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The Hunger Games Don’ts of Etsy, Part 2
People think fans of The Hunger Games will buy ANYTHING. No, seriously! It’s not just the book publishers or film studios trying to do it these days! If you thought some of the products they’ve put out for production were a little over the mark, just spend a little time on Etsy and you’ll be running back to the comfort of NECA’s lanyards and pencil sharpeners.
We highlighted some of the outrageous things Etsy sellers have the cojones to sell to Hunger Games fans in an earlier post, but there’s just so much more out there that we had to write up Part 2!
The Hunger Games Movie Scene Print Art, Drawn Left Handed
Once upon a time, some dude took 5 minutes to draw and color the chariot scene with his non-dominant hand and the result was… somewhere between Beavis & Butthead and The Muppets. Put that on high quality paper and it’s totally worth $15, right? …Or just have some 8-year-old recreate the scene for you sometime.
BOOBS Real or Not Real Embroidery
The *cough* artist behind these babies claims it’s a Hunger Games item because it uses the book quote in a way that mocks the series by using the “real” meaning of the question “Real or Not Real?” Also, NOT REAL given how hideously uneven they are, even from a side view!
Sexy Hot Team Peeta Flame Sparkle Totebag
Step 1: Take a promotional still, photoshop on fake cuts and make Josh Hutcherson’s eyes look demonic. Add text that is EXTRA PIXELY.
Step 2: Print image, iron on to bag.
Step 3: Add rhinestones and MOAR FLAME, this time in a bow.
Step 4: List product under every word that might excite an 8-year-old girl!
Hunger Games Crazy Lady Novelty Pin
You mean you’ve NEVER wanted to show your fandom love with a pin in which some deranged looking character with coils for hair and beads for limbs is wearing a cut up Hunger Games poster as a dress?! That’s got a lot of charm and sentimental value, right there!
Katniss and Peeta Couple Earrings
For those of us who have decided it’s not enough to dangle Katniss and Peeta on either side of their face! We must frame them against bright red bows, like a tacky old Christmas portrait! That will show the world how much we love the series!
Jennifer Lawrence Devotional Candle
MOTHER OF GOD! Most of us like Jennifer Lawrence, but not this much! You can now praise her (or one of many other celebs photoshopped into a biblical scene) with this image on an 8-inch candle. We’re not sure if we should laugh or cry.
We’re Laughing and Probably Going To Hell,
The Girl With The Pearl
Many thanks to Savanna from Hunger Games Fireside Chat for finding a couple of these, including that last kicker!
Hunger Games Pride: Back to School Edition
Everyone gather ’round The Girl With The Pearl and tell you a story, Mr. Rogers style. *pats seat*
Once upon a time, I wasn’t that cool. Hard to believe, I know! …Well, I have never been cool in the traditional sense, but I made myself less cool by worrying way too much about what others thought of me. If I could do high school all over again, I would have accepted just how geeky I was and actually enjoy life’s geeky pleasures.
Because there is another school year upon us and there is always a way to show fandom pride in the office, we’re listing some of our favorite Hunger Games swag based on REAL coolness (aka totally undisguised, sinful levels of nerdiness!)
Level 1: Mockingjay pin
Any fan can stick this on their bag and act really casual about it if someone asks, as if it’s not a huge deal that consumes a huge chunk of your life! “Oh, this old thing? Someone gave it to me ages ago. I guess I like the books, so it’s a nice little embellishment! *cough*”
Level 2: Stickers
Slightly less casual, but still not insane. “I went to the bookstore and this was on sale at the counter for like 99 cents. My stuff came to $19.50 and I got 20% off my next purchase if I spent more than $20, so I was like… ‘Hey, whatever!’”
Level 3: Hunger Games Bookmarks
Your chance to get a little hipster! “Urgh… I just feel like most of the books they have us read in school are so passe! I just wanted to incorporate a little something that actually speaks to our generation, you know?” Note: This will not work if you’re reading The Hunger Games in school!
Level 4: Pencils and/or Pens
Most of it is covered by your hand, but if it’s not, you can always say you’re in it for the actors. “I only got this because it has Josh Hutcherson/Jennifer Lawrence on it (depending on your preferences) and with Mr. or Mrs. Carterface running this class/office, I NEED something pretty to look at!”
Level 5: Hunger Games Jewelry
Something you can show off or tuck under your shirt, depending on how much fandom pride you feel at any particular hour! “Oh, you saw that? Yeah, I like the books. I thought this was kinda cool.”
Level 6: Notebooks
There’s basically no denying fan status at this point, so use style as an excuse. “I keep all these plain notebooks and I always get them confused, so I got these fun Hunger Games ones that actually come in different designs!
Level 7: Phone Case
“I’ve read the books and I like the movie even though *insert generic movie complaint here*, but I am just obsessed with all the graphic design imagery from the series!
Level 8: Laptop Skin
There’s no pretending at this point! “Oh yeah, I love the movie! Plus I figured this looks so much better than that plain silver cover top… This is a conversation piece!”
Level 9: Hunger Games Clothes
Claim to be doing the world a public service! “I really believe in the message behind this series, so if I’m going to be a consumer and buy new clothes anyway, I’m going to spread that message!
Level 10: The Ultimate Back to School Set
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. THE HUNGER GAMES IS MY SOULMATE!“
It’s Okay. The Hunger Games is Our Soulmate Too (Does That Make Us All Polygamists?)
The Girl With The Pearl
All the DVD Boxsets!
Which one are you going to get?
On Saturday, I took a little trip down to Lionsgate with a bunch of our HG fansite running pals. Now, this isn’t my first time at Lionsgate, but it hadn’t been anything like this. We were there for a screening of the Blu-Ray/DVD special features. On the surface, it could sound a little underwhelming, but it was most definitely NOT!
First, we got to check out the different boxsets and setups for the Blu-Ray/DVDs. Best Buy, Costco, Target and Walmart all have their own versions (not to mention iTunes too), not to mention there’s the regular DVD and Blu-Ray that you can get at every other store. Trust me, I was ready to throw my money all over the place to get every single boxset (Walmart with 30 minutes of extra footage, Best Buy with both the Blu-Ray and DVD plus an acrylic thing in a cube, Costco with the 12 bag, a bracelet and the parachute canister), and though I’m not trying to sway anyone any which way, while it’s laid out like a normal DVD set, the Target exclusive became a MUST BUY for me. As someone who has stared at the promo photos that were used for the cover art for countless hours, what they did with them impressed me. Not to mention, the Target exclusive has The Tribute Diaries, where Lionsgate gave the Tributes Flip Cams to document their experience. Since Hunger Games fans love the actors that play our Tributes – and rightfully so, they are awesome – you can see why I’m chomping at the bit to own it. (I swear, Target is not paying me to say this. I wouldn’t object, though *hint hint*)
Next, we were ushered into the Lionsgate screening room, where we watched a 20 minute sneak peek of the special features, cut together and narrated JUST FOR US. No really, it featured screenshots of our sites and everything, how cool is that!
Afterwards, it was lunch and a surprise in the form of Jackie Emerson! We got to hang out with her and talk about everything from what it was like to film that scene where Katniss and Foxface run into each other to self-cleaning toilets in Munich (no really, that happened). We also got to speak with executives from Lionsgate and Lionsgate Home Entertainment about our opinions on what we’d like to see in the future.
Fansite runners with Jackie!
Then came the surprise. We would be taking home copies of The Hunger Games. Yes, two weeks before it was supposed to officially come out. I didn’t even let myself think that would happen because it would’ve been just too awesome, but it happened! And not only that, but we got ridiculous swag bags. You know all that merch you would never buy for yourself but you secretly wanted? Yeah, we got that! Lionsgate was making it rain.
It was a blast! I had the best time hanging with everyone and talking Hunger Games all day.
A review of the complete special features will come on Friday so look out for that!
Thanks, Lionsgate!
Twiffidy
We’ve Got New Stuff!
Just a quick post to let you all know that Victor’s Village has a brand spankin’ new feature that will pique your interests and keep you entertained on a long day!
We’ve compiled a list of our favorite books and movies that are not related to The Hunger Games so that you can see exactly what we’re addicted to when we’re NOT obsessing over this series. If you’re looking for a new entertainment to sink your teeth into, we’ve got a ton listed!
We’ve also thrown in our favorite Hunger Games items, for good measure!
VICTOR’S VILLAGE RECOMMENDATIONS – THE STUFF WE LOVE
Check out the list and if anything looks interesting, click on the image to get all of the details!
IMPORTANT NOTE: The page sometimes has trouble loading all the awesome, so if the page looks a little scant toward the bottom, HIT REFRESH!
All the Merch!
As I check the balance on my checking account, I can’t help frowning. With almost two months to the day left before the movie comes out, how am I going to afford all of this Hunger Games stuff?!
Confession: I have already pre-ordered 6 of the 12 nail polishes from the Colours From The Capitol line. And I want more. It’s taking all of my willpower to not go back to that site and buy 3 more colors because now that I’ve seen the Teen Vogue preview of the polishes, I like them more than I thought I did.
An accurate representation of myself
And the announcement from WizKids Games! I’m a grown-up, and I’m already planning where I’d put the figurines on my bookshelf. And I could totally see myself owning either of the games. My friends and I regularly play a Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone board game still so I know I would hardly have a difficult time find people to play these games with.
I already have 3 Hunger Games shirts, a Mockingjay pin and a snazzy bracelet I bought at Comikaze, not to mention the gifts I got for Christmas this year. And we have yet to be inundated with actual movie merch. That will come sometime in this 2 month period, after which my bank account will hate me.
Buy ALL the Hunger Games merch!
I’m bracing myself
Twiffidy
A Hunger Games Haul
Because of people going out of town, I’ve already exchanged Christmas gifts with all of my friends. Though I had read The Hunger Games last year, this was the year I’d gotten involved with various HG sites (including this one!) and converted all of my friends to HG fans, so I shouldn’t have been surprised by all the Hunger Games gifts I got.
There are Christmas card messages that totally made me smile when I opened them:
A pretty awesome hand-painted Mockingjay tree ornament:
A “Down With The Capitol” Mockingjay journal:
This year, one of my friends started making headbands with interchangeable felt designs for herself, usually with a fandom theme, and she made me this one:
Have you gotten anything Hunger Games related for any holiday yet? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
My friends know me too well
Twiffidy
You Know You Want It!
Are we children? Last time I checked the majority of Hunger Games fans were not under the age of ten, so yesterday when I checked into my districts Capitol.pn Facebook, and saw that the big thing they wanted to announce was A. wishing our district tributes a bonne Hunger Games, and B. to unveil the gleaming, glaring trading card line Lionsgate has decided is the merchandise all Hunger Games fans are just going to clamour for like water during a drought, or Beanie Babies in the 90s, or sex at an ancient Roman orgy (I hear they were pretty wild).
I’m sorry, but – what?! Trading cards, really?! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there’s a legitimate amount of people who would love to collect the whole set, and hoard them in case they might be worth something someday – but majority of us, or maybe just me, don’t see the appeal of a piece of glossy card stock with Jennifer Lawrence’s mug on it. I’m not all that familiar with other franchises marketing schemes where it comes to merchandising, I remember before the 1st Harry Potter film came out seeing a friend of mine wearing a Quiditch t-shirt, and I know that Twilight has had a rather large campaign that boasts numerous completely useless emblems of fannishness. After doing a handy-dandy google search though, I now know that the Harry Potter franchise, the Twilight franchise and The Lord of The Rings franchise all have trading card collections. Yay?
I’m pretty sure I’m not who this marketing scheme is shooting for, ‘cause stereotypically when I think of trading cards, I think of my classmates in 6th grade playing Magic the Gathering, or later in high school seeing people playing Pokemon, and thinking “please go do something else, just… please.” ‘Kay, so trading cards is a niche market, and from where I’m sitting in total unabashed judgement – I can only hope they know what the hell they’re doing, ’cause I don’t want no stinkin’ trading cards, grr arrg!
Where the hell are our quality Mockingjay pins, and limited edition silver bows and arrows?!
Them There Eyes
Lionsgate Polishes Up Their Merchandise Marketing
It seems the whole nail polish debacle has been resolved, and Lionsgate and China Glaze are actually going ahead and partnering to bring us Hunger Games nail polish. However, despite the leaked colors and names, we’ve been told that the colors will only be inspired by the Capitol and not District 12.
Out with the old, in with the new. Unless they're renamed, don't expect to see the District 12 inspired colors.
I admit I was kind of on the fence about the nail polish thing when the information had first leaked.
On the one hand, it did not seem right at all in keeping with what the books are trying to say. The books themselves have an anti-vanity message, with Katniss commenting on the stark contrast between poor District 12 citizens just trying to get by and rich Capitol citizens who only care about keeping up with bizarre beauty trends. If you’ve read the books, you know Katniss is pretty disgusted with the Capitol citizens’ obsession with looks.
On the other hand, I love nail polish. I don’t really wear much makeup on a day-to-day basis, but I almost always have nail polish on (right now, I’ve got a really dark red for the holidays). And I liked some of the colors. If I had just seen them in Ulta, I would’ve gone straight for the color called Joined at the Seam. But like I said, it wouldn’t quite feel right. District 12 nail polish? That’s not really what life in District 12 is about.
Effie Trinket's nails are on trend, I'm sure
Let’s face it, nail polish does have a part in the series. Katniss does keep her flame nails when she goes in the arena as a way to remind the audience of her Girl on Fire persona. And I know I wasn’t the only one thinking Elizabeth Banks’ nails in the trailer were pretty awesome.
So I get it. And using the Capitol as inspiration only is a terrific way to market the nail polish. I feel less guilty for wanting them now. It seems that Lionsgate had seen the general outrage at the thought of using District 12 as nail polish inspiration and did their best to fix it (if I were the suspicious type, I would say the info could have been leaked on purpose to see how we’d react but that would be a whole other post).
With any huge series popular with the young people, there is going to be merchandise like this. It’s inevitable. But the best we can hope for is that there’s a little thought put into what gets produced and how it’s marketed.
Nailed it!
Twiffidy
The Capitol Cosmetic Craze
Apparently, we Hunger Games fans have learned absolutely nothing by reading the series.
Don’t believe us? Well, how many times have you read articles updating and analyzing “The Great Nail Polish Clusterfuck of 2011″? It’s all over the news: Lionsgate is getting its pants sued off by American International Industries after suddenly breaking their contract to create an exclusive line of Hunger Games nail polish, though Lionsgate claims it was in their rights because American International “leaked” product information. Because nail polish names like “Catnip” and “Cinna-mon” are TOP SECRET SHIT!
Seneca Crane approves of this mellarky
The best part is that this is just the beginning! If we’re already even considering a line of Hunger Games nail polish, we’re going to have a marketing scheme of horrendous proportions by the time Mockingjay is released! Get ready for Hunger Games makeup, collectors cups, Valentine’s Day cards and nail files, because they’re not far behind!
In the fandom for one of the most anticipated films of the year, this is the stuff we stumble over. Our favorite story resonates around a society obsessed with beauty to such an astronomical fault that they let others suffer in order to maintain it, meanwhile we fret over nail polish. Basically, Suzanne Collins thinks we’re a bunch of assholes (though she never told us that in person, obviously)!
But it’s not just nail polish! Oh no! Allure Online has created a list of all the beauty innovations used by arrogant Capitol citizens in The Hunger Games that they wish existed in real life. Oops! We guess they missed the message that the people of the Capitol were selfish and pathetic for obsessing over these things while people were struggling to survive in the other districts!
Then there’s the InStyle braid. URGH, THE BRAID! We get it… it’s kind of fun to use a silly photo app and slap a Katniss braid on your head. But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: If you want to try out the braided look, go braid your damn hair! If it’s not long enough, then you’re obviously not interested in braids! This isn’t some new innovative hairstyle, people!
Knowing that there actually might be some enjoyment in that last bit, we’ve decided to get it out of our systems all at once by braiding the hair of the only people who would ever need to get “the Katniss”: People of Panem obsessed with our fair Mockingjay!
Peeta will do ANYTHING to be one with Katniss..
Peeniss
Gale does it to repent..
Galeniss
Haymitch is too drunk to realize what’s happened to his hair..
Hayniss. Hay-niss.. get it?! *snort*
MORE AFTER THE CUT!
The Convention Presence
Over the weekend, I, alongside my fellow tribute friends, went to the first ever Comikaze Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Armed with our Hunger Games shirts, some pink duct tape and homemade cards (designed by Courtney from Welcome to District 12), we set out to both soak up all the nerd* and promote The Hunger Games.
Visit comikazeexpo.com for more info
Overall it was a lot of fun and I got to cross off “speak to Mark Hamill” off my bucket list, but there was one question on our minds: Where is The Hunger Games?
After 2 days and hundreds of booths, we found a grand total of 1 booth selling Hunger Games themed items. I was so happy to have found something that I pounced on the booth and bought myself a bracelet, which I love and have worn every day since I got it. But I was hoping to see more. Yes, the Hunger Games fandom is still relatively new, but with millions of book sales, and the upcoming film, you’d think someone would want to capitalize on it. After all, wasn’t the Mockingjay pin replica a hot item at this year’s Comic-Con?
Lionsgate would’ve done well having a booth there. Even just a small one. CBS Films was there to promote the upcoming film The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe. They had a small booth, and all they were doing was having people enter for a drawing for some swag and giving out posters. They also had a screening of the trailer with a message from Daniel Radcliffe specifically for the Comikaze Expo (due to technical difficulties, I’m not sure if that actually happened but the message is on their website). Not saying they had to do anything big, like have a panel or do a screening of something, but I’m certain they could’ve gotten many of the convention-goers to flock to their booth.
My bracelet from Foxwise (@ Etsy)
Also, I sure am hoping that as the series gets more and more popular, there will be more of a Hunger Games presence among the vendors. I would’ve thrown all my money at a Hunger Games fan artist selling their prints if there had been one there . I encourage all you Hunger Games creative types who make art and jewelry to consider doing the convention thing if you are so able.
And the cosplayers! With so many cosplayers walking about, I had hoped to see a Katniss somewhere, but alas no! If you ever find yourself going to a convention any time soon, I very much encourage you all to cosplay your little hearts out. It’s just so cool to see your fandom represented in the form of a really cool costume. Courtney and I already have our cosplay idea for next year, and I want to see many Katnisses any time I’m at a convention from now on.
Right now, we’re chalking it all up to it being Comikaze’s first year. In all honesty, no one knew if it was going to be lame or not. Once we got there though, it seemed much more legitimate, with awesome panels and some pretty cool celebrities. It’s not Comic-Con status, but frankly we’re happy with that.
All I’m saying is that we wish there was more of a presence. It would’ve been nice to see The Hunger Games drumming up a little nerd cred, grassroots style. I know that their target demographic is more mainstream, but it’d still be awesome to have the support of the the convention-going community.
Where my nerds at?
Twiffidy
Check out our Comikaze Expo experience at Welcome to District 12!
* “Nerd” in this post is meant in the most loving way possible. After all, the writer is one.
