Last month, on November 17, Francis Lawrence’s “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was released to theaters, and like any other true red-blooded American, I immediately rushed to the theater, purchased my overpriced popcorn, and sat down to watch a three hour movie about children fighting each other to the death.
I have been a “Hunger Games” devotee from childhood, ever since I read the book trilogy written by Suzanne Collins, and subsequently watched the four film adaptations. Unquestionably, I am not alone in my fervent love for these books and films. In 2008, the first “Hunger Games”book sold over 100 million copies worldwide, and the first film installation made over 480 million dollars in 2012.
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”is a film adaptation of the Suzanne Collins book of the same name thatserves as a prequel to the original film tetralogy, and follows the antagonist of the original films, Coriolanus Snow, played by heartthrob and breakout sensation Tom Blyth, 64 years before the events of the first film. Admittedly, this film has not quite had the reception of the original films, only bringing in slightly more than 100 million dollars globally. Nevertheless, since its release, it has consistently remained the number one film in the box office, showing, that for a large audience, this film is a sensational and necessary addition to the Hunger Games franchise.
Before I saw the film, I was unsure about what my reaction to it would be, considering that as a viewer, I already knew how Coriolanus Snow’s story ended and knew the manner in which this prequel film must end in order to set up the events of the original films. In spite of this, I found the film to be extremely compelling. Even though I had seen the original films multiple times, and was fully aware of the fate of Coriolanus Snow and his eventual capitulation to evil, I was still able to sympathize with him throughout the film and found myself rooting for him and feeling sad as the warning signs of his descent began to appear.
How I could be so supportive and empathetic towards a character that I knew was eventually going to commit horrendous atrocities was a mystery to me and many other viewers of the films who found themselves in a similar position. For me, this mystery was solved during my second viewing, by the heroine of the film, Lucy Gray Baird, played by the wonderful Rachel Zegler. Near the end of the film, Lucy Gray says, “I think there’s a natural goodness born into us all. You can either cross that line into evil, or not. And it’s our life’s work to stay on that side of the line.”
This concept perfectly encapsulated the feelings that I was having. When we are introduced to Coriolanus in this film, he is portrayed as an ambitious yet struggling young man who wants to provide for his family by pursuing a career in politics. He hasn’t yet crossed over that line into evil, so for the viewer, there is still the hope that he could stay on the right side of the line. Through the film, the viewer grows attached to Coriolanus as a character who has the potential to do great things, and begins to be hopeful for his success. This only makes the disappointment and devastation even stronger when Coriolanus inevitably crosses that line and begins his descent to becoming the tyrannical President Snow that we know from the original films. Seeing Coriolanus before his corruption makes his ending so much more tragic, in a compelling and riveting way.
Franchises such as Star Wars or Harry Potter have often struggled to capture the attention of their audiences with prequels to their original films. It is a difficult task to take beloved characters like Darth Vader, Albus Dumbledore, or Coriolanus Snow and get audiences to be interested in what happened to them before they became the characters that the audience cares about. Author Stephen King once said, “The most important things to remember about backstory are that everyone has a history and most of it isn't very interesting.” Although I agree with this sentiment in regards to certain prequel films, I found that Suzanne Collins, Francis Lawrence, and the cast of the film adaptation did an incredible job creating an interesting backstory that was able to capture the attention and hearts of viewers. If you have not yet seen the film, I highly recommend taking a trip to your nearest movie theater and watching it for yourself.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.