It’s almost the end of the year! You know what that means… Everyone recapping the year all over the place! Yaaaay! (We’d mock them, but we’ll probably end up doing it too.) Among the recaps so far was TIME’s Most Influential Characters of 2013, which featured the one and only Katniss Everdeen. We’d be excited, but we now realize that we’ve grievously misunderstood this character after seeing what TIME had to say:
The REAL Girl on Fire (Sales)
Beyond leading Catching Fire to a gross of $600 million—and counting—the Hunger Games heroine (played by Jennifer Lawrence) is also inspiring several real-world product lines. Among them: the Nerf Rebelle line of guns, quivers and crossbows for girls, Lucas Hugh “Capitol Label” workout clothes, and a makeup line from CoverGirl.
So Katniss Everdeen was influential because Catching Fire made a lot of money and there were a bunch of product lines, most of which were knockoff gimmicks, based on bits of her story? Well, we’ve been wrong all along! See, we thought Katniss Everdeen influenced more than a few shiny new products and a few bucks. Things like literacy, political awareness and advocacy, feminine empowerment, and views on war and violence. Silly us! Jessie J was wrong. It’s all about the price tag!
Just what Katniss was going for, guys!
While she isn’t totally unique, Katniss is pretty special to be considered for her monetary value instead of her many contributions to the way fans think about the world. Most of the characters featured were called out on their ability to make fans think progressively and work to affect change– even the animated dog from Family Guy! But Katniss is way too cool to be recognized for that junk. No matter if her story DOES motivate fans to get involved with charities and community work as well as increase awareness of social issues. Ideals don’t pay the bills!
Personally, we plan to run out and purchase a Nerf Rebelle to atone for our poor judgement. We hope you find your own way to feed the really-not-even-fully-Katniss-related money machine.
If It’s On The Internet, It Must Be So!
The Girl With The Pearl
Source:
http://victorsvillage.com/2013/12/26/the-influence-of-katniss-everdeen-hunger-games/