THE HUNGER GAMES: Was Katniss Everdeen Whitewashed?

From Feminist Frequency.

Lately, there has been a lot of commotion about whitewashing - casting Caucasian actors in roles instead of people of color - and "The Hunger Games." People have been insisting that the character of Rue shouldn't have been African American while others believe that Katniss Everdeen shouldn't have been white. It is extremely unfortunate that this is still happening in America, that people of color aren't given leading roles in films and that their stories are rarely told on the big screen. It really is. But I feel like the casting if Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss isn’t the best example of whitewashing considering it’s a movie based on a book as opposed to a brand new script - in which there are no definitive physical descriptions.



First of all, reading is subjective. There is no right way to read a book as long as you can support your interpretation with evidence in the text. “Olive skin,” to me, implies that the character is tan. I tend to associate it with people who are Italian for some reason because they are often naturally tan but that’s not an exclusive association. To me, “olive skin” means tan. It’s a commonly used adjective and, really, it’s far more open for interpretation than “pale” or “dark.” Considering Katniss is outside almost 24/7, she’s obviously going to be very tan.

Also, I took into account that District 12 is set around the Appalachian mountains and the population in that area is predominantly Caucasian. Unlike District 4, which most fans place in the southwest area on the border of or including Mexico so it’s much more expected that its residents would be of color - particularly of Mexican origin.

Then, of course, there is the Everdeen family - the surviving ones, at least. Both Katniss’ mother and sister are blonde and pale. Katniss is said to resemble her father, yes, but she wouldn’t be a woman of color when both her mother and Prim are clearly Caucasian. Genetically, I’m sure it’s possible but it’s also a rare occurrence. If Prim had been said to be more of a mix between Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen then perhaps I would lean towards them not specifically being Caucasian, but that’s not the case.

To me, I imagine Katniss to be a 16-year-old white girl who is outside a lot and is, thus, quite tan and she has straight black hair - which is not limited to any race or ethnicity. I kind of admire Suzanne Collins ability to leave Katniss’ physical description somewhat ambiguous while still keeping her concrete - unlike Bella Swan, who served as a shell for the readers to slip into with great ease. And, at the end of the day, I don’t know how people can legitimately care about whether they cast a natural black-haired actress considering most actors in Hollywood probably don’t have their natural hair color. In the end, it’s about talent and how well they fit the role and they chose Jennifer Lawrence - who dyed her hair and is naturally a tan woman.

Let’s also look at Suzanne Collins’ role in the production of the movie. Gary Ross considered her to be his partner from the get-go. She is focused primarily on the artistry of film-making and Ross took her views and opinions into account so that the film would be as faithful to her work as possible. Collins helped pick Jennifer Lawrence which means that she is the best choice to play Katniss - with a little hair dye, of course. Everyone can have their own interpretation but the movie is predominantly based on the director’s interpretation and, in this case, that means that it is based on the combined vision of Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins. These are the same people who cast Lenny Kravitz - a man of color - as Cinna, whose race is never specified in the books. If “The Hunger Games” is an example of whitewashing, then wouldn’t he be white, as well? Only Rue is definitively described as being African American and I believe Thresh is, as well, but I could be wrong on that one. So why would an example of whitewashing have a pivotal role that has no defined race filled with a person of color?

Now, at the end of the day, the studio is running a business. They make the films that will make them money. Because of this, they base their decisions on what is being consumed, what the people are paying money to see. Of course there might be some people at the top of the Hollywood food-chain who inherently believe that the stories of white characters are better than the stories of characters of color but it seems to me that that isn’t often the case and that most executives’ focus is on the audience and the money they’ll bring in. The studios will make what will sell and the money shows that the audience will pay more to see leading characters who are white than those of color. Tyler Perry’s movies - which are known for featuring casts that made up almost exclusively of people of color - are made so quickly and efficiently and so often because: A) they are often high quality scripts and B) they are relatively inexpensive to produce. Thus, the studio is guaranteed to at least break even because the audience comes out to see these movies, albeit it is a much smaller audience than those for blockbuster films like “The Hunger Games” or comic-book flicks or even Nicholas Sparks-esque date movies.

This systemic whitewashing, if you ask me, is a reflection of our society - the people who are shelling out money to see the movies that the studios make. It’s evidence not necessarily of studio racism but of the audiences inability to accept people who are different. Just take a look at the news. We live in a world where an African American boy is profiled and murdered while just walking home from the store. We live in a world where homosexuals are driven suicide just to stop being bullied and find peace from their fear of never being accepted. We live in a world where women of every color are being denied equal pay for doing the same jobs as their male counterparts. Our calendars might say we’re in 2012 but our society is clearly still stuck in the 1960s.

Whitewashing exists - that’s a fact. And it is a huge problem in the entertainment industry. But using “The Hunger Games” as an example doesn’t make much sense to me given that it is based on a book series in which physical descriptions are given and are often left open ended for the reader to interpret because reading is subjective. So if this isn’t a prime example of whitewashing, then what is?

The best examples, I feel, can probably be found on television. Most shows are based on original scripts with no material preceding them in any form, which means that they are brand new. Fundamentally, scripts (for film or TV) do not include concrete physical descriptions such as race or hair color unless it is absolutely pivotal to the story because that is left up to the executives and the casting directors. However, if you look at the current population of leading characters on TV, you’ll see that those of color are nearly nonexistent. This is why I will always praise Shonda Rhimes for using the “colorblind casting” method: picking actors based on how well they fit the role and not on the color of their skin. At the end of the day, it’s about the characters and how they are not defined by their physical appearances. But many other executives and showrunners tend to lean towards casting white leads because shows with people of color in the main roles tend to get lower ratings and, thus, get cancelled quite quickly because they aren’t making any or enough money for the network/studio. By my definition, they’re sell-outs because they’d rather stay on the air and make money than tell a story with diverse, unexpected characters that is closer to art than to mainstream-popcorn-entertainment.

What this boils down to is our society. Somehow, in 2012, the average movie-goer hasn't progressed far enough to want to buy a ticket to a movie about people of color and so the studios have less interest in making those films. So what can we do about it? Well, for starters, we can start going to the theatre to see films with people of color in leading roles. Causing a commotion online isn't going to get much attention from studio executives. Money talks. Studios will go where the money is.

In the meantime, can't we all just agree that Jennifer Lawrence did a phenomenal job in the role, no matter what her race is? I mean seriously. Just look at her!

Flattering picture from Queen-of-Derp