I had no intention to write such a post. But when I saw people on various platforms saying that The Hunger Games is just another Twilight, I simply had to step in to say no. Just no. And I think I am a qualified person to make the comparison. How so? Well, I’ve actually read both book series before the hype for their movies set in.
1 – The Books
There is a drastic difference between the themes of the books to begin with. The Hunger Games does not have supernatural human beings, let alone vampires or werewolves that have been so ruined in their portrayal that they’ve become a common source for jokes. The main characters of The Hunger Games are not driven by their incessant need to be loved but by their primal instinct for survival. Both may be intended for young adults and have a central female character but when it comes to the plot, protagonists and reception, the two series couldn’t be more different. Twilight is a fantasy love story, while The Hunger Games is an adventure about survival. That alone create a huge difference in the central elements of the book: where characters in one search for a boyfriend, the characters in another prepare for a revolution.
This brings me to point 2.
2- Katniss Everdeen and Bella Swan:
Bella’s struggles in Twilight is to choose between the sparkly vampire Edward and the transform-at-will werewolf Jacob. Her character is also nauseatingly one dimensional, useless and completely infatuated with mundane things, making her unlikeable.
Katniss is the exact opposite. Where Bella had things handed for her on a silver platter (boyfriend trouble don’t count as life problems), Katniss has to survive a world where the government has made the people hungry, where her mother is disconnected from the world and where she has to care for her only sister. Katniss’ world does not revolve around a boy, unlike Bella.
Bella is driven by her infatuation with Edward. Katniss is driven by her need to survive a cruel world. Katniss is a character young readers should look up to. Bella Swan is not.
3 – The Movies
Both movie series are turning out to be immensely popular. The Hunger Games has grossed over $25 million from midnight screenings alone. Twilight movies have broken records. Where they differ, however, is in the drastic critical reception. The Hunger Games has an aggregate score of more than 90% of positive reviews. Every single Twilight movie has been certified rotten by critics. You can read my review of The Hunger Games here. I didn’t even find it in me to review the latest Twilight movie. Enough said.
Perhaps both The Hunger Games and Twilight can be considered as a “teen” series. How that’s a bad thing, I’m not sure. The difference remains that one is absolutely relevant to what we’re living through today: revolutions, war, famine while the other lives in lala land. The fact remains that people need to get it in their heads that not anything that rings true with young adults needs to be compared with a preceding cultural phenomenon. Twilight was compared to Harry Potter. The Hunger Games is being compared to Twilight. How ridiculous, I know. When will such unfounded thoughts end? I have no clue.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 
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I totally agree the hunger games was amazing!!The hunger games was sad and funny and a little romantic all at the same time. It does not deserve to be compared to twilight.
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Precisely.
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I am a fan of both but this article made Twilight sound suckish! And its not caz the hunger games is NOTHING compared to Twilight!!!!
Team PEETA!!! .<3:-D
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Twilight is suckish. Can’t go around that.
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actually twilight is not suckish whats wrong with u?!?!
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It is. Can’t describe exactly how suckish it is.
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Hunger Games? Yes. Twilight? Never. I can’t even say, “no.” I can’t even believe that people would say there’s the slightest comparison, it’s almost sickening to think about.
The Hunger Games series had value, survival, life lessons, and tangible things that related to real people. There was real hurt. Real pain. Real things to relate to.
I don’t know about you, but there was never once a moment I could pick out for Twilight (or for maybe anyone) that had me as angry or determined as Gale, as devoted or heartfelt as Peeta, on edge or defiant for Katniss. Absolutely no one will sob like they did for Rue. No one.
Thanks for setting the record straight. I’m on your side.
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There’s a running joke that Kristen Stewart has a limited emotional range. I don’t agree with it. Her character has a limited emotional range. Thank you for reading. And I agree. It was the same with people comparing Harry Potter to Twilight. That gets me outraged even more.
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She’s acted in better things, that’s for sure. But her character is limited, and so was the film. You can’t expect a good actor to make magic out of a character that has no character. Personally, I’m not a giant fan of her as actress either, but I definitely like her better than the character she was playing.
As for being outraged? Forever outraged. Modern literature needs to be taken separately from a good book, and definitely taken separately from crap. You’re welcome. I’m still on your side.
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Haha love that last sentence 😛
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Twilight is far away from The Hunger Games’ league, Twilight’s main characters are bland, stale and lifeless, and Kristen’s character has to be the most ingrateful movie character of all time, she left every person who loved her, to live with vampires, and become one, so much fuckery for the series. Twilight is plain bad, THG is a quality franchise.
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Yeah, bland books, even worse movies.
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the book for twilight is good, very good actualy. the first movie was fine, but the others just suck. The book for hunger games is very good too, but i feel kinda bored of the movie.
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at least twilight was an original idea, not like the hunger games. If you have no clue about what im talking about, you should take a look at the movie battle royale. Battle Royale was written a long time ago before the first hunger games book. Suzane Collins or whatever her name is should have been charged with copyright!!!! Besides battle royale is a better movie and book and alot of people would agree on it if they saw the movie, a bunch of websites also agree that BR is better!!!!!!!!!!
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while HG and BR are similar, they are different in a few ways.
1. HG takes place in a post apocalyptic america not asia
2. The post apocalyptic country is divided into 12 districts
3. The kids in HG arent kidnapped from a bunch of schools while on a field trip
4. In HG the government is putting the kids to fight in a colosseum style area in the capital and not an island in the pacific.
5. Also BR isnt a scifi story
6. the winner does try to run away in HG, they start a rebellion to take down the government.
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the hunger games and twilight are both good but for comparison i dont think so hunger games is action,fighting,and a romance between two people supposed to be killing each other twilight is another story similar but in a different way twilight is a romance but between a vampire and a human it is fighting but with vampires and werewolves and it is action but in a different way so there is no reason for these two movies to be compared,(although its only my opinion)
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