The Hunger Games: Parallels Between New and Old
Niki Skulikidis
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was one of the most spectacular book adaptations I have ever seen. Although the film had quite a few differences from the original book, I do feel the movie did the story justice. Tom Blythe, who played the ambitious lead Coriolanus Snow, portrayed his twisted character in such a way that it left me speechless leaving the theater. As the story progresses, you watch Snow become more and more sick and twisted in the head. Just through his haircut it is easy to tell the changes his character is going through, from the boy he was at the start of the film, to the power hungry character he is when the film ends. Towards the beginning, it feels almost impossible to believe that he could possibly become the President Snow known in the original four films, but by the end he is willing to sacrifice anything, or anyone, for wealth and power. Rachel Zegler, who played Lucy Gray Baird, perfectly portrayed her unique, passionate yet fiery character so well. She truly embodied Lucy Gray, especially during her character’s performances in all different settings. I could not have imagined any better two actors to portray Lucy Gray and Snow’s tragic love story in the same way they did. The film was so difficult to watch knowing the monster Snow would become in the future. Even after reading the book and knowing the ending, Tom Blythe’s good looks with Snow’s loyalty and charm made it impossible to hate his character. It was very easy to still hope for a happy ending between Snow and Lucy Gray. As a huge fan of the original films, which are The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2, I easily noticed many parallels between the films.
The main protagonists of each story have many similarities. Lucy Gray reminded me of Katniss, while Coriolanus reminded me of Peeta. After seeing the new film, it is obvious that President Snow also saw Lucy Gray in Katniss. Lucy Gray’s legacy lived on through Katniss, although Lucy Gray was able to save just herself from Snow, Katniss was able to save all of Panem. Both of them are female tributes from District 12 who have a rebellious spirit and musical talent. The iconic hanging tree song as well as the meadow song Katniss sings are the same songs Lucy Gray wrote and sung. In the book, Maude Ivory, who is Lucy Gray’s cousin, had a talent for remembering any songs and lyrics she heard and never forgetting them. Once Lucy Gray disappeared, she remembered her songs and most likely passed them on. The songs reached Katniss through Maude Ivory, who is theorized to be her grandmother. Maude Ivory’s character is not explored in the movie in the same way she is in the book, but she is still shown. The term Katniss, which is used for a certain plant found in the woods, is what Katniss is named after and what Lucy Gray references in the new film. Lucy Gray and Coriolanus spend time in the woods and swimming in the lake and even escape and live in the cabin for a short amount of time before Lucy Gray runs away. This is similar to Katniss who grew up leading to survive and hunt in those same woods with her father. She would talk with Gale and plan to escape to the cabin. Katniss only survived her second games because she knew how to swim since her father taught her how in the very same lake. President Snow knew what Katniss was doing only because he used to escape to the same place with Lucy Gray. The same meadow Lucy Gray and Coriolanus relax and talk in is the same meadow Katniss refers to and where the last scene of the original movies are. An older version of herself is shown happy with Peeta and their children in the meadow. The fence blocking off people from entering the forest in district 12 was never turned on so Katniss could go through it without being hurt. This could have been because Snow always secretly hoped Lucy Gray would return and she had to be able to get back in. Both Katniss and Lucy Gary used mockingjays as a symbol in different ways. Lucy Gray tells Snow they could never hurt him, while Katniss, who was the Mockingjay, destroyed everything he built and worked for, saving Panem.
President Snow most likely also truly hated Katniss because she reminded him of his past love and he hated Peeta because he reminded him of himself. Lucy Gray used Snow for survival in the same way Katniss used Peeta for survival. She did what she had to to survive the games and learned to love the version of him during that time. President Snow saw Katniss using Peeta for survival, but it angered him when he discovered their love was genuine and that Peeta never turned against Katniss as he truly loved her deeply. This is what led Snow to torture Peeta and do whatever he could to psychologically torture him into hating Katniss, which ended up not working. Snow hated the idea of Katniss and Peeta ending up together and in love no matter what. He was so bitter and did not want to believe their love story was possible as he wanted them to end up like him. Since Snow could not end up with Lucy Gray and there was nothing he could do to change that, he wanted Katniss and Peeta to have the same fate, but despite all odds they still achieved their happy ending.
President Snow drove himself power mad throughout the series as the difference between him as a person at the beginning of The Ballad and Songbirds and Snakes and the original films is astonishing. What he was willing to sacrifice for power, wealth and glory is truly insane. According to Katniss, past hunger games were often played over and over again, so the 10th annual hunger games being destroyed and erased made sense. Especially since everything during the games went wrong and embarrassed the capitol by proving their authority and power over the games and tributes weak. The 10th games also showed that the oppressed, or the people of the district, do have power. By showing those games, they would have been shown that they could make a change which would have again, further weakened the capitol, and created more rebels. Lucky for president Snow, he did not have to have a constant reminder of the girl he loved, who ran away from him.
While watching the film, it felt almost impossible not to fall for Coriolanus Snow in the same way Lucy Gray did. His charm was irresistible and it felt wrong to be rooting for a happy ending between him and Lucy Gray, considering what he did to hurt so many people, especially children in the future. Snow made the games the spectacle that they were by Katniss and Peeta’s time 64 years later during the 74th games and 75th, the quarter quell. When he and Lucy Gray escaped to the cabin in the woods, he was so driven and power hungry that he could never have survived there and have been satisfied with just her. Snow was always very ambitious about his goals and would become obsessive in order to get what he wanted. He always wanted more and eventually went power mad, which is shown with who he is as a person in the original films. Snow truly believing what he was doing to innocent children is enough to show just how twisted he was and what hunger for power can do to a person. However, despite all the evil and wrong things he did, it was so hard to hate him in the new movie. He cared so deeply for Lucy Gray and truly wanted her to survive safely, his obsession with her that he had in the book was shown way less. He would have done anything for her to stay with him, but more for power and influence over Panem. In the same way he could not survive with just the cabin and Lucy Gray, she could not have survived with him in the Capitol if he brought her back.
