The Comparison Between Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Its Movie Adaptation

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"The Hunger Games" is a science fiction novel written by the American author Suzanne Collins that was published in 2008. A film adaptation directed by Gary Ross was released in 2012. Although some movie adaptations differ greatly from the original stories presented in the books, this adaptation follows the plot development in an unusually detailed manner. However, certain changes were made that influence our perception of the movie.
"The Hunger Games" exhibits a variety of sci-fi features that confirm her placement in this genre. The plot is set in the dystopian, post-apocalyptic society of Panem that "rose up out of the ashes of the place that was once called North America" (Collins). One can only speculate about the year because no exact reference is given apart from the fact that the seventy-fourth Hunger Games are about to begin. Another science fiction theme is the advancement of technology, which enables genetic engineering and mutation. There are many examples of such modifications "spawned in a lab" (Collins) which are usually used as weapons, like the tracker jacker or the mockingjay. The mutants are by far the deadliest and show just how far the Gamemakers are willing to go in order to turn the savage concept of the games into an entertaining show for the Capitol: “The audience in the Capitol will be getting bore, claiming that these Games are verging on dullness. This is the one thing the Games must not do” (Collins). Furthermore, a high level of science is necessary for the creation of a virtual reality, which the arena really is. This is explicitly demonstrated in the movie when a Gamemaker creates a hologram of a mutant dog and places it in the arena, where it instantly materialises.
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Overall, the differences between the book and the movie adaptation are few but if one has read the book prior to watching the movie, certain things, like the simplification of the mutant accident, stand out. In my opinion, the book is better because, due to the first-person narrator, Katniss, her state of mind, and the way she deals with many different hardships that are part of her dystopian world are the focus of attention. The story vividly shows that if human beings are endangered by anything, no matter which historical period they live in, they will turn to obstinacy and courage to defend themselves and their loved ones and to fight for their beliefs. It certainly all comes down to the survival of the fittest.

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. PDF file. Web. 19. May 2014. http://www.extralargeprint.org/Hunger-Games-18.pdf

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