Sunday, May 24, 2020

Hunger Games prequel, the new book & film : The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes !





The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins, 2020


Hey, fans of the dystopian trilogy The Hunger Games: The odds are in your favor, because a new book on the prequel from author Suzanne Collins that came out, the 19 May 2020.


Set during Panem's Dark Days, 64 years before The Hunger Games, this new prequel novel follows a teenage Coriolanus Snow as he mentors a District 12 Tribute for the 10th Hunger Games.


The best-selling trilogy of books came out in 2008, 2009 and 2010, while the films came out between 2012 and 2015 — the smash-hit series is set in a dystopian America in which teen “tributes” from 12 districts must battle to the death in a televised fight.


The Hunger Games earned a devout fan group when it was first published in 2008. Following Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, a young woman living in the dystopian nation of Panem (formerly the United States of America) forced to compete against other Panem citizens in a survival competition, Collins' novels - which include The Hunger GamesCatching Fire, and Mockingjay - were quickly greenlit for film adaptations.







Captain Snow/ Donald Sutherland



The new story The Ballad of Sonbirds and Snakes focuses on a character all of us hate: the vicious President Coriolanus Snow of the country Panem. A tyrant and ruthless killer who emerged as Katniss Everdeen's most prominent enemies, played by Donald Sutherland. 


The book follows him as a teenager 64 years before the events of the original bestselling trilogy. It will begin on the morning of the reaping of the 10th Hunger Games.


Or to some fans of the trilogy this prequel about the villain origin story for President Snow is a controversial choice. 








Not much was known about Coriolanus Snow's early life prior to the events of the Hunger Games, other than the notion of him being a native of the Capitol. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss was introduced as Panem only hope for a better future. 


Coriolanus is a student at the Academy but his family has a lot of history within the Capitol. While walking the halls ahead of the reaping day festivities for the 10th Hunger GamesCoriolanus mentions that people know him because of his parents and grandparents, meaning he has a reputation to uphold. Coriolanus doesn't view himself as rich, but he's aware that his charm is influential. The Snow family clearly comes from privilege which will have an effect on Coriolanus's decision-making.








Suzanne Collins Hunger Games prequel
credits: Getty Images
via New York Post


Best-selling author Suzanne Collins is returning to the world of The Hunger Games in this new novel set long before arrow-slinging hero Katniss Everdeen matched wits with the ruthless President Snow.


Lionsgate, the studio that released the four Hunger Games movies, has yet to announce that it has obtained the film rights to the prequel novel.


The book, which takes place in the Hunger Games universe, is turned into a movie by director Francis Lawrence







Hunger Games
The Ballade of Songbirds and the Snakes
Francis Laweence, 2023
https://www.imdb.com/


Coriolanus Snow mentors and develops feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th Hunger Games.


Collins is a co-writer of the film’s treatment with Michael Arndt. Producer Nina Jacobson, who teamed with the studio on four film adaptations of earlier Collins' books The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay






Hunger Games trilogy
Suzanne Collins


The prequel will be on theater next week, 16 November 2023. Tom Blyth (Billy the KidThe Gilded Age) is the young Coriolanus Snow, at a new age, in the Hunger Games prequel, while Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) will play Lucy Gray Baird. The great Viola Davis is playing Volumnia Gaul, the villainous head gamemaker of the 10th annual Hunger Games. A scientist and instructor at the university Snow attends, Volumnia is also the mastermind behind the Capitol's experimental weapons division. 






Hunger Games
The Ballade of Songbirds and the Snakes
Francis Laweence, 2023
https://www.imdb.com/


  • Synopsis:


The movie takes place around the 10th annual Hunger Games. Coriolanus, much to his chagrin, is picked to be a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, a young woman tribute from the impoverished District 12. 


"But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem's attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor," according to a synopsis from the studio. 


"Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy's race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake."


  • Education

The Hunger Games has made an undeniable mark on young adult fiction when the trilogy appeared almost a decade. However the world changed enormously. Young adults will accept the Hunger Games prequel? i think not...

“We need to come together not only to address the immediate educational consequences of this unprecedented crisis, but to build up the longer-term resilience of education systems.”

UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education






Hunger Games
Gary Rodd, 2012


"Collins has previously said that she wanted her new book “to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival … "


The real world has changed in the last decade since the books came out, and fans appear to be responding to that. The conversations around fiction have also changed. A story centering on an evil man is not a novel in the mid-2000s. Evil men now are real. There's two wars in the world at this moment. Both are televised every day as well.


The real world has changed in the last decade since the books came out, and fans appear to be responding to that. The conversations around fiction have also changed. A story centering on an evil man is not a 'novel' in the mid-2000s. Evil men are real now. There's two wars in the world at this moment. Both are televised every day for real. 






The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
 A Hunger Games Novel: Movie Tie-In Edition, 2023


  • The Narrative text:

narration lets us know something. It tells us what happened. It tells us a story. Our students love to read narratives. More and more on their lockdown due the pandemic coronavirus. TikTok - Hum! Interesting! - helped this new generation post-pandemic to lobe to read.


They strain more than ever after the lockdown to hear the news among their friends about what happened over the lockdown and they rush to see the latest news, books and films that promise a good and a better story! We know that! Let's us remember tse first phenomen Harry Potter saga, Twilight and recently Games of Thrones.


As teachers we can propose diverse resources that will help students to develop their vocabulary and to stimulate a desire of communication. 

Hey! Pay attention!  Artificial intelligence including ChatGPT is here! It will be allowed in schools!

All Australian schools from 2024 after education ministers formally backed a national framework guiding the use of the new technology.





Hunger Games books & films trilogy


Books and films based on books are not only a motivating but can also provide excellent practice for students to improve:

Pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four languages skills.

Teachers and schools must not continue to focus on traditional academic skills and rote learning, but on skills such as critical thinking and adaptability, which will be more important for success in the future.


Parents of today instinctively prioritize the emotional and physical health of their children over academic results.


"This means teaching children to understand their minds and bodies, encouraging them to have contact with nature, helping them to negotiate relationships with others, fostering excellent communication skills, and nurturing creativity."

Alice O'Keeffe


So The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes could have an interesting twist to teach differently looking its narrative. Collins may not paint Snow as a victim of circumstance. Perhaps she will surprise fans with a tale about a young man who charts his own course towards evil, teaching more than a few valuable lessons about good and evil along the way.

"But The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes describes how most lives are actually lived, the consequences of countless small choices that ultimately amount to a big one: not just how to feel but who to be."

Laura Miller


However, don't forget! Help your young students to dare to dream of the day social life returns, peace in the world and nature will be protected.

G-Souto

24.05.2020

update 12.11.2023
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Schools : Hunger Games prequel, the new book & film : The Ballad of Songbirds and Snake ! bG-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.


References:

Suzanne Collins website

UNESCO Education

The Guardian/ Books


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