. She makes a joke about how scary Cinna's fire dress was. Then she shows off her new dress, twirling around for the audience and giggling. GIGGLING!? Even (or maybe especially) Katniss can't believe it. At the end Flickman gets solemn and asks about Prim and the moment Katniss volunteered, but she doesn't say much beyond that she promised Prim she'd win. Then it's Peeta's turn. Oh god, it's Peeta's turn.

"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" says Caesar.
Peeta sighs. "Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping. "

Uh-oh. Get out of there Katniss!

"Winning...won't help in my case," says Peeta"
"Why ever not?" says Caesar, mystified.
Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. "Because...because...she came here with me."

Well, okay, so that happened.

Stray Notes & Observations
  • So this marks the end of Book I: The Tributes. Next time we start Book II: The Hunger Games. What is the advantage of breaking a book up into books? It seems to vary from work to work. In Breaking Dawn it's there to mark three separate arcs (well, two arcs and then a final morass) but also to indicate shifts in narration. We're sticking with Katniss for Book 2. The Hunger Games are about to begin, but a more understandable breaking point would therefore have been like, the moment Katniss gets dropped into the arena. So why now? I suppose we will see.
  • I didn't watch the MTV Music Video Awards, but I did check out the Hunger Games teaser trailer that premiered there. Pretty cool, I thought! And that's all I thought. It was pretty short.
  • Y'all are probably back to school, huh? How's that going?

8 comments:

Ally said...

I am loving these dramatic cliffhanger chapter breaks. They remind me of when I was 13 and I still liked reading because I got to pick what I read.
And yeah, I'm back in school, and I check this blog for updates in study hall every day while I'm procrastinating. So more posts please!

Xocolatl. said...

That would be perfect if you finish before or right when the movie premiers!!! :)

Daiya Darko said...

I think we should give Katniss a break for her inability to really trust people and the way she shuts off people from seeing her happy or having positive emotions. She IS essentially living in North Korea, except the popo are slacking off in her District.

Also, in my mind, I had the image of the announcer from Little Miss Sunshine as Caesar. Again with the classically Roman names! But the body modification is somewhat interesting to me: instead of just tattoos and "how far can I stretch a hole in my body?" we get skin pigmentation and swirling designs. And it's considered mainstream, whereas you can hardly get a job these days if you have so much as a visible tattoo.

Also, breaking it up into books, while might not seem necessary now (and maybe it might not be at all), is somewhat a good way to indicate that the reader needs to mentally switch gears. Catching Fire does the same thing, by the way.

And Cinna is being played by Lenny Kravitz. That threw me off, because I imagined someone more Jeff Lewis/Michael C. Hall to play Cinna, but it's whatever. That's a step forward, in a time full of whitewashing.

stinethebean said...

I read these books almost a year ago now, so it's cool to read your detailed description of each chapter. It's like I'm re-reading it, but from a different perspective.
The teaser trailer was VERY short, but I like it. When the arrow hits the pendant? Gives me chills.
I love Cinna. He stands out from the weirdness of the Capitol and is just so calm and soothing. Therefore, Lenny Kravitz playing him? Don't know how I feel about that. He was alright until he straightened his hair. That was awkward.
And yes, school is back in session. Started last Wednesday for me. Senior year in college. Oh man.

Kim said...

I'm also a fan of the way she ends chapters. She gets better at it as the series goes on, too. I read Mockingjay in one sitting.

Yeah, her paranoia can get kind of annoying, but on the other hand, what reason has she ever had to trust anyone or anything? Her dad died and left her. Her mother freaked out and left her. She's living in an oppressive society where she has to constantly break the rules to survive. This same society is throwing her in a ring with a bunch of other kids to watch them die for entertainment. The only person she can rely on is Gale and he's not with her anymore. I'd probably be a little paranoid, too.

I think it's a decent breaking point for the next "book." The games are much more than the actual fighting. There's all the strategy and politics involved, too. Peeta's statement sets everything off. From the moment their on television, they're playing.

ZL said...

Xocolatl--I know, wouldn't it be great to time something correctly for once?

Daiya--I'm down with Lenny Kravitz for Cinna. He's soft spoken in a way that seems very deliberate. I hadn't pictured him that way, but now I do!

Oh and this guy having the name Caesar kind of blows a hole in my theory about Cinna's significance. The OTHER Cinna in Julius Caesar is a poet who gets killed by a mob when they mistake him for Cinna the conspirator. Political violence kills art.

Stine--I liked when the tree fell without any kind of overwraught musical cue. It was like, "yeah, shit like this happens a lot!" Saddle the fuck up!

Kim--you're right about when they start playing. That is becoming clearer to me as I read the next chapter.

Kim said...

Ugh, I just realized I typed the wrong "they're" and now it's going to bug me.

I guess people were unhappy about the teaser, but I sort of loved it. It's just a little thing, but it makes me happier about them casting her as Katniss. I'm still not sure about the guys. We shall see with the other trailers.

Stephanie D'Ann said...

I just have to say this because Jory said it on twitter and well you're holding John Green's autograph. That's DFTBisky!