All the Right Notes: The Hunger Games trilogy, Part 2

In Part 1 of my review of The Hunger Games trilogy, I talked generally about the idea of Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, the idea that many readers nowadays get frustrated with some stories because the characters are not "likable" or act contrary to how we would like them to act.

In this part of my review, I'm going to delve specifically into the character of Katniss and why Catching Fire and Mockingjay suffer unfairly from Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality.

When I began reading Catching Fire, I found myself becoming frustrated.  The Hunger Games has the potential to be a high-politics war epic, full of intrigue and leaders who step up to urge the citizens of Panem to victory.

And yet, and yet, Susan Collins has cornered herself into writing this story from a first-person perspective.

Readers do not get to see the battles in the other districts or fully understand the motives of the leaders of the rebellion or the Capital.  Because of the first-person writing style, we only experience events Katniss experiences, and more than that, we only get to understand these events from Katniss's point of view.

Katniss's POV is one of--if not the most--inappropriate means to narrate the war between the districts and the Capital.  Katniss know nothing about war, but instead of exploring District 13 and its war efforts, Katniss instead rejects becoming involved at all, thus disabling the reader from doing the same.

I was frustrated because I wanted more details about the war.  I was tired of putting up with Katniss's inner demons: her distrust of everyone, her mental instability, her callous and unfeeling remarks.  I wanted Katniss to "get over it" and become involved in the war effort.

In short, I was falling victim to Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality.

And when I realized that, I had another realization: The Hunger Games is not about the war or who is victorious in the end.

What is it about?  Check out the rest of the review after the break.

Fighting art exhaustion during the school year

As I have mentioned many times in my various pockets of the internet, the school year is always very difficult for me because it takes away all my time draw.  Opportunities to work on my graphic novel, Everdusk, are few and far between, let alone any other projects.

Unfortunately, being forced kicking and screaming away from my art has some pretty hard consequences.  I have found that not drawing for days on end leads without fail to miserable art block.

I've found ways to help combat this.  Carrying around a small notebook to doodle and sketch life drawings in (which is just good practice anyway) helps a lot.  It keeps my eye and my hand in good practice when I don't have time to pull out the ol' tablet.

Even when I do have time to bring out my tablet, however, I have found that college completely sucks my artistic drive dry.  Between classes, schoolwork, and theater, I am exhausted in my free time, and feel like doing little more than scrolling around on the internet when I could/should be working on my art.

So how can I fight against this art exhaustion and still be productive, even if I'm not working on my larger projects?

Break out of your normal art and experiment a bit.

Whenever I DO draw during the school year, I've found that it's often on quick side projects with styles and experiments that 1) do not take much time (maybe about an hour or so) and 2) are very different from my normal fare.

Just in the past two weeks, I produced three pieces of art in my spare time with some different techniques.

This is a wallpaper I put together for an anime promo that was released recently.  It's a French anime that's due to be released in 2013 that's already gathered a decent fanbase.  More info and credit for the images can be found on the deviantART page here.

A drawing of Merida from Pixar's Brave.  I actually drew this in permanent marker on a large piece of paper in my dorm hallway and was pleased enough to take a picture of it; I then colored it in Photoshop.  Credit for the textures found on deviantART here.

Both of these are very different from my typical style.  They weren't terribly time-consuming.  But they WERE fun to make and let me stretch my "art muscles" a bit!

So if you're feeling stuck or don't have much time for art, don't be afraid to try something different.  You just might find that it'll open you to new techniques and ideas and keep you from falling into the frustration of art block!

All the Right Notes: The Hunger Games trilogy, Part 1

...or, an alternative title: Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality in The Hunger Games trilogy.

I did not first hear about The Hunger Games until the fans of the books pulled the movie out of the mess of other movie trailers and into the spotlight last year.  Upon reading the first book before seeing the movie, I was duly impressed.  (I also believe the movie is fantastic, but since this AtRN is about the books and not the movie, that is perhaps a discussion for another day.)  I then resolved to finish the trilogy--even though I had heard some troublesome dissonance about the last two books--as soon as possible.

Well, "as soon as possible" turned into "months later," but I've finally gotten around to consuming the entire series.

I have heard many different opinions on the trilogy.  Some say the last two "suck."  Some say the second "sucks" and the third one is "better."  Many lament that the books are good "except for the damn love triangle."  Most people agree that the first is the best.

Before I delve into my AtRN thesis for The Hunger Games, let's just get my very quick opinions of the three individual books out of the way:

• The Hunger Games (the first book) is fairly superb.  It is engrossing, well-written, and overall has excellent balance to its numerous aspects.
• Catching Fire is certainly the weakest of the trilogy, and suffers the most from Collins's selected writing style for the series.  I would not go so far as to say it "sucks," but the book sadly places itself in the tired category of the "weak-but-unfortunately-necessary-second-book-in-a-trilogy."  It is in no way a horrible book, however.
• Mockingjay, though not as strong as The Hunger Games, surprised me with its satisfying end and left me with a pleasant association with the entire series.  In that way, I'd say it's highly successful, and a worthy end to the trilogy.

Although I have issues with the second (and somewhat the third) books, clearly I am far from condemning them as some readers have.  This is because I believe readers of The Hunger Games often suffer from what I am calling Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, a problem I find increasingly in modern audiences and have even caught myself succumbing to.

What is Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, and what does it have to do with The Hunger Games trilogy?  Read on after the break to find out!

All the Right Notes: Brave

...or, an alternative title: Why Brave is not a bad movie (and worth seeing in theaters).

OK, Anna, what's your deal?  Brave's been out for awhile now.  It won't be in theaters much longer.  You had the chance to write a review back in the summer.  Why, suddenly, are you taking the time to write about it?

Well, dear reader, it is because I find myself in an odd predicament.

When I first saw Brave awhile ago, I was, admittedly, disappointed.  I stated as such in a few-sentence-Facebook-status.  And quite honestly, I felt I did not have much more to elaborate on after writing that, so I didn't bother with an "All the Right Notes" review.  I did note the merits I thought the movie had, however, and I ended up happily seeing it a second time (in 3D), and actually enjoyed it more than the first time.

So, while I had (have) problems with the movie, it settled in my mind favorably, and even now I can look up and see my lovely Brave poster hanging in my dorm.

All of a sudden, however, even now when Brave has been in theaters for a month and a half, I seem to be stumbling upon some of my friends and acquaintances making the same sweep statement: "Brave is a bad movie."  And, just as inexplicably, suddenly I'm finding myself defending the very movie that I had previously spoken somewhat ill of.

This is an odd situation, and thus, I have decided that it is best for me to sit down and write my final thoughts on the matter.  Because after seeing this dismissive statement, I have been forced to really decide what I think about Brave, and, just as the title says, my opinion is thus: Brave is NOT a "bad movie," and it IS worth seeing in theaters.

Why have I finally come to this conclusion?  Read on after the break to find out!

FYI, this is the poster image hanging in my room.  It's sweeeeet.

All the Right Notes: Glass Mask

I am blessed with some fantastic friends.  Friends that recommend equally fantastic shows for me to check out.  I am not here to beat down bad shows, movies, etc. and point out all their faults.  I'm not even here to necessarily point out faults in things I like.  Because quite honestly, I dislike wasting my time on poor stories.  Anytime I bring up a praise or a criticism, I always try to make some sort of point with it.

Because what I really set out to do with these reviews is to learn.  The best way to learn is through observation.  Therefore, what better way to learn about storytelling than by observing the good and bad in the movies and TV shows that I watch and comics and stories that I read?

Sometimes, it can be difficult to come up with an angle to really focus on when I write a review.  This is why I don't write reviews on everything that I read and watch.

I did not have this problem, however, with the most recent anime I watched  consumed titled Glass Mask.  Actually, quite the opposite.  Because quite honestly, the show is just so damn good that the most difficult thing was determining the most interesting aspect to focus on.  Obviously, I eventually succeeded.

What aspect of storytelling can be learned from Glass Mask?  Check out the review after the break to find out!

The main cast from left to right: Masumi Hayami, Ayumi Himekawa, Maya Kitajima, Chigusa Tsukikage