100 Days of Mockingjay - Kendal's THG Story

Week 1 of our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration is all about Your THG Story. Read about how to contribute yours here.

Kendal is one of the writers here at PanemPropaganda and co-manages our instagram account. Here's her THG Story:

When I first heard about The Hunger Games, I was a 14-year-old eighth grader. Through my eighth grade year, I heard small tidbits of information about the trilogy through friends and family members. It wasn't until I was fifteen, however, that I completely dove into Katniss' story and my obsession began.

My story seems backward to most people since I did things in reverse order. A few days after Catching Fire was released in theaters, I went with two of my friends to go see it (after they begged me to come and practically dragged me out my front door!). Up to that point, I hadn't read the books or watched the first Hunger Games movie...pretty backward, right?

Sitting in the theater, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the movie.  But watching Katniss and Peeta grow closer together while fighting to protect those they love, AND trying to stop a rebellion from starting all at the same time, was captivating. I felt as if I was personally feeling every emotion Katniss experienced on screen (thanks to Jennifer's amazing acting). So, when the movie ended, I went home and researched where to find the books and the first movie.

A few weeks later, I had read the whole trilogy, watched both movies, and was buying as much merchandise as possible...you could definitely say my obsession was beginning. Reading the books helped me understand Katniss more, and I realized we handle stressful and emotional situations in very similar ways. I find myself applying Katniss' ideas and emotions into situations I experience many times a day, and doing so helps me grow even closer to the trilogy. Making a Twitter account dedicated to the trilogy (@jennifer_thg) and joining Panem Propaganda has helped me meet many friends and amazing people who share my love for The Hunger Games.

Meeting people from all over the world through this trilogy is something I never expected that day when I saw Catching Fire for the first time, but I'm so thankful that I did. I might not have done things in the correct order (read the books first, and then the movies), but I'm so glad my friends convinced me that day to go to the movies. Everyone has a The Hunger Games story, and I (and all of us here at Panem Propaganda) can't wait to hear them all during our 100 Days of Mockingjay Countdown.

Follow Kendal on twitter @jennifer_thg.

And be sure to enter our week one GIVEAWAY here. You could win a black mockingjay pin and a mockingjay journal! 

'Mockingjay Part 2' in EW's Fall Movie Preview

Click to enlarge. Via QuarterQuell.org and @HungerGamesita

There's a short but sweet feature on Mockingjay Part 2 in Entertainment Weekly's Fall Moview Preview Issue, out on newsstands today. The article focuses on building the Capitol and how the design team brought to life a city under siege. 

Thanks so much to to Mockingjay Source for the scans and QuarterQuell and @HungerGamesIta for the HQ, untagged image! 

100 Days of Mockingjay - Kelsi's THG Story

Week 1 of our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration is all about Your THG Story. Read about how to contribute yours here.

Kelsi is one of the writers here at PanemPropaganda and a contributor to our Facebook page. Here is Kelsi's THG Story:

I read The Hunger Games when the book first came out and I remember thinking immediately: “this is going to be HUGE!” I fell in love with the story, as well as with the character of Katniss and the fire that burned within her, noting her courage and deep compassion for those who matter most to her. I admire Suzanne Collins for her excellent writing skills, for being able to tell such an incredible and timely story with such strong characters. I aspire to be able to write like that and to someday have even an iota of the effect on others as Suzanne and her story has had on me.

 

I, like many fan-girls and fan-boys out there, am quite introverted. I have my moments of being socially awkward. In addition, I have struggled with OCD and depression for most of my life. Books and movies have always been my escape, so I have a variety of books, movies, celebs, series, etc. that I love and obsess over. Finding fandoms has made a profound difference in my life. It offered me the opportunity to belong amongst like-minded individuals and has ultimately helped me to feel a little more confident. The Hunger Games was something special, though. It has been the most welcoming and loving community that I have had the honor to be included in, allowing me to make new friends and have some incredible experiences.

 

As we head towards the final movie, I take comfort in knowing that the deep fandom bond will always be there. I will forever carry the label of “Tribute” with pride, as a badge of honor, with my three-finger salute, held high for all to see.

You can follow Kelsi on twitter and instagram at @kelsilouwho.

And be sure to enter our week one GIVEAWAY here. You could win a black mockingjay pin and a mockingjay journal! 

100 Days of Mockingjay - Lara's THG Story

Week 1 of our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration is all about Your THG Story. Read about how to contribute yours here.

Lara is one of our long-time readers and is the Queen of the reaction gif. I'm serious, someone needs to get this woman a crown. Lara is the mastermind behind @THGPickMeUp, a twitter account of daily THG happiness. 

“Fine,” I gruffed to one of my best friends before Brit Lit was about to start. She told me several times throughout the semester that I simply HAD to read a book series called The Hunger Games. English major that I was, I much preferred writing than reading. Literature did not impress me easily. In a sea of mediocrity, I’d zone in and out until I practically forgot the entire tale being told. Talk about a waste of time.

I kept my friend’s recommendation in the back of my mind until I was off for the summer. Soon, it was June, and I had already been on vacation for six weeks. I figured, what the hey. I could’ve used a project to kick-start my brain again. I went to the library and picked up a novel that featured a gold, foreign bird on a smooth, black cover. As I checked it out, I thought, “Hope this is decent.”

Lying in bed, holding the book, I reviewed the little I knew about The Hunger Games: 1) It involved a fight-to-the-death, 2) The older sister saved her younger sister—the infamous “I volunteer!” incident, 3) The movie that recently came out, starring a newcomer named Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth, and a handful of other actors I was familiar with. Jennifer was the main character. Katniss, maybe? There were two main male characters, but I did not know their names, nor who played whom. (When I was first reading Gale’s character, I was in constant conflict with myself: “I think this is Liam. Nope. Josh. No, no, it’s Liam. Maybe it IS Josh…”) and 4) Apparently, this series was a big deal.

With practically a blank slate, I opened to page one. Immediately, I was interested. Before the first chapter ended, I had already made it to the “volunteer” scene. How, I wondered, had I already hit this? It was to be a huge part of the series, and I JUST read it. I wasn’t even on page thirty yet! What more was to come? It was going to be a slow ride, wasn’t it?

 
Oh-ho-ho, was I wrong.

Suzanne Collins surprised me with every turn of the page. Her chapters slapped me in the face, blind-sighting me over and over again. A conflict would quickly arise, the resolution would be presented soon after, and we’d be on to a new problem. This novel was unlike anything I’d ever read. It held my attention, indefinitely. I couldnot predict events, like I’d managed to do in nearly every single piece of literature I’d ever read. 

I’d fallen in love (and not just with Peeta Mellark). I was in love with the way Suzanne wrote. I was in love with acknowledgement to real problems in our current world that most literature cannot even scrape the surface of because, “What if he doesn’t like me? Oh, my gosh, he LOOKED at me. Are we married yet? I have to kiss him. He’ll have my babies…!” ENOUGH! I was in love with the subtle humor. I was in love with how attached I felt to every character in one way or another.

For several nights, I read into the wee hours of the morning—until I was too exhausted to go on. I was hanging on every word my eyes flitted across. When I reached the last page, my heart hung heavily, not wanting to leave the world I had been entranced with. Katniss narrated, “I take [Peeta’s] hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.” I felt the same way when it came to the wondrous novel I was reading. I wanted to hang onto the glorious book hangover I was soaking in. The second I read “END OF BOOK ONE,” I was ready for book two.

The rest is history.

I’m still hooked, two years later. I’ve been accepted into the fandom—even though I was a little late. I’ve met some of the loveliest people through this series. I’ve experienced true joy in speaking with them, in following our cast, in watching the movies, and in reading the book series over and over.

Part 2 may be coming out this year, but my love for this series will burn on forever.

You can follow Lara on twitter at @Larrs9325 and @THGPickMeUp 

100 Days of Mockingjay - Elise's THG Story

Week 1 of our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration is all about Your THG Story. Read about how to contribute yours here.

Elise is one of the writers here at PanemPropaganda and co-manages our instagram account. Here's her THG Story:

There are all types of people who like The Hunger Games. I was one of those people who didn’t connect with the trilogy when it first became popular. But I hadn't given it a chance. I’ve always been a “book person” but the books seemed violent and inhumane to me; I simply wasn’t interested no matter what people said. However, one of my friends convinced me to go see Catching Fire the weekend it came out, and I couldn’t go see that without seeing the first movie! So I forced myself to watch The Hunger Games (At the time I hadn’t read the books yet...I know, I know…). I thought “Okay this isn’t that bad but the concept is still strange to me”. The next day I saw Catching Fire and I was totally mesmerized during the whole film. I saw it multiple times and then I received the trilogy for Christmas and read them in January of 2014.

This trilogy (obviously!) means the world to me. I absolutely love interacting with all of you and being a part of the team at Panem Propaganda. I’ve gained so many friends and experiences in The Hunger Games fandom. The Hunger Games inspires me to believe in myself and to be strong and fight for what I believe in, no matter what anyone thinks. If something is important to you, it’s something that matters. The characters are unique and intriguing, along with the world they live in, Panem. This trilogy is a perfect example that life can go on, and people can learn to love after destruction, loss, and trauma. It prepares us to think about our future because after all, we are the future, and we have the chance to make it bright.

You can follow Elise on twitter @lawrencexswift.

And be sure to enter our week one GIVEAWAY here. You could win a black mockingjay pin and a mockingjay journal! 

100 Days of Mockingjay - Your THG Story

 

Suzanne Collins created The Hunger Games from an idea born of late night channel surfing between real war coverage and reality television. Suzanne, the daughter of a career military man and Vietnam Veteran, has said that she wanted to write an age-appropriate war story for every age group. The Hunger Games is her war story for young adults. The trilogy's themes of poverty, socio-economic disparity, government corruption, propaganda, revolution, redemption, and the consequences of war don't make the trilogy a typical YA light read. But I think that's also why we love it so much.

The Hunger Games means many different things to many different people. For some, the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, is a strong and inspiring female role model, for some she motivates as a survivor of poverty and PTSD. She's complicated, imperfect, damaged and an incredibly compelling lead character.

Some people simply adore the love stories - Peeta and Katniss are the catalysts for countless Everlark fan fics. Everthorne, Odesta, any 'ship you sail in The Hunger Games certainly isn't all hearts and flowers and the romances in the books are tinted with sadness. Not a typical happy ending to be found anywhere in the trilogy, yet we relish them all the same. 

In Thailand, citizens have identified with The Hunger Games and used its three finger salute as a symbol to combat injustice. Odds In Our Favor uses the salute along with their #MyHungerGames initiative to highlight economic inequality in the world. 

We want to know what The Hunger Games means to YOU. Why do you love it? How has it inspired you? What brought you into this wild, wonderful fandom and how has it changed your life?

This week, share your story. You can write it in the comments below or share on our Facebook page. You can also snap a photo, or create an edit or gifset based on what The Hunger Games means to you and tag us on Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr. Use the hashtag #MyTHGStory across social media so we can find you, and we'll share as many of YOUR THG stories as we can this week!

This idea was completely inspired by the lovely Everlarked & Always, a blog you definitely should be following on tumblr. Check out the eloquent #MyTHGStory submissions of Everlarked & Always followers here .

Be sure to enter the Your THG Story Giveaway in the widget below! The giveaway is open to international tributes and runs from today, August 12th until Tuesday, August 18th at 8:00pm EST.

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Jennifer Lawrence and 'Mockingjay Part 2' To Be Featured in EW's Fall Movie Preview

Entertainment Weekly's annual Fall Movie preview hits newsstands on Friday. The issue includes an exclusive interview with Jennifer Lawrence, plus inside intel on the season’s 75 biggest movies. Among them: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. Knowing EW, this might be just a 1/4 page blurb. But we'll keep you posted with the details as soon as the issue arrives!  

100 Days of Mockingjay

Celebrating The Hunger Games Fandom

The final countdown to the release of our last film in The Hunger Games franchise has begun. It’s 100 days until Mockingjay Part 2 opens in US theaters, and we want to spend every one of those days celebrating with you!

Today we’re kicking off a 100-day-long party just for tributes. We can’t let our last THG film go out quietly. We’re going to honor all aspects of our beloved franchise and the passionate people that have helped make it so successful - that’s you! We’ll be focusing on every dimension of The Hunger Games unique and fabulous fandom over the coming months, highlighting the wonderful things that you’ve created out of your love for The Hunger Games book trilogy and movie franchise.

A successful party is nothing without great guests, and YOU are our guests of honor. There will be many opportunities for you to share YOUR stories and creations with us. So get out on that virtual dance floor and show us what you’ve got.

And what’s a party without presents? We’ve got presents! We’ll be holding weekly contests with all sorts of fabulous loot that you can win. Plus a few surprises.

We’ll be using the hashtag #100DaysofMJ across twitter, instagram, facebook and tumblr.

Our first feature is all about YOUR THG Story. Find out more and enter our first giveaway here.