BFI Library

CI - To what extent is gender stereotypes subverted in The Hunger Games trilogy.

BFI - Notes

1) The Hunger Games, by Nicola Balkind, 2014, intellect books

- "In many ways she is perhaps the most strong stereotypically masculine and atypically gender defined hero of recent book or film, particularly in the young adult genre." (page 39)

- "The fallacy in Hollywood is that if you are making a "feminist" story, the woman kicks ass and wins. That's not feminist, that's macho. A movie about a weak, vulnerable woman can be feminist if it shows a person that we can empathise with." (page 39)

- A study - violent female characters in contemporary American cinema - Katy Gilbatric

 "The [violent female action character] is a recent addition to contemporary American cinema and has the potential to redefines female heroines, for better or worse. This research provides evidence that the majority of female action characters shown in American Cinema are not empowering images, they do not draw on their femininity as a source of power, and they are not a kind of 'post woman' operating outside the boundaries of gender restrictions" (page 39)

- "The authors findings 'suggest continues gender stereotypes set with a violent framework of contemporary American Cinema'." (page 40)

- "Silverstein argues... at the same time it DOES matter that Katniss is a girl and people - med, women, boys and girls - are all interested in seeing this film. This has the potential to show Hollywood where honestly it is already a hit even before it open and finding the next potential franchise is on everyone's mind, that having a strong female character is not something to try and avoid, it is something to be seen as a potential success." (page 40)

2) Women and film, a sight and sound reader, edited by Pam Cook and Philip Dodd, 1993, scarlet press

- Women against the grain

- Deconstructing Masculinity

- Women direct

3) hunting girls, Kelly Oliver, 2016, Columbia University press

4) Women's Cinema - The controversial screen, Alison Butler, 2002, Wallflower press

- Girls own stories: Gender and Genre in Hollywood cinema

5) Political Animal, The new feminist cinema, Sophie Mayer, 2016, I.B.Tauris&co. LTD