Whitewashing the Hunger Games

One day I'll post my feelings on Mockingjay, and you can see how I REALLY felt about The Hunger Games trilogy. The short version is that I liked the first two books and ABSOLUTELY HATED the last one. But that's not the point right now.

On my Google Reader, I found this article from Jezebel: The Imminent Whitewashing of the Hunger Games Heroine

Basically, the article mentions how Jennifer Lawrence is the frontrunner for Katniss in The Hunger Games movie (which makes me a little sad, since I was totally rooting for Hailee Steinfeld), and Jennifer Lawrence is, of course, very white and very blond.

Now, the article includes the description of Katniss in the book, which is this: "Straight black hair, olive skin, gray eyes." Which, in terms of description, is pretty scant. What exactly IS olive skin, anyways? But I guess people take olive skin to mean "non-white", which, in my opinion isn't necessarily true. I think of "olive" as more of an undertone than an actual color. You can be white as a ghost and have an "olive" complexion. One of my roommates in college was from Chile, and he had what I would describe as an olive undertone to his skin. He was pale, but I would definitely classify the tone of his skin as "olive," You can also be black and have an "olive" complexion.

Furthermore, it seemed obvious to me that the Seam (where Katniss lives) is in the Appalachian Mountain region. Which is a largely white population, even today, after that area has been populated for centuries. Ethnographically speaking, it would make sense for Katniss to be white. But then again, considering that by 2020, the United States will have a population with a fairly even spread of white, black, and hispanic races, it also makes sense for Katniss to be a woman of color.

None of that, however, is the point here. I think the beauty of the term "olive" is that it can mean anything you want it to mean. Which is part of what makes Katniss a great heroine--she could be anybody. You can think of her as a member of your own race, or as a member of a different race. She could be like you or like someone else. That's what made her so beloved by millions of fans.

For me, race was never an important issue of the books. I always saw the class commentary as a FAR more important aspect of the book. I mean, THAT part was so obvious that it smacked me straight in the face. And any sociologist will tell you that it's not JUST about race or class or gender, but that it's a COMBINATION of all factors that disadvantage certain groups.

Okay, I'm getting WAY off topic. I guess my main point is that there's not enough of a description of Katniss in the book to merit all these cries of whitewashing. Because in my mind, "olive" is a neutral descriptor. So in Gary Ross's mind, Katniss looks like a Jennifer Lawrence or a Hailee Steinfeld. In somebody else's mind, she could be a Zoe Saldana. Katniss can be anyone. That's the point.

Also, if you've read ANY interview with Gary Ross about how he's adapting the books, he says he's had EXTENSIVE conversations with Suzanne Collins about the vision he is seeking to put on screen. So if the AUTHOR OF THE FREAKING BOOK approves of the actress playing Katniss, so should you.