If you’re anywhere on a website these days, you’ve probably noticed the extensive coverage THE HUNGER GAMES has been getting. What’s confusing to me, though, is why these websites are comparing THE HUNGER GAMES series to TWILIGHT. If you want guys to jump on the bandwagon, then the last thing you want to do is stir up memories of vampires, werewolves, and a love triangle that puts most people to sleep. THE HUNGER GAMES is so much better than this --- and as a guy --- let me tell you why.
You would think that having a female protagonist would be an instant turnoff for most males. Unlike Bella from TWILIGHT who is helpless, talks and thinks too much about essentially nothing, and is waiting for someone to “save” her, Katniss is awesome. She’s tough, gritty, and not afraid to kill at a moment’s notice. She volunteers for a position that potentially means instant death and doesn’t think twice about it. Katniss also shows that she’s not going to give in to authority and is willing to do just about anything to get ahead. Team Peeta vs. Team Gale? Who cares! Katniss sure doesn’t. She’s the only one with the solid head on her shoulders, doesn’t dwell on her feelings, and even is manipulative when she has to be. Plus, it’s worth sitting through her talking about her clothes, her hair, blah blah, to get to what we’ve all been waiting for --- the actual games.
The minute you mention pitting 24 young people against each other to fight to the death, most guys will be hooked. I tried to visualize what I would gravitate towards in the training center and what cool, death-inducing weapon or skill I would want to learn in preparation for the arena. Plus, there is the whole idea of having to prove yourself as to whether or not you have what it takes to survive and be the ultimate victor. The actual games are fascinating, and although you know that only one person is going to survive, getting there is the best part. The games are brutal, violent, and compelling. More importantly, their swiftness kept me reading, and that is often not the case when it comes anything that is mentioned in the same breath as TWILIGHT.
The fact that THE HUNGER GAMES is set in the future is also a huge advantage. While it may not be a future that most people imagined, it’s still interesting to think about what would happen if the world was thrown into chaos that is so overly imagined in the media every other day. I also think that since Katniss, Peeta, Gale, etc. are willing to fight against those in authority and prove that they can do it, it’s easier for me to imagine myself as more of a hero in that regard. And let’s face it, what guy doesn’t imagine himself being the hero that saves the world? I recommend THE HUNGER GAMES to everyone I come across, guys and girls, and I can’t wait to see the book come alive in the new movie.
