Sirens Panels

[rachelmanija]

I am on two panels which I might be moderating - I'm not sure. One is going to be more of a general discussion, though, since there's only three of us.

I know that most of you, sadly, will not be present for these panels. (If you're lucky, someone will take and post notes.) But since I got really rushed due to grad school and traineeships, please help me out by proposing thought-provoking questions and discussion topics on either or both of these subjects. If I like them (and I'm modding) I'll put them to the panel.

The Huntress and the Dude in Distress: Gender Roles in The Hunger Games

Rachel Manija Brown, Faye Bi, Marie Brennan, Artemis Grey, Shveta Thakrar

This panel will discuss gender and gender roles as they relate to characters in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy. We will focus our discussion on the changing roles of Katniss, Gale, and Peeta, but will also explore gender roles as they pertain to secondary characters and to the societies of Panem.

[NOTE: Discussion will be spoilery for all three books.]

Women Who Run with Wolves and Dance with Dragons

Rachel Manija Brown, Cora Anderson, Janni Lee Simner

From the magic horses of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series to the psychic wolves of Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear’s A Companion to Wolves, fantasy novels have featured a wide variety of soul-bonded animal companions. These bonds, which range from wish-fulfillment fantasy to outright horror, are as diverse as the creatures themselves. This panel will discuss the tropes and themes of the animal companion motif, and explore the metaphoric nature of the bonds between women and their very special animals.

[NOTE: Bear and Monette's series was mentioned because it explicitly deals with gender roles; however, we'll discuss both women with animal companions, and any gender issues which involve animal companions. We will not discuss men and their animal companions unless there's some gender issue involved. ie, no discussion of Ged and his otak.]

Comments

[oracne.livejournal.com]

For the first panel, it might be interesting to look at how Panem is willing to put girls at risk as well as boys - how does that make their society different from ours? At the same time, there's the fake romance plot to appeal to the voters in the first book. Also, Katniss is shown as protective of younger females twice - how does this role as guardian equate to mothers portrayed in the series, or other mentoring characters?

For the second panel, perhaps how the animal companions take a role that family or society has previously denied the human character? Animal companions taking the role of female role models (even if the animals are male or magically neuter)? Animal companions representing aspects of the personality that have been previously denied expression?