‘Primrose Everdeen’: The Hunger Games dance trend, explained
The pop culture magnitude of The Hunger Games franchise feels incomparable. The dystopian fable, which was released in 2012, launched the careers of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Amandla Stenberg among others.
Over a decade later, prequel movie The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes proves that we never really left our Hunger Games era behind, as TikTokers fell in love with the franchise all over again. Now, as the series has a well-deserved renaissance on the app, we all have one question: What's the "Primrose Everdeen" dance? Here's everything we know.
@paper.face.queens we are from district ate????????????️ #fyp #foryoupage #makeusviral #paperfacequeen #funny #hungergames #hungergamesedit #peeta #katnissandpeeta #katniss #primroseeverdeen #effietrinket #wowww #wearewearingshorts ♬ original sound - cleaningcart13
The sound
In The Hunger Games, the action starts at District 12's Reaping—an event where a young boy and girl are chosen as the "tributes" to fight in the titular Games. It's during this that 12-year-old Primrose Everdeen's name is called—but her older sister, Katniss, volunteers instead.
It's this integral moment that underpins the viral sound, which goes like this: Firstly, a female voice can be heard declaring "Primrose Everdeen," as another shouts in response, "I volunteer as tribute!" Then, the beat drops as viewers are treated to pounding dance music as TikTokers strut their stuff.
Another key component of these videos are the visuals. It's an unsaid rule in these TikToks that participants wear the most colorful, outlandish outfits possible. This is probably to reference the tyrannical Capitol that rules over the Districts in the movies, who have become infamous for their elaborate outfits.
@cleaningcart13 district ATE #hungergames #thehungergames #catchingfire #theballadofsongbirdsandsnakes #taylorswift ♬ original sound - cleaningcart13
Where's it from?
While the dance is TikTok's love letter to The Hunger Games, it's not affiliated with the franchise or its author, Suzanne Collins.
The original clip depicts people dressed up as characters like Katniss, Primrose, and Effie Trinket. They're all on a stage and all break into dance after reenacting that dubstep remix moment at the Reaping.
This clip, which reads "Help, why did they eat," has amassed 8.8 million views.
It comes from a 2015 Puerto Rican schools dance competition called the Juventud Vibra, which is a little random to say the least.
@triodetrespdj Quitate @domelipa ♬ original sound - cleaningcart13
Sound off
The sound features across 6,611 videos—but this isn't The Hunger Games' first brush with viral fame. Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark in the movies, was the face of an amusing trend last autumn involving a fancam set to the song "Whistle."
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