A Preview of the film adaptation of ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’
Suzanne Collins released a prequel novel to the highly acclaimed trilogy The Hunger Games last 2019 called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The story follows the life of President Snow, the main antagonist of the original series when he was still 18 years old.
The novel is being adapted into a movie, starring Tom Blyth as President Snow, Rachel Zegler as Lucy Bard, and Hunter Schafer as Tigris. Francis Lawrence, the director of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is returning to work on the prequel. This adds to the excitement of the viewers given that Catching Fire, the second movie of the series, is the fan favorite among the four installments.
The film is to be released on November 17, 2023. So, if you still haven’t read the book, you have plenty of time to indulge in it. And if you don’t have the time to read or lack the motivation to do so, well you are in luck!
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
Here is a preview of what may appear in the film adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Getting to know Coriolanus Snow
Coriolanus Snow is more known as the tyrannical President of Panem in the original trilogy. However, in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Snow is the main character. It picks up his narrative years before the timeline of Katniss Everdeen. In the novel, he was merely a teenage boy, trying to blend in amongst his peers who were far richer than he was.
His lineage was actually well-known to the Capitol. However, the Snow family fell from its grace after the Rebellion. Being a proud family, he, alongside his grandmother and cousin Tigris, whom we’ve seen in Mockingjay Part 2 as the part-tiger stylist, tried to keep the façade of wealth. However, in reality, they have gone poor.
The story revolves around the 10th Hunger Games.
During this time, there wasn’t a lot of flamboyance as seen in the recent Games. Snow actually had a lot of hand in the foundation of a lot of rules and procedures inside and outside the Arena. Some of his ideas comprise gambling on tributes, giving them supplies during the Games, and the mandatory viewing all over Panem. Additionally, it was implied that Tigris was the first unofficial stylist because of her work on Lucy Bard’s outfit.
Snow was actually one of the mentors for the Games and he was given the tribute from District 12, Lucy.
He was distraught at first because he got someone from the least favorite district, and she was a girl. This was a problem for him because he need to win the money and scholarship. However, soon enough, he realized that they may have a chance to win because she easily became the crowd’s favorite by singing after being chosen in the Reaping.
The two of them developed a tight bond as mentor and tribute, but also as something more. Both tried to work hard for Lucy’s survival inside the Arena. However, they had different motivations: Snow wanted to win because of the prize. Meanwhile, Lucy simply wanted to survive. Although their feelings kind of met in the middle so that could have also been a motivating factor. Lucy is a girl that one cannot help but fall in love with. She is kind, charismatic, and strong. Even Snow fell for her.
But one does not have to worry about feeling conflicted about the characterization of Snow in the novel. Collins did not make his backstory empathy-inducing. His struggles and attempt to appear as a good person did not translate into his character. There is still that cold feeling that seeps under your skin while getting into his thoughts. And his manipulative tendencies overpowered his “good” acts.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was a good introduction to the complexity of Snow’s humanity… or lack thereof. It will be interesting to watch how they will manage to incorporate Snow’s inner dialogues. Katniss was obviously a good person and that is reflected in her thoughts in the book and actions in the movies. Meanwhile, Snow’s ingenuine views differed from how he liked to present himself to the people.
Additionally, the origin of some of the songs from The Hunger Games was included in the novel. Here’s to hoping that they will put them in the film! Soon enough, next year to be exact, the world will know who the Songbird and the Snake are. Although, I am sure you already have an idea which is which.
