The Hunger Games Strikes a Chord with Chinese Audiences
… The film, which combines themes from the Minotaur myth, gladiatorial combat and the devastation of war-torn Iraq, evoked strong responses from Chinese social media-goers, some of whom saw it as a valid depiction of the current Chinese political situation…
Opening a week after the sensitive date of “June 4,” the film includes the line “I wish I could show that they don’t own me.” This led one online commentator going by the moniker “spider,” to remark, “How did that pass the government’s censors?”
Several others praised the film and sympathized with the plight of the teens: “It has been a long time since I last cried at a movie. When Katniss shows the hand sign of farewell to the people of District 12, I took it as the poor people’s cry for injustice and unfair treatment. It was shocking to see.” A more somber tone was taken by “colin:” “Too bad that the teens did not die, sparking a revolt against the dictatorship. Perhaps that’s also a regret existing in reality.”
According to “light blue jade:” “Having to struggle against a bloody and treacherous web of intrigue is similar to our own country, so I feel that this was no mere teen flick.” The film makes clear the contrast between the well-off residents of the “Capitol” and the subsistence standard in the “Districts.” “Icy leaves,” in Guangdong, remarking on this, wrote: “Go see it and afterwards you’ll know that everything is controlled by politics, just like society today where those with the bucks get the respect!”
Conservative media in America viewed the film as indicating the horrors of big government that can oppress people to the point that they cannot produce and be productive. This sentiment was echoed by “A Fan of Garfield” in Guangdong: “A searing critique of today’s cruel reality.”
You can read the entire article here. If you have recently seen The Hunger Games in China we’d love to hear your views in the comments. Thanks to Hunger Games Fandom
I actually find this quite interesting. From what I’ve encountered so far from more Westernized media outlets in my country, no writer has given much mention to any of the plot’s themes or symbolism. It’s a little bit disappointing, since (for me personally, at least) its somewhat controversial subtext is a large part of the reason why the Hunger Games trilogy is thus far my favorite YA book series. Mostly, magazines and news broadcasts have merely been insinuating that ‘The Hunger Games’ is the next interchangeable Young Adult franchise for the sake of its violent sequences alone.
That said, it’ll be interesting to see what China’s total grossing is by the end of the film’s cinematic run. I don’t have much insight into China’s political situation, but from what I can assume from this article, ‘The Hunger Game’s mass democide theme might come across as taboo for a lot of Chinese viewers; especially since China does in fact have the death penalty and their government executes at least hundreds of people annually.
So I’m a little surprised, but pleased, about the generally positive remarks given here. Although I do realize that this is just a mere sampling of viewer responses, so I’m actually looking forward to hearing any further news about the film’s reception over there, and what ‘The Hunger Game’s final international grossing comes to at the conclusion of its cinema screenings. It’ll be great if Lionsgate decides to up the budget for ‘Catching Fire’ in response, especially since ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ (being a sequel) should generate more attention and ticket sales because of all the publicity the first film received (and by judging by the amount of interest its already generated while still in pre-production). I can’t wait for the first wave of official casting announcements to roll in!
of course the movie did well. Why wouldn’t it? I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE CATCHING FIRE AND GET THE DVD. When will china get the DVD if they are just getting it in theaters now?
I lived in China for two years and actually read this book while I was there. I remember thinking that there were so many parallels between what was going on in the books and what was going on in that country. While I was there the government took away access to Facebook, Twitter, all photo sharing sites, all blog sites, news sites….. even Google for a while…. it was truly oppressive. I was outraged, but nobody else seemed to care, or seemed to think that the loss of freedoms was worth caring about. I was really happy to see this article and I hope the story and its themes continue to catch fire in China……
lol @zhu hong bao “I hope the story and its themes continue to CATCH FIRE in china… LOL I get it (BTW this is not meant to be a rude or mean comment that I’m laughing about what went on in China. The LOL is meant to be about catching fire.)
Sounds like the Chinese understand better than American audiences do that it’s the government of Panem, not capitalism or the wealthy, that is the oppressor. That makes me wonder how long the movie will be allowed to stay in theaters. Then again, I’m surprised any of it got past their censors.
I hope the movie will not be banned in the middle of its run, seeing how the public’s reception is and the spark it might ignite
Im so glad some people in the world are finally waking the f**K up.
This movie series is going to be monumental and make a humongous impact in this world. Teen novel/movie be damned, this is bigger than that, its life! Fire is catching…..
I’m happy that this is striking a chord with Chinese audiences. Although it is harder for me to imagine life in Panem, I live in WI and both of my parents are teachers. Their collective barganing has been taken away and their pay checks have been cut in half. My mom is going to be a “help” and not an actual teacher next year. Yet for some reason when they told me this all I could think of was when this happened in District 12 with hours being longer and pay cut. THG trilogy inspires me in life to be a mockingjay and thrive in a way people don’t expect me to. I hope that this will inspire others.
This is really interesting information. It actually mirrors what happened in the book quite well. Why weren’t Katniss and Peeta just killed off by the government? Because it would have done more damage (or so they thought) than letting them live and hoping the buzz they created would die off on its own.
In China, this is the kind of film that would never make it past the censors. The problem is that it’s just too huge to ban. Everyone’s heard of it. If the Chinese government had banned this film it would have been an instant underground sensation and led to all kinds of subversive behavior. Hopefully it still does.
I’m Chinese. I spent half my life in China. If I can tell you one thing, it’s that no one in China actually FEELS oppressed. I’m not going to be biased – I was raised in Canada. It’s true, I find some of the Chinese news a joke with the way that they naively present the government leaders. But Western countries seem to feel that the citizens of China are some helpless, voiceless individuals who are going through physical and mental torture daily, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE. No one actually feels oppressed; it’s only the Western media who’s giving off this notion. And is it hard to figure out why? No. Americans stick their finger in every nation.
I don’t want to be overly political on a fansite LOL, nor do I want to be protective of the Chinese government. Actually, I consider myself completely more Canadian than Chinese. It just kinda bothers me when people don’t understand what’s actually going on in China, because whenever we try to “de-brainwash” our relatives, they get pretty offended. If they don’t feel that their rights are violated, Americans should just stop being a puppet for the Big Brother and feeling sendimental for this oppressive force that isn’t even there.
And FYI, the Epoch Times which published this article is in fact banned in China. Why? Because it’s full of one-faced shit that is designed to turn the world against China. And I know this because my fobby family used to read these papers every week before it really started to piss us off with the lies.
have a good day errbody
@Naively – no one feels oppressed? I guess Feng Jianmei didn’t get the memo.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/two-women-and-two-trajectories-in-china/
Clearly it was all in her head.
I love how this guy feels like he can speak on behalf of 1.5 billion people and say that “no one feels oppressed in China”. Well said, from somebody who doesn’t even live there and came from a family that was wealthy enough to get out.
and @ Katniss_LuvR-Grl …. it was supposed to be funny!! Glad you got a laugh out of it!
@NAIVELY THROWING OPPOSING POLITICAL FACETS ONTO A TEENAGE FORUM I think you don’t need to be swearing, I feel like if you disagree, you should word it differently, swearing is not that necassary….
Am I the only one who was amused by “‘colin:’ ‘Too bad that the teens did not die, sparking a revolt against the dictatorship. Perhaps that’s also a regret existing in reality.’?”
I hope “colin” gets to watch the sequel!
@Naively:
When was the election where the Chinese people voted you in as spokesperson for all things Chinese?
I’m sure a lot of people in China feel the way you described, but a hell of a lot of people want to get out as well. The U.S is home to over 1.6 million Chinese immigrants – that’s a lot of people. There are also 50 million Chinese immigrants worldwide who live in various countries all over the globe.
To say that everyone is happy there is just not true. I’m sure many are, but many aren’t and want to escape.
Back on Topic:
The comments from the Chinese moviegoers are very interesting. I hope the movie does huge business there.
This is very interesting in my point of view. Because of them letting it into the country with the Peeta’s line:“I wish I could show that they don’t own me.” It probably moved many people and inspired them in many ways. Although, it is an awkward situation when Collins wrote “The Hunger Games” in 2008. Four years ago and probably didn’t know anything about the Chinese people’s lives. She might of, but I don’t think she meant to make her book a comparison to it. It is about the future, and has probably no relation to their situation.
It is to say a motivational book and movie to the Chinese and some are pleased. On, the other hand some aren’t. But everyone has their own opinion.
The comments were very interesting as I said before and display the many opinions people may have. It’s a pretty simple thing, you know. All it is, is having opinions. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I’m Chinese.And I watched the movie in the cinema twice.It’s awesome!