An Open Letter To Tarantino Spoilers

Dear Tarantino,

Do you know what I dislike more than a ragebaiting, self-aggrandizing filmmaker who sits untouched on his high throne? A hypocritical one who has nothing to back up his claims.

“I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn’t sue Suzanne Collins for every fucking thing she owns,” he said. “They just ripped off the fuckin’ book. Stupid book critics are not going to go watch a Japanese movie called Battle Royale so the stupid book critics never called her on it. They talked about how it was the most original fuckin’ thing they’d ever read. As soon as the film critics saw the film, they said, ‘What the fuck? This is just Battle Royale except PG!'” (Tarantino)

I've seen your movies. I'm familiar with the classics. I even appreciate what you've brought to the world of film despite the air of controversy that surrounds you. Yet, something about your rant this year struck me. Perhaps it is because I grew up with The Hunger Games. Maybe it was the fact that your claims were weak and unwarranted.

I'm no filmmaker by any means, but at the very least, I actually watch the movies I shit-talk.

To start off the conversation, your claims are immediately incorrect. The conversation as to whether The Hunger Games ripped off Battle Royale is not a new conversation. Many book critics have, in fact, pointed out the issue multiple times, and many others have refuted it.

Articles That Discuss The Topic (in order of my liking)

1. https://www.cbr.com/the-hunger-games-based-on-battle-royale/

2. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-real-hunger-games-battle-royale

3. https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/the-hunger-games-a-japanese-original/

4. https://mmjordahl.com/2013/04/14/why-battle-royale-and-the-hunger-games-are-not-the-same/

5. https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/28/why-the-hunger-games-isnt-a-battle-royale-ripoff

6. https://www.jonathanlack.com/p/hunger-games-versus-battle-royale

7. https://thefilmramble.movie.blog/2019/09/10/the-hunger-games-is-not-a-copy-of-battle-royale/

Anyone who has seen a dystopian movie or read a dystopian book can point out that the narratives sometimes overlap. Consider what makes up a dystopia: totalitarian government, oppression, surveillance, distrust between society and government, etc. The nature of commenting on current politics through fictional worlds is that sometimes it all blurs together, but something fundamentally differs from one text to another.

Now, if you'd actually seen the Hunger Games franchise or read the books, you'd know that it tackles a distinctly different theme from Battle Royale. Fine, the premise involves a bunch of kids being forced to battle one another to the death, but other than that, the narratives very prominently diverge onto different paths: The Hunger Games is about the spectacle, the commercialization of violence, whereas Battle Royale is about the repercussions of war.

It's like reading two essays on the same text and calling it plagiarism. The comparison is unfair and doesn't make sense.

Let's take a look.

The Hunger Games takes place from the perspective of a young teenager, Katniss Everdeen. In this world, the new nation of Panem consists of twelve districts, the Capitol at the very centre, and twelve at the very outer edge. The further the district is from the Capitol, the poorer it is. Katniss comes from the twelfth district; she lives in poverty with her mother and younger sister, both of whom she's responsible for taking care of. In the world of Panem, every year, two children are selected from each District to fight to the death in a tradition called the Hunger Games. Only one tribute can win.

If at this point, you stopped reading, yes, Battle Royale sounds identical: a bunch of kids are drugged and taken to this warehouse where they are told they must fight each other to the death. Each kid is collared and tracked in this island arena, and if there is more than one winner, the collar will explode, effectively killing everyone.

Battle Royale takes place in dystopian Japan. There is no single protagonist. To combat the issue of violence in schools, the government instates a law called Battle Royale where a class from a high school is selected at random to fight each other to the death. This time around, a grade nine class is selected. Students are drugged and taken to a remote island where they have three days to either kill and survive, or die.

The biggest difference to keep in mind is the fact that The Hunger Games explores Katniss' role and identity as this reluctant political pawn, whereas Battle Royale considers the moral implications of violence instituted by a totalitarian, militarized government on the youth. It doesn't seem like a huge difference, but it creates a completely different takeaway.

In Battle Royale, the first thing I noticed was that the selection process was different. The process imitated conscription, sentencing the class to go fight on this island. It didn't carry any reality TV show parallelism because that wasn't the point. Instead, the criticism lay heavy-handed on the futility and repercussions of war; it also focused on the way that educational systems were failing its students. There was distrust of the older generation, which I think is evident in most dystopian fiction. However, what I felt was the most prominent theme was the exploration of how war in general produced generations of violent individuals. Fukasaku himself considers the experiences of WWII and how that propelled his desire to explore how youth culture was affected as a result.

Where The Hunger Games really splits away from Battle Royale is through the first-person narrative. I mean, Katniss not only is selected as a tribute in the Games, but the Games themselves extend outside into her personal life. That's a really important distinction because this is where the novel really steps into its own narrative. The Hunger Games is about the Girl on Fire, the symbol that Katniss inadvertently becomes. The story, therefore, warns just how deeply entrenched politics becomes in identity; it advocates for the importance of political action and of speech. What is Katniss' journey, really? The story is not only about someone who becomes violent for the sake of survival, but someone who learns to recognize the power of speech. She learns that her body cannot only be weaponized and used to suppress people, but that she can turn the tables. The novel teaches political agency amongst young girls, which is why I think Katniss resonated so much.

Contrastingly, Battle Royale takes a broader approach. It doesn't focus on any one character; instead it jumps from student to student, showcasing different reactions and approaches to the battle itself. Some students commit suicide. Others commit murder. None of the students want to be on the island, and none of them are truly prepared for the battle at hand (unlike in The Hunger Games), but it doesn't matter. What the story focuses on is the emotional responses as the students grapple with the morality of their survival.

The Hunger Games explores the spectacle of war much differently than Battle Royale. The classism established through the Districts, the reality TV show where Katniss realizes her looks matter and what she sells will affect the way that she is treated, even the rebellion that she becomes the literal symbol of, these are layers that critique the way in which social media affects social movement, and how easily narratives can shift and change. When watching Battle Royale, I felt that even the rebellion instigated by the main characters was different. Their actions were comparatively individualistic; it was about resisting or critiquing violence imposed on them rather than dismantling an entire system.

Even the romantic stories and allegiances to different teams in both movies are different. For Katniss, her love interests pose the two paths that she can take, the two ideologies that conflict with each other. I didn't see a similar theme in Battle Royale. Similarly, her relationship with her family, with President Snow, sets this story apart from the other.

The Mockingjay rebellion? That is uniquely The Hunger Games.

Obviously, making the claim that there is no overlap between the two films is crazy and untrue. But, to say one plagiarized the other is also a stretch. I mean, if you really wanted to talk about plagiarism, then any dystopian fiction film would have been ripped off from another.

Let's talk about Divergent, or Maze Runner, 1984, or even The Handmaid's Tale and Children of Men. Sure, it's not kids fighting kids, but like, so many of the themes overlap. 1984 has people wearing monotonous, uniform gray clothes, it has a totalitarian government, and indoctrination; does that mean it ripped off Battle Royale, or if Hunger Games ripped it off, too? In the Maze Runner, kids are drugged and put in this literal maze/battlefield with monsters; does that mean it's a play-by-play of Hunger Games?

Let's talk about your own claims on originality. According to an interview on openculture.com (link is included below), you said: “I steal from every single movie ever made.”

There is even a video of your interview where you go off about how originality is not a thing. Art is influenced by other art. Your art is influenced by other art: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRuPEzMDGdm/

Collins saw a flash, and it sparked a narrative that culturally impacted young girls in the West. Is that so wrong? The girl on fire burns in the hearts of young adolescents; she means something even outside of the books.

If you can give your own narratives and artistic journey grace, why can't the same be extended to Collins?

Face it, besides taking away a good story from a bunch of teens, what is your goal?

Sincerely,

mind.full.of.movies

Resources:

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/quentin-tarantino-slams-hunger-games-battle-royale-ripoff-1236592961/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOUfNlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF5MzNnYU1oaXNZdXhvSUQ5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHit0Zev8ieTVbXquWfNkG7t9xULLc5U6ViPHwMo58rMFKfWP67t6wPOX1uX3_aem__ojjhvlFjwdMxQ6642gfCg

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DRuPEzMDGdm/

https://www.openculture.com/2020/12/quentin-tarantinos-copycat-cinema.html