Monday, February 18, 2013

Book vomit

My laptop carked it last week. I've had old Humphrey for about 4.5 years. We've gone through two batteries and several laptop chargers. I'm taking him to a repair place on the weekend. I'll see how much of we can save but I think it might be time to find a new one. Liam's loaned me his old laptop, which I'm extremely grateful for.

During my forced computer sabbatical, I did lots of reading. I found sanity reading The Hunger Games trilogy. I know it's not the "coolest" thing to read at my age but I'm proud to say I fucking loved the series. I loved it so much that when I finished it, I moped for days feeling lost and heartbroken. I couldn't figure out why I was feeling so forlorn. I decided to calm myself down and watch the film.

Spoilers ahead, guys.

I think what's upset me the most is knowing everyone is irreparably scarred. In Harry Potter, Harry and co live 'happily ever after' when Voldemort dies. Katniss and co can't "go back". There is no going back: their homes have been destroyed and their relationships with each other become so strained.

Katniss and Gale had this beautiful friendship and despite the love they feel for each other, it's gone because Katniss will always associate Prim's death with Gale. I'm not upset Katniss doesn't end up with Gale; I'm upset that Katniss will never love Peeta the way he has always so fiercely loved her. Yes, I've fallen in love with Peeta Mellark (falling in love with fictional characters is kinda my thing). His love felt so big and Katniss could only return a fraction of affection because she felt obligated to. Perhaps he expected too much from her. They're both so battered that they can only end up together. How can they explain what happened to them to anyone else? How can anyone begin to understand what they went through? It's so wretched!

Anyway, I'm very glad the second film is coming out this year. We're gonna have some fun.

I'm currently reading The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. I've read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and watched both the Swedish and American films. I'm starting to feel the books are ruining the films for me. Is that even a thing? Can books ruin the film? It made all the twists less shocking, but I suppose it can happen when you watch a film before you read the book. I did find myself comparing the two films. Overall they're pretty similar but I think casting in the Swedish film was better than the American. However, Rooney Mara's portrayal of Lisbeth Salander felt truer to the book. While Noomi Rapace was great, she interpreted Salander as an anarchistic rebel. In a way, Salander is that but I always thought Salander was more subtle and less reactionary.

Maybe I should write a comparative essay, comparing the films and the book.



1 comment:

  1. My sister loves the Hunger games, maybe I should read it too after reading how much you love it too!

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