Songbirds and Snakes

When I was a kid, there was a giant boom of interest in a series of books by Suzanne Collins, called The Hunger Games. I remember the interest reaching me when the first movie was set to release, only two years after the final book had been published. I knew about the books from those around me, but the movies seemed to spark even more excitement from friends and relatives, so I was told to see it in theaters, and encouraged to read the book. I had (and let's be honest, have) a terrible habit of deciding that I dislike things before I even give them a chance, if they are largely popular and the general public approves of them. It's a complex that I've been battling against more recently, trying to remember that popular things are popular for a reason, and perhaps they actually are pretty good. In 2012, when the first Hunger Games movie was released in theaters, however, I was not fighting against this inclination. I was in the throes of "I'm not like other girls" and being a "hipster," liking only things that were cool, unique, and different. I like to think that I am so much better about this now, give me a break, I finally listen to Taylor Swift on a consistent basis, but I'll be honest, it's still a habit to write something off as "blandly popular" before giving it a chance. Back in 2012, I told everyone that mentioned it that I would never read the books, I would never watch the movies, and I wasn't interested in this weird story about a future dystopia. 

I don't remember exactly when it happened along the line somewhere, and I wish I did because it would make a far better story. However, somewhere between 2012 and 2014, I snuck in a reading of the Hunger Games series. I remember not telling anyone until I had completely devoured the books, front to back, and finally began to realize the error of my previous indifference. I borrowed the books from my library, and along with my sisters and my mom, read through the entire series quickly. I remember seeing Mockingjay, the two-part finale of the movie series, in theaters, after reading all 3 books. I read anything else I could find by Suzanne Collins (I have fond memories of the Gregor the Overlander series, although not as clear as the Hunger Games series) and I would have taken anything she wrote and eaten it up. I remember thinking consistently how strange it was that she was not writing more Hunger Games books, and creating more movies, and how eagerly her audience would have taken to another novel. 

In 2020, Collins release her highly anticipated answer to the questions everyone was asking about more Hunger Games, more Panem, and more Katniss: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The film adaptation of this novel was released this year, 2023. I remember when the book came out, that people were a little surprised at the story Collins chose to tell. I think it was widely well received, but there is no denying that a sympathetic and even compassionate prequel to the story of Coriolanus Snow was not exactly what the fans were expecting. This illustrates to me an interesting concept: When an artist (someone who really excels in their specific craft, whether that be writing, painting, speaking, singing, etc.) gains an insane and immediate audience from a piece of their work, it is completely fascinating to me to watch what happens next. I have heard of and watched so many people who receive great accolades and fame from something latch onto that thing forever, just keep producing more of whatever it happens to be, and feed the fans with every piece of media they can drag out of it. Some would call this beating a dead horse. In my personal opinion, I think that is what has happened to the Star Wars universe. I just do not want more--I'm sorry if that is offensive, but it's the truth! Some might say that the more recent Star Wars media has found new people, has introduced people into the fandom that did not like the earlier stuff, and that is a reasonable argument: I believe that every piece of media has its audience somewhere. However, I think there is a truly golden beauty to maintain the integrity of your main story, to holding back, and deciding not to give the fans everything they want. Don't misunderstand me: I am all for artists reveling in their success! Go get that bag for whatever you are good at! In the case of Collins and her writing, she is doing just fine and profiting off of her work- good! My point here is I think there is real beauty to the fact that she has decided not to just publish a million and one mini stories of every tribute, to publish novels of all 75 Hunger Games, to write book after book about the happy and long marriage of Katniss and Peeta, and draw every story out of the incredible world of Panem that she has created. As a fan, I would devour those stories. I told my mom last week that I would re-read the entire Hunger Games series from the perspective of every single person in the story, including the nameless Avoxes in the capital. I have grown such an affection for this story, partly because I first consumed it at such a formative time in my childhood, and I adore it! However, I think the fact that Collins has held back makes the stories that she has released all the more impactful. 

I do want to talk about the film in this blog as well, not just my interest in the creative process of Suzanne Collins, but I felt that it was so interesting that after years of being asked for more, Collins chose to write this piece. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is an excellent book that manages to recapture the beauty and interest of the original Hunger Games trilogy with a deft understanding of what the reader should get out of the story, and the characters involved. The writing itself is beautiful from a literary standpoint, but the storyline fits wonderfully into the larger canon of the Hunger Games and does an incredible job of introducing us to the character of Coriolanus, and the larger world of Panem around him. I find the setting of the Capitol and districts from a much earlier point in time than the following Hunger Games books really fascinating- we can see what has changed and what hasn't. The opulence of the Capitol only grows with each year that they remain in power, and the depravity of the districts only gets worse until we come to the story of Katniss. I found myself not only feeling compassion for the character of Coriolanus, but understanding him, understanding the factors that led to his cruelty and ruthlessness. Great writing is not just a scientifically composed, critically correct piece of writing, but writing that actually makes you feel, makes you understand, and opens your eyes to things you were not aware of before. 

When I heard that there was a film adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes set to be released in 2023, I was very excited! I had obviously enjoyed the book in 2020, and I enjoy movies a great deal (couldn't you tell?) so I was impatiently waiting to watch it in theaters. I have seen it twice now, and I can confidently say that I think it is a great movie, and a pretty good adaptation of the book. I think the storyline of the book is more complex and layered, something that can be much easier to achieve in the written format, but I did find that the movie made a valiant effort to pull off that transition from page to screen. I think the cast, particularly Tom Blyth who portrays Coriolanus, did an incredible job. The only character that really got on my nerves was Arachne Crane, played by Lilly Cooper. I'm not sure if it was due to direction, or just a really bold character choice, but she was putting on this very forced-sounding "mean-girl" voice, which just did not fit with the way other characters were speaking, in my opinion. I really enjoyed Rachel Zegler's portrayal of Lucy Gray Baird (I do not understand why the internet hates her all of the sudden?) and found that she did an excellent job of bringing the power and brightness of that character to the screen. All of the characters were very compelling and worked well together. I found the dynamic of Sejanus Plinth and Coriolanus to be a standout of accuracy from the book to the screen- they are friends through a great deal of the plot, but a sort of tangential, forced-together kind of friendship. Sejanus obviously feels more friendliness towards Coriolanus, and Coriolanus has a resentment that Sejanus and the Plinths are more successful than the Snows. They are forced together from the fact that they are both mentors in the Games, and then following that they are both Peacekeepers in District Twelve. Coriolanus feels as though he is constantly cleaning up Sejanus' messes, and I think the film does a great job of pointing out this imbalance, and particularly the way it affects Coriolanus towards the end of the film, when he ends up stabbing Sejanus in the back (metaphorically, but also almost literally). This "friendship" and betrayal is definitely something that would haunt a person for the rest of their life. 

Another random piece I found incredibly compelling and well conveyed in the film is the concept of a "new" Hunger Games. Collins, the original writer, and the additional writers and director did an excellent job of conveying the fact that Lucy Gray's Hunger Games, the 10th Hunger Games in history, was very different than the other Hunger Games that had come before. We will probably never know every detail of those previous games, but from the dialogue and certain pieces of this film, we understand the differences are great. The previous games were much shorter, much more contained, and much less plotted. They were quite literally contained in the arena, which was destroyed by rebel bombs around half-way through this film. This bomb added a whole new layer to the 10th Games, of hiding, strategy, and using what is around you to win against your fellow tributes. The previous games, partly due to their being so much shorter, were also not hosted by anyone. There wasn't the same kind of announcer as Lucky Flickerman, expertly played by Jason Schwartzman, in any of the previous games. From the original series, we are familiar with a showy and extended games, led by the expert hosting of Caeser Flickerman. However, in the 10th Games, they mention that Lucky is the first host of the Hunger Games, and they show that he is unprepared for the Games that follow. At one point, he hosts a weather segment during the actual Hunger Games, which not only shows how disconnected he (and the Capitol at large) are from the death and destruction of the Games, but it also illustrates that hosting the Games is not common place yet. There is another scene where he is cancelling dinner reservations for that night because, surprisingly, the Games are still going on. This scene simultaneously made the entire theater chuckle and showed us just how different the Games are this time around. 

The last piece that I really want to mention, since this ramble has become long enough is about the music. I began listening to the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes album about two weeks before I saw the movie, and I usually don't do that for movies that have songs in them. I heard that Olivia Rodrigo recorded a song for the album, and I found that to be great decision (by whoever made it, I have no idea who decided that) partly because the song is great and partly because it is a great call-back to the Taylor Swift songs recorded for the original series. I found that song, "Can't Catch Me Now" to be incredibly accurate to the end of the film and the way that I felt after reading the book. The lyrics are a great representation of Lucy Gray and I think the sound is good as well! Once I heard that, I knew I wanted to listen to the rest. It is pretty much all I have been listening to since. When I open the building at work, when I am taking a shower, when I am doing dishes, it is all I have been playing on repeat. I think it is sort of interesting because some of the songs on there I would definitely categorize as "country," which is the only genre that I would have said I was not into before this album but now I am second guessing myself... Mom says that I like bluegrass, and country with really great lyrics, not new "stadium" country music. Either way, I think the album is incredible. In a somewhat uncommon turn, the album includes a few tracks that are not in the movie whatsoever, which are some of my favorites. "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" and "Burn Me Once" are so hauntingly beautiful, and they are etched onto my brain now. The other piece about the music that I thought was really interesting was the songs that were featured in the movie, for example: "The Old Therebefore" and "The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird." It was really interesting to see the movie break like a musical for these songs. One huge difference is they are canon to what is happening on screen. The audience is meant to understand that when Lucy Gray is singing "The Old Therebefore" in the arena, she is actually singing- everyone around can hear it and it is not just in her brain, or in a sequence no one acknowledges like some movie musicals where it is treated as almost a dreamlike state when someone starts singing. I appreciated this. Even as someone who loves musicals, this worked better for this film and (obviously) this plot. I did find it interesting though how theatrical Rachel Zegler is when singing. This makes complete sense to me based on her previous career, she starred in her high school's production of Shrek the Musical immediately before leaving school to star in Sondheim's West Side Story. This history of theater is part of what makes her such an incredible singer, and it makes sense for this to translate into the film. However, as a theater kid myself, I noticed that she make the "Theater Kid Singing" face a great deal throughout the film, and it threw me off a little bit. There is this face, I cannot quite explain it, but it has something to do with the jaw, and the way that theater kids sing. In my opinion, singing that way made her a little less convincing as a traveling country band. It did not "ruin" her performance in any way for me, but it was something that I noticed and perhaps that is just because I have seen a lot of performances where people go overboard on that jaw movement and face (or maybe that I do it myself sometimes). As I said, it makes sense why this habit and way of singing would stick around, based on her experience, but I do understand why some folks who do not love musicals were thrown off by the singing portions of this film. 

I do have two arguments with the film and it's adaptation from the book. First of all, I felt that Clemensia Dovecoat, one of Coriolanus' classmates, was relegated to a background character when her injury was crucial to understanding Coriolanus in my opinion. I found Coriolanus' reaction to her being bitten by the snakes and basically becoming an experiment of what follows when that happens to be a very important part of the story and Coriolanus' character. That was a much shorter scene in the film, and Coriolanus never even visited her in the hospital. I also found it really strange that they never mentioned that Dr. Gaul deleted all records of all 10 existing Hunger Games. I found that relevant because it would explain how Panem in general and Katniss specifically had no real concept of the only other female victor from District 12, Lucy Gray. I'm not entirely sure why they decided not to include a line about this when we see Dr. Gaul near the end of the film, I think it would have worked there, but perhaps it is just a deleted scene cut for time or something. 

Overall, I really enjoyed both of my viewings of this film and I will be adding it to my collection when it comes out on DVD. I hope they create a steelbook version with all 5 films... I would love that. It is not a perfect movie, and it is definitely not a perfect adaptation of the book, but I think it does a great job of bringing us into this world and keeping us hooked on the drama (perhaps a great metaphor for the Games themselves...). I obviously had many thoughts about the film, but not really an outro so... that's it, till next time!