Race In The Arena

April 02, 2012

How disturbing racist tweets related to 'The Hunger Games' gained national attention.

With the recent release of The Hunger Games movie, there has been an alarming response throughout the Twittersphere regarding the race of  two characters —Rue and Thresh. Hunger Games enthusiasts, including many teenagers and early twenty-somethings, have been Tweeting their disdain that two characters from Suzanne Collins's best-selling book were cast by African-American actors. Jezebel, Teen Writers Bloc, and many other publications have voiced their disappointment with the fans and pointed to direct quotes from Collins's work which suggest that both Rue and Thresh are of African-American descent.

So, how did these vulgar and racist tweets make such a big impact? Read about the 29-year-old Candian fan of the series who started tracking the trend in February via Tumblr at The New Yorker.