Hello,
This is a topic which has been annoying me for a very long time. Nearly every single Dystopian book will say at the front of it 'Similar to the Hunger Games' or 'Even better than the Hunger Games'. It seems to me that people now think that every single dystopian book bows down to the Hunger Games like it was the creator of the Dystopian genre. Now, I am all Hunger Games. I adored the series, loved the films and I can quote it from the top of my head but when I tried to explain Throne Of Glass to my peers in music (my composition, film music, was based off the book) they said 'you mean basically the Hunger Games'. My jaw dropped and I wanted to fall out of my chair. It seems to me that it is harder now for any author to publish a dystopian novel without being compared to the popular book and film series.
I think now that using The Hunger Games has become a strategy to sell books to people. Non-readers would think 'oh The Hunger Games, I read that maybe I should that book' and when they actually read it, it is about fairies warding off trolls in a world where trolls have the almighty power (I made up that idea on the spot btw). Does that have anything to do with going into an arena to fight other people your age then uprise againt the Capitol, erm I think not. This problem also sparks in books with Vampires in it. If I say this book has vampires in it. people internally groan and think TWILIGHT TWIGHLIGHT TWILIGHT.
My problem here is I think that each book has its own identity in the Dystopian genre and should be known for other books other than the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is just a small part of a massive field filled with so many other books but people seem to think that by putting things onto that patch it would suddenly make things seems better than they already are. I think that we need to stop getting into this 'basically the Hunger Games' mindset just because the person is an assasin or the person has brown hair and wears it in a braid.
In conclusion, I think it is about time we stepped out of our fixed mindsets and not compare so many books to the Hunger Games because it is the easier way round. It just makes it look like the Dystopian Genre is all the same when it is most definitely not!
What Is Your Opinion?
Keep Reading,
Naomi...xxx
Well, this is the curse of highly successful books. It's not only the commercial success (which is a major factor), not just the movies, it's that what Suzanne Collins did was write a trilogy very well-written.
ReplyDeleteAeriko @ http://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com
I think that the reason dystopia is connected back to the Hunger Games is because it was the first dystopia the really took off into success. It's like the veteran of dystopias.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. I love The Hunger Games but I am tired of seeing everything compared to it. It just makes me think that the book wants to be a Hunger Games rip-off which isn't necessarily true. It could be an amazing book in its own right but I'm turned off by the comparison. I think the powers that be involved in publicity latch on to whatever is popular and try to use it for whatever they're currently promoting. It makes sense in theory but this strategy doesn't really benefit the books in the long run, in my opinion. Especially when it goes on for so long. I think we'll have to put up with it until the next big thing and then deal with everything being compared to that! :P
ReplyDeleteVicarious Caytastrophe