there are spoilers in this link.
Everything from the innocuous ”She’s not how I pictured her” to “I was all sad and like “she’s black!’”
Seriously? My good nerds, what in the entire f-ck?
While it is true that Rue is described maybe only twice in the entire book, she is described as having brown satiny skin that is darker than Katniss’ own tan skin. While it is also true that the Hunger Gamesbooks are a very quick and absorbing read I don’t find that any of this an excuse to post on Facebook ”Shes Black?”
It makes me wonder if we all read the same book.
How is it, when Rue is so clearly described that fans insist they believed her to be white? White people are considered the norm in society; the default person. It’s as simple as when you hear the words “All-American”, I can say with certainty that you are not picturing a minority person of color. This is white privilege.
I’m a longtime Hunger Games fan and have followed many conversations on the internet concerning the casting of the film. Whenever the conversation comes to Rue there is always (1) person who is surprised to find out Rue is black and (2) another person who is upset that Rue is black. Upset as if they have been tricked or as if something has been stolen from them. Upset as if they now have to reevaluate how they feel about Rue–a character many fans love dearly because of her incredible courage.
“OMG, THERE IS A BLACK PERSON IN MY BOOK!?”
bolding is mine. i think it’s interesting that black characters are generally not considered ‘marketable’ as leads, because ‘white people won’t identify with them’. clearly, this is not actually a problem, since white people seem to just assume everyone is white even when they are told specifically otherwise.
