Blog 1

Hunger Games vs The Wizard of Oz

After watching both films I can definitely see the modern take Hunger Games brings to the main story structure of The Wizard of Oz. The stories start out with a young girl living a simple life in a little town working hard each day then suddenly a greater force takes them away from that comfortable life.

The twister in Oz was certainly the selection process for tribute in the Hunger Games. This moment was the pivotal point in both stories that ultimately led to the adventure that was suddenly pushed upon the main characters. The over arching goal is to overcome this unexpected journey and return back to the simple life they led before the struggle.

Right away the first noticeable parallel of both films was what colors represented in context. Blacks, whites, and grays: rarely any conflict, home, stability. While color stands for challenge, a change, a new world. That moment when color is introduced, when Dorthy walks out of her house into the land of Oz and when Katnis looks out the train window to see First District that when we as a viewer know.

They arrive in a strange place where they must overcome harsh trials endure and over come new experiences.

These are definitely post-apocalyptic films where the end result is this strange colorful world with new ideals and rules.

I would have never made the parallel that these two books follow somewhat of the same story structure. It makes me want to look out for other films in American fantasy that may follow the same structure.

I thought that the Wizard of Oz was going to be very simple and an easy read since it is a children's story but, it was much darker than I previously thought.

I have always hated reading because I was never engaged, never really given that chance to see how great a book can be. My entire middle school and highschool consisted of literally only books about the Holocaust and Africa... way to engage a 12 year old school system. So when there is a bigger picture in a book I completely missed it. I was never taught to see what the hidden meaning was behind a text, instead, I had to read Anne Frank 4 times and hated every second of it. If people really wanted to encourage me to truly love books they should have handed me a book that would have evoked my imagination. What I am hoping to gain from this class is a second chance and perhaps a way to get in on this missed opportunity. I really want to enjoy books but nothing has sparked my interest or understanding.