A condição feminina na narrativa distópica The Hunger Games: uma análise comparativa entre o romance e o filme

Abstract

This research analyses the adaptation of the book The Hunger Games (2008), by Suzanne Collins, to film. The novel is the first book of a series about war and violence in a world controlled by a one-party totalitarian system. The narrative tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, who lives with her mother and younger sister, to whom Katniss sacrifices by volunteering to participate in the Hunger Games, which is to many a death sentence. The narrative, adapted to film in 2012, broadens its visibility, mainly to establish an engagement with the younger generations mindful of contemporary transformations. Thus, novel and film dialogue referring to the impacts of this fiction representing a dystopic future for humankind. In this sense, this research aims to make a comparative analysis between the literary work The Hunger Games and its homonymous film adaptation focusing on the female character’s translation, Katniss Everdeen, in a dystopic narrative context. The following authors provide the theoretical support: Claeys (2017), about the dystopian genre; Butler (2003), on premisses about the female representativeness; Foucault (2014) and Varsam (1999), concerning the political dimensions of literature; and, finally, regarding adaptation studies, Cattrysse (1992), Hutcheon (2011) and Stam (2006). Early outcomes show that female characters in dystopian narrative do not receive great space during the rise of the genre in the twentieth century. Only in the twenty-first century did dystopian narratives broaden the compasses to female character conditions in the genre. It is possible to observe that contemporary dystopian texts tend to place women as protagonists in a greater degree, and characters such as Katniss, when translated from literature to cinema, provide resignifications and print female representativeness applicable to today’s context. Also, viewing this literary work as a cultural artifact is relevant to comprehending how contemporary dystopian fiction has been standing out more and more due to popular cinematographic adaptations of literary works, which receives a protagonist role in perpetuating social movements among the many readers and viewers who relate to the oppressive struggles from the narrative.