Jennifer Lawrence And The 'Hunger Games' Cast Reveal What You Can Learn From Katniss
It's hard to believe, but after Friday, November 20, there will no longer be new Katniss Everdeen moments to look forward to. It's a hard pill to swallow, but still -- at the very least, fans will have three Suzanne Collins books and four Jennifer Lawrence-led films to consume over and over again until the next Quarter Quell.
... And of course, they'll also have the amazing example that Ms. Everdeen led throughout the books and films to guide them through the rest of their lives. We already asked "Hunger Games" fans why they were inspired by Katniss, so when we caught up with the cast at the film's Berlin, Germany premiere, we made sure to ask them the same thing. Their answers might inspire you to start a revolution of your own -- but only if you want to.
Jennifer Lawrence
"She's a wonderful example of how powerful one voice can be. She follows a really strong moral compass, and is able to change the world by inspiring people."
"One thing Katniss does throughout is refuse to change, and go against her own ideas and her own beliefs, and what she thinks is right. She constantly refuses to do that, and I think that's a great thing for young people to look up to.
"How to listen to themselves. How to make their own choices, and define their own moral compass. That's the thing that really touched me so much about the books, that here was this young woman who was saying, 'Hey, no, this is the right thing to do.' And feeling unsure about herself, but listening to her voice anyway."
"For me, I think it's about becoming an interested citizen in the world around you. Katniss is so reluctant to get involved, but once she does, she changes the world. I think that the political is personal, and she made everything personal to her, and I think that's a pretty amazing way to go through life."
"Everyone who is a youngster, a young person, has to be politically engaged -- has to change the system. Bruce Springsteen said it very clearly, 'Blind faith in your leaders will get you killed.' And it will. War is for profit. War is for the profit of the top 10 percent. The rest of us, we die. We suffer trauma. That's the lesson of this film, and that's the purpose of this film -- to energize and politicize young people."
"Don't be afraid of who you are, and speak your mind. I think what's amazing about Katniss Everdeen is she's a reluctant hero; she's a flawed hero. She's not perfect, she's not the most ideal leader, you know what I mean? But she is great, because she doesn't know what she's fighting for. She kind of gets manipulated in a lot of ways by a lot of people, but she's not ready to fight until she learns who she is and what she believes in. That is, for me, the most important message that these films are trying to relay."
"For teenagers and young adults that are struggling with finding their sense of identity, and their sense of justice in the world, and with the angst of finding their identity, I think they can identify with Everdeen."
"Well, I think Suzanne, when she set out to write these books, she wanted to write about the consequences of war, and that was the thing that really kind of drove me through these stories, and the thing that I've wanted to explore the most. The idea of even if a revolution is needed, and a fight is needed, or conflict is needed, people have to be very careful when going into those kinds of things. It's always messy, there's always consequences, there's always damage. Even if you're fighting for the right thing. If they can take anything away, it's to think."
