Jour 4460: Blog 10 How To Correct A Right

Amandla Stenberg in "The Hunger Games"

The Hunger Games movie was released March 23, 2012. On my personal timeline it received as much buzz as Twilight first did upon its release. I was expecting to read nothing but good reviews about the film, to hear boasts about how much the box offices made opening day. Instead, I came across articles with tweets like, “Why does rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie,” and “Sense when has Rue been a n-----,” as seen on screen shots published on jezebel.com. Rue is a character in the book played by 13-year-old Amandla Stenberg. She is the District 11 tribute and is an ally of the main character, Katniss. I have not altered the spelling in these quotes.

Dodai Stewart cites a passage from the actual Hunger Games book in her article stating, “But on page 45 of Suzanne Collins’s book, Katniss sees Rue for the first time…’And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that's she's very like Prim in size and demeanor…’” So what do you do when you’ve done nothing wrong?

Stenberg responded well beyond her years to the insulting comments stating in Justin Ravitz’s article, "It was an amazing experience; I am proud of the film and my performance. I want to thank all of my fans and the entire Hunger Games community for their support and loyalty."

I have yet to come across an article with other cast members or production crew members speaking out against these disturbing comments.

In class I always hear about what organizations or companies should have done when they made a mistake. I hardly ever hear about what to do when what you did was right, but a portion of the public revolts against it in an extremely public manner. Is it best to keep a low profile and stay quiet, or is it best to stand up and show overwhelming support to those targeted by hateful words?

My hope is that support for all the African American actors and actresses in the film becomes just as prominent as the insults. Other actors in the film have received negative comments about them as well, but Stenberg received the brunt of them.

It’s sad then in a time were the Trayvon Martin case is building people still are so thoughtless as to attack a little girl on the Internet. I also think that audiences forgot that movies are stories and that the characters in them are actual people who have feelings.

Harry M. Benshoff, a University of North Texas associate professor for the Radio, Television and Film department, believes a larger issue is stemming from this situation. He is quoted in Stephanie Goldberg’s article on cnn.com, “Hollywood has never been on the forefront of the civil rights movement," said Benshoff, who hasn't read or watched ‘The Hunger Games.’"

A Tumblr page has been created where these tweets about the film and the characters are discussed, and to “expose the Hunger Games fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books.”