Also, I noticed that the island, or castle, was like an arena. It sort of reminded me of the Hunger Games in a way that they were all brought there to fight. It also reminded me of Battle Royale because of how they were all “students” still learning the way. Though they were not all there to fight each other one on one, they were there under an experiment to see if any of them would join Han.

kəˈwī/

adjective
(in the context of Japanese popular culture) cute. ”she paints elephants that are extremely kawaii” noun. the quality of being cute, or items that are cute.

Here are some examples of the popular culture term of “kawaii.” Though some of these seem extreme, it is the popular culture. I noticed that some of the styles seem very doll-like with big doe eyes, rosy cheeks, and big frou-frou fluffs. Also, I noticed colors, most of them are pastel or light colors.

 

After we went over a few slides of kawaii style, I was immediately reminded of the Capitol style of Hunger Games. The style in the Capitol, though is the norm, is very eye catching. It reminded me of the kawaii style because of how bold and how much it stands out. I know the kawaii style is not bold in any way, but it definitely catches the attention and goes against the norm of society, which I think makes it bold in its own sense. Anyway, here are some examples of the fashion in the Capitol.

So, in the Capitol as well as the kawaii style, mostly women take part in this. Most men wear suits, but still wear eye-liner with bold colors or have odd hair styles.

Overall, I think that the styles are similar in a way that they demand attention and are what’s “in” at the moment.

In Slanted Screen and Slaying the Dragon the documentaries on Asian women and men in the film industry go through a crisis of portraying a “real” image of Asian cultures. So there is a bit of an identity crisis for both men and women in the tone of sexuality and of what Asians look and live like. Also, in Saving Face Wil has an identity of who she is, she is biologically Asian, but culturally she is not accepted. Katniss is not accepted in the Capital at all because of her rebellious meaning, yet she does not fit in with district 12 anymore. She tries to do her best to just leave this rebellion behind, yet most people around her are controlling the things around her and she has no idea. She sees herself as just an ordinary girl trying to escape, but then she has to use this image of the Mocking Jay for the rebellion. Katniss is confused about what is going on around her and what she feels inside. She is caught between what she is told is right and what she feels is right.

Can you guess what novel I’m talking about? A little confused? A little torn

Well, in class we talked about a topic, “Parrying Katy.” She talks about how Geisha’s just love with all their heart and how she loves the culture. Then I started to think that she may not be racist, maybe she’s just ignorant and doesn’t really know much about the history of Japan and how they’ve come to be in America. I then began to ponder on how she even got the idea to dress like a Geisha and how common it is that celebrities often “copy” or have similar outfits and costumes that relate back to Asia. All of a sudden, I remember being told about Battle Royale and how The Hunger Games is very similar to it and how it seemed to be the “copied” American version (what a friend had told me).

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

Both novels have a futuristic time frame with both states are led by authoritarianism. In Hunger Games 1 boy and 1 girl is reaped from each of the 12 districts, they are called “tributes.” All tributes get training, get put into an arena and are expected to fight each other until there is only one victor. In Battle Royale these students are gassed on a bus and taken to “The Program” which is a military experiment and is an island where they all must fight to the death and again, until only victor remains. In both novels the reason for doing this is to terrorize the people of the states and to prevent an uprising against the government. Also, before entering the area all 24 tributes get a tracket inserted into their forearms, where as the students in Battle Royale have trackers in their collars. In both novels the main characters have witnessed death and lost friends over the course of the battle. Lastly, instead of there only being victor, both novels end up having 2 survivors that are close to each other. For instance, Katiss and Peeta end up winning the games and Noriko and Shuya end up escaping the program. If not identical, very similar right?

Chiaki Kuriyama plays Takako Chigusa in Battle Royale

Though there are a few things that separate these two. Though the storyline may be different, the way the movies were produced at least, separate the two as far as popularity goes. I know that books and movies are different, but both of these novels have been turned into movies. So, in Battle Royale it is way more gruesome than the Hunger Games. In Battle Royale the grouping of the students is a public secret, everybody knows it’s happening, but nobody wants to admit that it really is. In Collins novels, the Hunger Games is advertised and televised throughout Panem. Many also argue that Battle Royale is more about violence, gore, and chaos whereas the Hunger Games is about survival and movement towards a rebellion.

I did further research to see when both authors Susan Collins (Hunger Games) and Koushun Takami (Battle Royale) had published their books. Battle Royale was first published in 1999 and was later on translated into English in 2003. There was then an expanded version with a word from Takami as well that was published in 2009. The Hunger Games was first published as a hardcover in 2008. It has since then been a hit and has been sold in 38 territories world wide.

So I guess what I am wondering is if the Hunger Games really is a “knock-off” or at least inspired by Battle Royale? Or is it just a very bizarre coincidence? I have yet to find anything that has proof that Collins had completely ripped of Takami or that there was any political conflict over it. I could agree that both movies/novels are very similar, but I also think that they are both very different in certain ways. Nonetheless, both movies/novels are very interesting and entertaining to watch.

I did my research from here and here (I just searched for each book there and compared.)

One of the first similarities I found was, in general, all the Asians were somewhat separated. They all worked in different areas or kept with their own race; for instance, Japanese usually kept with the Japanese, or Chinese kept with the Chinese for the most part. Also, they all had their own place of work. Most Chinese worked on the railroads or in the mines. The Japanese usually worked in the fields with the Pilipino/a and Koreans. In the Hunger Games there are different districts, a total of twelve, but they are all kept to be with their own district. They know of each other and can communicate, but very minimally. Each district is known for something; for instance, District 12 is known for the coal mines and District 7 is known for its lumber. Each district is responsible for gathering what they are known for and giving what is asked to the Capital. The Capital of course is the government that runs all twelve districts.

Secondly, I found that all the Asians expected to be taken care of and be rich in America. America was portrayed as a land of opportunity and better living; unfortunately, that is not how it worked out and they ended up being oppressed by the government. In The Hunger Games the government portrays themselves as the districts saviors and is giving them better living situations, but in reality the districts are suffering.

Next, riots were handled the same. In Takaki, he talks about how when riots broke out the government would cut off all their resources and make the Asians need them; or authorities or land owners would fight them or beat who ever acted out. In the Hunger Games, any sign of resistance or riots, action was taken very quickly. The Capital would cut off food supply or punish the individuals involved physically.

Also, not only in Takaki but in The Beautiful Country, a film we recently watched, Asians were given contracts, deals, or debts to pay off for them being brought here. In The Beautiful Country Binh is supposed to pay off , $5,227 in two years of slave work. In Strangers from a Different Shore many Asian men and women had to pay off their debts as well: for the men they paid it off in slave work and women had to pay their dues off in prostitution. For The Hunger Games people from the districts can “buy” food, water, or other resources from the Capital to give to their families or business in exchange for their service in the Capital or more name entries if who was asking was under 18 years old. For instance, Gale, Katniss’s good friend is given bread from the peace keepers (officers of the government) for his name to be entered 42 times in the next reaping.

Lastly, the JACP (Japanese American Curriculum Project) was a group of Japanese who wanted to go along with the government to gain America’s trust while other Japanese members did not want to do it or did not understand. So there was sort of a divide between the Japanese based on who wanted to trust the government and who wanted to stay tied to their own cultural ways. In The Hunger Games many districts trusted Katniss Everdeen to be one of them; however, in Catching Fire (Hunger Games second movie) she goes along with the Capital and converts to their way of how they depict she should be. This leads to the other districts to distrust her and causes a divide between the districts, even her own.

I find these similarities very interesting because what is being talked about in The Hunger Games has somewhat already happened. I wonder if anyone who is not taking this class or other cultural/history class knows that these events are similar to real life happenings. Anyhow, I am anxious to see what else I can compare to the Hunger Games with this class to better my understanding and knowledge of Asian/American Pop-Culture.