Hollywood Popular Artists

May 1st 2012, 20:43

Picking your fav crush in a crazy popular young adult series might seem harmless -- but according to some heated "Hunger Games" fans, the #team trend that the media has been hyping up around the District 12 "love triangle" is totally distracting from the real star: Katniss, the bow-wielding badass who faces down a violent post-apocalyptic world where survival certainly comes before sexytime. Plus these aggro tributes (that's the official name of "HG" fans apparently) REALLY don't wanna be associated with that rival fantasy franchise featuring a certain jorts-wearing werewolf and sparkly vamp fighting over a clumsy high schooler. Twihardly!

Sure, the polls show lots of peeps love to put their Team Gale or Team Peeta affiliation on blast -- The Boy With The Bread is coming out pipin' hot with about 70% of the votes in People, Entertainment Weekly, E! and right here on MTV Act – but it's in the comments section of all these posts where a whole other debate rages:

From E! Online

"A well-written YA trilogy is adapted for the big screen and before the first movie is even released, it is already being reduced to a shallow 'which boy should she choose' love triangle. THG is about much more than that; much more than Katniss "kicking ***** The story makes an important statement about the sick, reality TV culture our society perpetuates."

"Of course mainstream media will dilute one of the most exciting trilogies in recent years to nothing but a steamy love triangle. Thats what happens when you live in post-Twilight world." * This. I refuse to allow this series to turn into Twilight 2.0."

"NO. STOP IT. THIS IS NOT EFFING MORONIC INSIPID TWILIGHT. Its a wonderfully written trilogy with a terrific, strong, smart female character. Can we just not go here? Please?"

From Teen Vogue

"There really are no teams. This is not twilight. This book is not a love story. Liam Hemsworth said it himself. You should say which character do you like more? Peeta or Gale? But there really is no teams."

"can everyone please stop trying to make the hunger games the same as twilight with this boy vs boy focus. the hunger games is about so much more than that, it is about a girl defending her family, friends and home. preach it ."

"I have my favorites, but I'm not going around "team ___". It's not Twilight, and the love triangle isn't the point of the books. It's not even a real triangle. Let's all just be team Katniss, kay?"

Speaking of our fearless femme fatale, Jennifer Lawrence wanted Pan-fans to know from the beginning that "Hunger Games" film was not down with re-creating the twilame emphasis on Team Jacob and Team Edward. "'Hunger Games' is not 'Twilight'," she explained in an interview with Vanity Fair. 

Heck, even Liam Hemsworth refused to take a stance in the "HG" heartthrob throwdown, vowing his allegiance to hot mess Haymitch instead.

Dang, who knew all this drama was simmering beneath the interwebz surface! I've always been the first one to go H.A.M. for Team Gale (although now I'm also a Team Hutch convert), but all this insightful cyber chat had me pausing to think about what it means to boost that minimally mushy part of the books over the meatier, more meaningful themes of freedom, economic inequality and media manipulation. So share your tribute two cents below and then take Action with the "Hunger Games" crew after the jump:

What do you think of Team Peeta vs Team Gale?

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