Hunger Games Sociological Analysis

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

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’

In life there is always some sort of violence and there always seems to be a good and a bad side. The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross is a movie about 24 tributes fighting to the death for the Hunger Games crown. The prize is riches, fame and freedom from ever having to physically fight in the arena again. It is a game of violence, ferocity, and blood, and only one tribute can win. Even though stories often have a Battle between Good and Evil, it is Katniss’s internal conflict confronting her own good and evil that portrays humanity with a longing for destruction, violent inclination, and sense of separation.

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

Upon watching the movie “The Hunger Games” from a sociological perspective, I learned that many of the things that we have gone over in this online sociology course were incorporated heavily into what is perhaps one of my personal favorite movies of all time. Things like social status, culture, heritage, gender, and more were all used throughout the film in order to portray a realistic and believable setting for the viewer from a social perspective. Probably the most important sociological themes explored in this movie were the struggle to maintain a high ranking social status amongst surrounding humans, the pre-perceived idea of what you were and weren’t allowed to do legally speaking based on your district, and most importantly, how humans can ultimately make life or death decisions based on the value or benefit of a certain person to the group.

I chose to the modern mythology known as The Hunger Games a novel written by Suzanne Collins and later adapted into a feature film. The novel was actually part of a trilogy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The story begins by introducing you to our main character Katniss Everdeen who lives in a world run by the Capitol where President Snow resides and has enforced a form of martial law on all 13 districts. Every year the Capitol hosts their annual Hunger Games which is a form of entertainment for the Capitol. Out of every district two tributes, one boy and one girl will be picked to participate in the Hunger Games which is a battle to the death. Whichever tribute manages to survive till the end will be rewarded by getting to stay in the capitol and their district will be given more food and supplies. The reason Katniss becomes a part of the games is because her little sister prim is chosen during the reaping to be the tribute so Katniss hearing her sisters name volunteers as tribute to save her sisters life but she tries to win the games for her district and to provide for them. The only problem is she finds it hard to murder the other tributes because they are all so young and she doesn’t see why she must kill them for the Capitols entertainment.

In the novel “The Hunger Games” Suzanne Collins conveys the qualities of a hero through the main character Katniss Everdeen. The novel is based around a dystopian nation, in which is placed in Panem. Through which a boy and a girl from each district must take part in ‘The Hunger Games’ where they have to fight to the death, until there is one survivor. Katniss subsequently evolves as a significant hero portraying the heroic qualities such as selflessness, identity change and intelligence. Selflessness is shown as she puts others before herself, her identity changes as she has to put up a brave face, and intelligence is displayed as her strategies progress in the games.

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins expresses two themes. The first one is that we can’t let the government use their power to treat, and use people like they want, they are oppressing them. “At one o’clock, we head of the square. Attendance is mandatory unless you are on deaths door. This evening, officials will come around and check to see if this is the case. If not you will be imprisoned.” (Collins, 16) we can see that the Capitol forces the people to participate in the reaping by threatening them. “When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to

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.

The Hunger Game film is an emotional series that resemble a severe caste system setting. The plot showcases a transformation of an unfortunate girl becoming a beacon of hope for the rebellion. By doing this, the movie revolves around three themes which are backed by theories and models in sociology which include opportunity, explained by the Status Theory, conflict, explained by Karl Max and Max Weber, and interaction, represented by the Dramaturgical Model.

The Hunger Games presents a rather dystopian alternative to life in the United States as compared to the present time. To audiences, the story provides exciting entertainment as well as raising many ethical, moral, and political questions. However, there is another aspect of The Hunger Games which proves fascinating in an economical sense – the technology. Throughout the drama, contrasts in technological advancement show how important technology is to economic health.

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.

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 nation of Panem has risen out of the ravaged ruins of what was once known as North America. 74 years ago, the poverty-stricken districts of Panem rebelled against the wealthy, controlling the Capitol. After its crushing victory, the Capitol devised the Hunger Games as an annual reminder to the twelve districts of its authority, and as continuing punishment for the rebellion. Every year, each district must hold a raffle (known as the "reaping") to choose one boy and one girl (ranging from age 12–18) to participate in the Hunger Games, a competition in which each of the twenty-four contestants (known as

"Gladiators, Chariots, and the Roman Games [ushistory.org]." ushistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6e.asp>.