Comments on: Why All the Racist Comments on Black Actors in ‘The Hunger Games’?

By: Ren

Ren — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:48:03 +0000

Katniss is described as having olive skin and straight black hair. She is clearly, then, of either mixed race, or (more realistically) of some Hispanic descent. This is, after all, the Untied States of the future….Yet she is played by a white actress. It was okay that the supportive roles be portrayed accurately, but the lead role still had to be a white actress…..Can we not see how these racist comments, then, are no surprise? I think the film makers knew that the movie would not be as popular if their lead role was not white. They’re probably more aware of the racism amongst our population than we are.

By: see

see — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:56:24 +0000

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, you just don’t get it, this is not 1950 any more. If you can not deal with people of color in this country, good luck, super good luck with the rest of the world. People have long memories the will not forget the ugly American. Wise up fast before it is too late.

By: gjw

gjw — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:00:24 +0000

“Pitting children again children, teens against teens was more than I could take. We see to much of that in real life.”

THAT is the point in the apocalyptic world. There is no one race or ethnicity. Everyone is the same and has the same things to lose.

Racial diversity absolutely did not touch my mind while I was reading the book. People have to get over themselves… we really are ONE.

By: Luke Luther

Luke Luther — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:12:08 +0000

Hype, spin, buzz. Some people are using this movie for political “Strirring of the Pot”. We are all incredibly responsive to the rantings of misguided persons. Anything to keep race as an issue in the media…divisive and diverting our attention from the real issues – you define for yourself what those incredible issues are. For me it is the onslaught against women, non-heterosexuals, non-Europeans, non-1%ers, and those who are capable of forming coherent and complete thoughts without parroting pundits (from the right and the left). Dare to be who you are.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:54:36 +0000

No. The entire premise of the book is that the children fight to the death.

By: Meh_227

Meh_227 — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:08:10 +0000

In response to the depiction of District 11, I did notice that the premonindately black district staged a riot and was portrayed as a more violent way than say District 12, which was mostly white with only a few black residents. I haven’t read the books and don’t plan to. I enjoyed the movie. Had no idea that anyone was supposed to be any particular color than what they were. No one stuck out as a sore thumb to me. I thought Rue was the cutest little thing in the movie and in real life. I was surprised when a collegue asked if I was aware of the comments on the internet. weren’t supposed to be that color.” What a sad commentary on the young people in our society. I enjoy saying that I’ve also seen many comm

By: Jeff Harlig

Jeff Harlig — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:51:00 +0000

“When I found out Rue was black *her death* wasn’t as sad” — didn’t that need a spoiler alert?

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:18:49 +0000

The reason for these comments is simple and Blake said it: Racism exists. I read an article recently about how KKK membership is on the rise in Colorado. Midwest states especially continue to have an uptick in white supremacist group interest, according to Associated Press reports. Sure, it’s good to have a dialogue about this, but stop acting so surprised when you hear that people make racists comments through social media. I’ve stopped reading forums and random posts just because it never fails — the racists chime in with their worthless comments. White Americans who are racists ignore the world around them. They want the world how they want it and nothing else will do. Asking them to face reality is useless. But don’t underestimate them, either. They are dangerous, and they exist everywhere — some are just not overt about it, which makes them the most dangerous of all. President Obama’s existence in the Oval Office has brought more of the covert ones to the surface, and, surprise, surprise, they have been revealed as people who have held congressional seats for YEARS.

By: Blake

Blake — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:34:43 +0000

The fact that some people take offense at the number of Black actors in a MOVE only reflects the extent to which rascism still exists in the United States. With Hollywood’s past history of using white actor’s for minority roies, I applaud Lion’s Gate for trying to create a real world scernario.

By: csm

csm — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:33:29 +0000

IMO, the movie itself is overblown hype marketed to the kids that really adds no value to their reality. Except for the killking, of course. Its along the line of recent films that have dark themes that are used to appeal to the kids, a la th vampires, werewolves, witches and demons.

That said, I can’t get in the mind of the directors and producers, but I would think that who they cast to play the roles are based on artistic values in mind first, and marketability second. Besides, who wants to see a movie with all white actors, when there is no basis for them being all white?

The people tweeting this garbage are of a piece; these are the folks who are the festering sore exposed when the scab is peeled off an old wound. The “wound” is Obama; the festering is the racism that did not magically disappear as a result of him becoming president.

Lastly, given the projected demographic changes, this could be a projection of the sour grapes at what the future holds. If the dinosaurs could have tweeted I can imagine they would have said similar things regarding their own impending doom.

As for me, the world can’t wait…