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As you read this, the final movie in the ‘Hunger Games’ adaptations, ‘Mockingjay Part 2’, is about to be released. To round things off before the movie opens, we’re going to go back to 2013, when the second and (likely) highest-grossing film in the series was released.

In Book vs. Movie, we look at novels of any genre and compare them to their feature-film adaptation. This will usually happen when the film part of this equation is released. This will not be a review of the merits of either version of the story, but an essay on how each version of the story acquits itself within its medium. After analyzing both versions of the story, we’ll arrive at a verdict between which medium is more successful at telling its story, and whether any disparity between the two can be reconciled in a way that doesn’t impeach the winning version. There will be spoilers for both book and movie.

The Hunger Games trilogy

The Hunger Games trilogy is about the nation of Panem (which has grown out of the remains of North America following catastrophic events), its 12 “districts”, each specializing in the production of a valuable resource for the central autocratic Capitol, their creation of a grisly, televised fight to the death between children called the Hunger Games, and a growing rebellion against the Capitol’s tyranny. The first book introduces us to 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, both of District 12. They are responsible for the first dual victory in Hunger Games history. Katniss is our protagonist and a central figure in a populist rebellion that grows over the course of the trilogy.


Catching Fire

In Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return home to District 12 in the wake of their dual victory in the 74th Hunger Games, with that story-ending narrative hook developing further. Katniss has become a hero to Capitol citizens and to the districts, but the Capitol government is furious with her for what they see as an act of defiance or subterfuge (she threatened suicide to prevent the Capitol from getting the type of victory they wanted). Retribution is a threat, and unrest in the other districts provides a motivation for her to lower the emotional temperature of Panem. This is set against the backdrop of the 75th Hunger Games, known as the third Quarter Quell - a special version of the Games held every 25 years.

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