Humanity In The Hunger Games

Written by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games takes place in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic country, Panem, which is divided into twelve districts and controlled by a central city, known as the Capitol. Every year, each district has to select two children as tributes to compete in a brutal sporting event, known as the Hunger Games. In which, they must fight and kill each other until there is only one glory winner. In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins uses the characteristics of a totalitarian government and the rebellion of the protagonist to warn the readers about the danger of dictatorship and encourage the young readers to take a stand in their beliefs.

The Hunger Games is a brawl between twelve separate districts. These districts are governed by one main capitol, which has much wealth unlike the poor districts, where Katniss struggled to feed her family. They are also responsible for making The Hunger Games. The capitol randomly selects two people from each district, one boy and one girl, to compete in the games. All of the people chosen must be taken to an arena where they are forced to fight to the death.

The first book in the Hunger Games trilogy has sold over 28 million copies in the U.S alone and an astonishing 65 million copies total across all three novels. The Hunger Games is a clear example of how a corrupted government can negatively impact the world. This fictitious novel is set in Panem, a country that is separated into thirteen poor districts and the very wealthy Capitol. Every year, the Capitol forces every district to send two kids ages 12-18 to fight in what is called the Hunger Games; a brutal fight to the death. This is what the Capitol does to show the districts that they are the follows to the almighty leader as well as provide entertainment.

Their treatment and control of the poor districts can also fall under structural functionalism. Looking at each district as if they were gears in a motor, if you would remove one the system as a whole would start to fail. Looking at it from that perspective one would argue that if there was not a class system in this case a district system, who would mine coal or fish to support the capitol? This is a key question when examining the structural functionalism of the “Hunger Games”. Since the rich elitists of the capitol lack the ability of self-sustainment the poor serve a purpose, and without

Can you imagine the feeling knowing that at anytime, a close one could be taken away. A best friend could be stolen. A family member could be killed. Even yourself could be sacrificed for nothing. Do you think that the emotions a family member may encounter, the sadness of an entire community, or even just the thought of dying, is worth it to provide a dominant government their “Hollywood ending”? Well, in the book “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society where her community is divided by 13 different groups. Each year, their government randomly selects two participants from each group to play in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death among the other participants. In the book, Katniss’

Through is phlegmatic demeanor lies a sadistic, calculating dictator, yielding unrestricted, absolute power which he fully abused. The people in Panem feared his wrath to the point they did not attempt any rebellious behavior against President Snow, he uses his charisma to legitimize his power over the district. The traditional aspect of authority was exercised by Snow forcing the people to be divided by class based on social status and demographics. Twelve districts were established out of these classes with the goal of having these districts fight against one another until their deaths. Snow ordered children, women and the elderly to participate in the” Hunger Games” tournament, he brandished zero compassion for the citizens he coerced to their

The dystopian genre makes parallels between the fabricated society and actual society. The reality TV element of the games demonstrates the link between the society of Panem and our society. From child beauty pageants to a rich family that no one knows why is famous, these shows are watched by many in today's society. People forget that these people are real and living their own lives compared to the “scripted” TV shows with paid actors. Capitol dwellers are obsessed with their image, making body modifications to look young and to stay in trend. This aspect of the novel makes a comment on plastic surgery and image in today’s society (Frade, 2014). The use of the hunger games as a social event shows that Capitol views the people in the districts as lesser individuals and are willing to watch people die for their entertainment. The games are watched “At homes and community halls around the country, every television set is turned on. Every citizen of Panem is tuned in” (Collins, 2008, p. 124). There is a disconnection from the people in the Capitol and the children fighting in the games. To the Capitol, those children are just part of an elaborate game, but for the Districts, those children are daughters, sons, brothers, and sisters. The view of humans as lesser individuals can be translated into society today. The top 1% of the population that control most of the wealth have power over the individuals that have less money. The Capitol is comparable to the top 1% and the Districts are comparable to the rest of the world. The geographical aspect of

Similarly, the film adaptation of The Hunger Games, also depicts a dystopia controlled by a government that profits from dividing citizens by a strict caste system. At the center of the caste system is the “decadent, exploitative central city called the Capitol” (Miller 1) that is surrounded by the adjoining twelve districts. All of the twelve districts and the Capitol make up the nation of Panem. The nation of Panem is dominated by a social ranking beginning with the Capitol as elitists and working down to district twelve as the inferior district. Subsequently, each district is responsible for the production of a given industry that is necessary for Panem to survive.

In the movie film The Hunger Games, the nation of Panem is a society very dissimilar to our own. This nation once began with 13 districts, until the thirteenth district chose to take action against the oppressors. They were quickly put down, the remaining 12 districts were punished and were forced to fund two participants which were known as tributes , a boy and a girl of young age to the Capitol each year to compete in the Hunger Games which is a brutal fight to the death. The winner of the huger games is then rewarded with a number of rewards, as well as their home district receives an extra amount of food for one year. The government of Panem administrates these annual “games” as a reminder

Ideas of sociology play a big role in people’s everyday lives. Many Books and movies consists of the basic ideas of sociology. The film series, The Hunger Games is an example of such a representative movies. The base story of the series include a society, where people are given little to no rights. This story highly relates to the ideas of sociology since it is about a society, its culture and norms. Katniss Everdeen, is the female lead of the movie who rebels for her rights.

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

The Hunger Games, the movie, was adapted from the popular young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games is sometimes described as another cliche love story for which the young adult genre is infamous. Despite appearances, The Hunger Games illustrates a complex and creative dystopian world with a much deeper underlying message, including topics such as, politics, history, and celebrity worship. The setting appears to be a futuristic version of America. This future America is very classist, and the tyrannical government is sure to keep the classes divided by heavily oppressing the working class. The working class is divided into twelve districts, which used to be thirteen districts until the thirteenth district was annihilated as a result of its uprising. In response to the thirteenth district’s resistance, the President created a game called “The Hunger Games” in an effort to instill obedience in the remaining twelve districts. Through the course of the movie, we learn that “The Hunger Games” are not only a mechanism to force obedience on the working class, but also to serve as entertainment for the elite society who live in the Capitol. The Games require 24 randomly selected children from the working class districts to fight to the death in an elaborately staged battle, all of which is filmed and broadcasted to the entire nation, working class and elite alike. Thesis: The Hunger Games, the movie, has a hauntingly feasible storyline and clear references to real

The Hunger Games promotes the idea of a total government control. The Capitol controls everything that the twelve districts do. The world of Panem is divided into 12 districts where each district has its own role to fulfill from luxury to coal mining. "Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch. This is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy" (Collins 18). This shows that the districts all pay a yearly sacrifice to the Capitol in the form of tributes. Another of showing that the Games is a dystopian society is that any evidence of an act of rebellion will result in the government having to kill anyone who gets in their way. "Look how he take your children and sacrifice them there is nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District 13" (18).

Reality television has differed throughout the years. At one point it was meant to be a literal depiction of everyday life. Now, reality television has changed to be more dramatic and outrageous than an average person or family’s life. The Hunger Games, in a way, depicts the lives of those who live in the poorer districts where the necessities for life are not in such abundance as in the Capitol. Although children are not forced to kill each other in the districts, there is still the struggle for one’s livelihood. That reality is depicted in the games and it seems that The Capitol takes that theme and develops it into The Hunger Games that we know and love. The Hunger Games suggests that reality television is manipulated to the point where the viewers see what the creators (game makers) want them to see.

The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, is set in a dystopian country called Panem. This country is split up into twelve districts, and the districts are lead by the Capitol. Annually, the Capitol forces children of the districts to fight in the Hunger Games until only one child is left alive. The Capitol uses the games to show their power and to discourage the people of Panem to start another war. The games are very entertaining to the people of the Capitol, and the whole country is required to watch on television. Even though this seems unusual to enjoy watching children fight to their death, this idea has been around for thousands of years.