'The Hunger Games': Moviegoers say goodbye to a still-rare female protagonist
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With the arrival of the last 鈥淗unger Games鈥 movie, 鈥淭he Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2,鈥 on Nov. 20, moviegoers are bidding goodbye to 鈥淕ames鈥 heroine Katniss Everdeen.聽
In the movies, based on Suzanne Collins鈥 novels, Katniss volunteers for the deadly, titular Games and ends up leading a revolution against a totalitarian government.聽
Katniss is a conflicted heroine, but the story shows her moral fortitude 鈥 volunteering to participate in the Games saves her beloved younger sister from having to enter the deadly arena.聽
So with the end of the franchise comes the end of a popular character. It most likely helps that Katniss is portrayed by actress Jennifer Lawrence, who has won over many, but a love for 鈥淕ames鈥 and Katniss in particular caused even the popularity of archery, Katniss鈥檚 famous skill, to surge.聽
The end of the "Games" series will also be the end of a still-rare, female-led adventure story. Katniss and her bow and arrow headed up one of the most lucrative franchises in film history, and the fact that a female character was at the head of this big-budget series is something that鈥檚 still a rarity in Hollywood. Of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of the year so far, only three have female protagonists. Animated movie 鈥淚nside Out" doesn鈥檛 show its lead actress onscreen, while 鈥淐inderella" has its heroine attending a ball rather than taking charge of a revolution. 鈥淧itch Perfect 2," however, has a female ensemble cast leading the comedy.聽
This trend of a lack of female protagonists echoes over the past several years, with characters like Maleficent of the 2014 movie of the same name, Sandra Bullock鈥檚 Ryan in 鈥淕ravity,鈥 Anna and Elsa of 鈥淔rozen鈥 (also animated) popping up here and there but with male protagonists dominating the highest-grossing movies or female characters being part of a larger ensemble, as with the 鈥淎vengers鈥 films or 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy.鈥澛
Therefore the popularity of young-adult film adaptations over the last several years has had another effect: bringing more female protagonists to the screen.
The 鈥淭wilight鈥 film series, which was based on the successful books of the same name by Stephenie Meyers, center on Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her supernatural adventures involving vampires and werewolves. Fans and critics alike derided some of Bella鈥檚 actions and qualities, including a lack of personal interests outside her romantic relationship and unhealthy behavior following a break-up. But Bella was nonetheless the center of the action onscreen.
Then Katniss came along. And now the popular 鈥淒ivergent鈥 films, based on the books by Veronica Roth, center on protagonist Tris (Shailene Woodley), who lives in a dystopian society where people are divided based on personal qualities. Like Katniss, Tris becomes an important part of the fight against the government.聽
This January will see the movie 鈥淭he 5th聽Wave鈥 come to the big screen. 鈥淲ave,鈥 which is based on the books by Rick Yancey, is the story of a girl named Cassie (Chloe Grace Moretz) trying to live in a world that鈥檚 been attacked by aliens.聽
We obviously don鈥檛 know yet whether 鈥淲ave鈥 will seize the public imagination, but Hollywood executives must have been thinking at least a bit of Katniss as they greenlit the upcoming movie.