The Hunger Games, a film based off of a novel written by Susan Collins, was released in March of 2012. The film, and the book it was based on, chronicles the struggles of a girl named Katniss Everdeen, a girl who lives in a poverty stricken province or “District”, until untimely circumstances forces her to play in the Hunger Games, a gladiatorial like contest where children between the ages of 12 and 18 are forced to fight to the death. A contest that was set up by an oppressive and authoritarian government, and has thus far been sustained via the forced obedience of the rebellious Districts, the brainwashing and conditioning of Districts 1 and 2, and the conditioning of the residents of its Capitol. The movie has a variety of messages, most especially in regards toward social control and social conditioning. With these ideas in mind, a case could very well be made that The Hunger Games, throughout its two hour long run time, shows a very realistic look at a socially conditioned society and what humanity can become with the right amount of conditioning and control by an authoritarian force.
The contest within The Hunger Games is rooted deep in the film's backstory, in which the nation of Panem was rocked by a civil war. Twelve oppressed Districts rose up against an oppressive Capitol, and the end result of this civil war was a Capitol victory (Hunger Games). In response to the rebellion of its outer provinces, the government of Panem decreed the creation of the Hunger Games, in which each District would send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight in a battle to the death, until only one Victor emerged supreme, who would then, “be showered with glory”, by the Capitol, in order to show the mercy and ...
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Thus, it is with these three key points that the government of Panem has been able to keep the Games going on for so long, without the system collapsing in on itself. Furthermore, The Hunger Games also shows us just what we as a species could become with the right about of social influence and conditioning by an authoritarian force. The peoples of the Capitol and Districts have been taught and conditioned for decades to accept the Hunger Games, especially so in the case of the Capitol, where its citizens applaud and enjoy the Hunger Games, much like many Romans enjoyed the Colosseum in ancient times. It is a rather frightening, but realistic, look at what any of us could become with the right social influences and conditioning.
Works Cited
Ross, G. (Director), Collins, S. (Writer), Jacobson, N. (Producer) (2012). The Hunger Games. United States: Color Force
The article also compared the government of the Hunger Games to the government in reality. Kids are already showing signs of sci-fi behavior. The movie and the book can influence the generation greatly. The Hunger Games can motivate kids to become rebels of this generation. Rees Brennan, Sarah.
The Hunger Games are basically the embodiment of society's off sense of entertainment. It combines the oddities that are violence and reality TV. However, what is it that insinuates the tones for this type of movie? Initially, there's a scene that addresses the fact that the society of this movie is conducting the games as though it was a standardized athletic tournament. In the movie, Haymitch Abernathy brings up how there are sponsors who deliver supplies to the “contestants”. Basically, sponsors influence the who will live or die, incidentally affecting the course of the games. During this scene, he claims, “And to get sponsors, you have to make people like you.” This scene mentions the thought on how people living in societies today work
When Gary Ross’ 2012 adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ famous novel ‘The Hunger Games’ exploded on screens, it was received as an action-packed, thrilling story of survival, determination and over-coming corruption. Audience’s watched in equal parts awe and horror as Katniss was thrust into Panem’s battle arena and fought for justice, family and friendship. However, if we as an audience think more critically about the film; if we think beyond the wild costumes, gripping action and skilful performances, we can see that the story explores complex philosophical ideas that strongly relate to the experiences of humanity in the real world.
Collins has embedded a very strong moral behind her writings, which she has made quite clear through the morals of Panem and its Capitol. The Hunger Games could be described as a massive, national television show with a little – well, big – twist. Like reality television in our day and age, it is extremely popular with plenty of drama; except, perhaps the drama is a little too dramatic, involving the brutal murder of tributes and the literal back-stabbing of fellow ‘allies’. Essentially, the Hunger Games is a large sport and source of entertainment, where the tributes must face atrocious perils such as fireballs, mutated, dogs, along with tracker-jackers – wasps genetically modified to create hallucinations and kill with merely a few painful stings. Although this is a bit too extreme for our reality television, there are still many similarities.
The main source of power in the hunger games is very clear showing that the government in this case the capitol how they use their power to control power. This is because the Capitol holds the most of the country’s money and wealth. The Capitol there is able to control what happens, when it happens and how much it costs. For example in the book Katniss has put her name down for the reaping as everyone else do too. ‘The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each 12 districts must provide a boy and a girl, called tributes, to participate.’ This quote from the book shows how the Capitol has made a law that they punish the districts because they were all smothered to bits and district 13 has been fully destroyed by the Capitols army. Although this book shows how Katniss resists the kinds of power against the capitol for example. How she salutes into the air in the games and everybody sees or when Rue dies and Katniss cover her with flowers. These symbolic gestures create attention to the fact that there are actual people out there in the hunger games not just game holograms. These small moments of truth and reality.
As you can see the hunger games is no different than our society because we go through the same things, even though they are done differently. We both suffer of violence, terror, and brutality. This is three of the big things that stand out because they are either people’s real life or just their
The book and movie series known as the Hunger Games is about the battle between Districts one through twelve in the nation of Panem. Each year, one male and female tribute from each district, with twenty-four tributes in total, is chosen to fight to the death until one lone victor remains. The Capitol, the government and major city of the realm, rules the nation of Panem. Moreover, President Snow serves as the lone ruler of the Capitol. Any sign of rebellion against the Capitol will result in severe punishment inflicted by “Peacekeepers”, the internal security force controlled by the Capitol trained to maintain the order of the districts in Panem. In the eyes of Henry David Thoreau, the government of the Hunger Games is an unacceptable
Entertainment can come and be enjoyed in many different forms. Television shows and movies are some of the different forms of entertainment can be in. The lives of famous actors from shows or movies are constantly scrutinized on and off screen. Within the world of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins a version of reality entertainment is the televised murder of innocent children. Those who are chosen to be within the Hunger Games become a scrutinized celebrity. Katniss and other tributes that are forced to fight and kill show how human identity can become lost as they become objectified for the people of Panem. The Hunger Games helps represent the harm that reality television can have by using the glorification of death with the objectification
The Hunger Games was a good movie when it came out. This movie refers to a dystopia world in which there are 12 districts and a capitol who rules with an iron fist, in which the districts must provide a tribute to fight in an annual Hunger Game as a punishment for a past rebellion. Katniss Everdeen is a hunter from the 12th district, which Gale, her friend gives her tips on hunting. One day her sister, Primrose Everdeen, is chosen for the Hunger Games, and in order to save her, she volunteers instead to serve in the Games along with Peeta Mellark. During a TV interview, Peeta confesses her love for Katniss Everdeen, which causes the enragement of the latter; however, she later forgives him as he explains to her that it was only to gain sponsors. During the Hunger Games, she did not receive a lot of supplies except some medicine to cure a wound, but Districts 1 and 2 almost won the Game due to their training, and amount of supplies which Katniss destroys but cannot recover any of them. The Hunger Games was one of the best movies I ever watched because it has a little bit of everything and it captures the real-life survival game that we live on a daily basis.
Unlike Panem we don’t just have a high end and a low end. Our people are divided into classes such as high, middle and low. People like Bill Gates and the government are the high class which have the status as being the wealthiest in the country. This class is also apart of Panem. The Capitol is the richest place in all of Panem and it holds all the power for all the districts citizens. Besides the superior of the country we have the surviving middle class. This does not exist in Panem I believe because they are all desperate and poor and that is why the capitol includes all districts in the games. To continue, the middle class of our country are the people who might be in debt but are still able to make it through with somewhat of a normal life. By normal life I mean having a house, money, a job, etc. Then finally we have the lower class which is depicted in both the United States and Panem. Our poorest people are the ones without a home to live in, without food, and all the necessities to live. It is really a sad thing that shouldn’t occur in our country. So to think that the Hunger Games is based off of what life in the United States might be is scary. Every District in Panem is the low class. The do not have any rights to freedom nor the way of a healthy lifestyle. The Capitol sucks in all the wealth and does not use it properly. To conclude, the inequality gap
Murty, Govindini. "Decoding the Influences in "The Hunger Games"" The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Complete governmental control develops as an apparent theme of both 1984 and The Hunger Games. 1984 uses the concept of big brother for the sole purpose of instilling a dependence on the government for every aspect in the citizens’ lives. Similarly, the capitol of Panem in The Hunger Games censors information from the people so that any idea of revolution will be instantaneously
The Hunger Games that follows, the term that defines a dystopian fiction. One main belief that defines Dystopian society is the development into a “hierarchical society” (“Dystopia”). A hierarchical society plays a big part in the story that outline the whole plot. For example, Capitol is wealthier than all the districts. Some districts are more privileged than others. The Careers, being tributes from districts one to three, are prepared and trained for years before the games. However, this is illegal, but because of the support towards District two from the Capitol, they are let off, along with District one and District four, the other richer districts. In this cas...
In a not-too-distant, some 74 years, into the future the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 13 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games; these children are referred to as tributes (Collins, 2008). The Games are meant to be viewed as entertainment, but every citizen knows their purpose, as brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts. The televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eradicate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. The main character throughout the series is a 16-year-old girl from District 12 named Katniss Everdeen.
Suzanne Collins, author of the novel The Hunger Games and Tim Burton, Director of the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland contrast artificial and natural elements in their fantasy worlds. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, having to accept the set of rules forced by the Capitol, or rather the Game Makers, or Alice Kingsleigh from the 2010 film, who has to cope with the tyrannical Red Queen of Underland. These confrontations lead to a reflection of self, and the depiction of identity formation and the chaos that come along with growing up. Though the film 2010 film Alice in Wonderland and the novel The Hunger Games don’t seem to have much in common, each adventure uses characterization and imagery to portray dictatorial governmental oppression