Seeing that the Capitol holds most of Panem’s wealth, the government then, is able to control all the people in districts across Panem by limiting all their resources.
Suzanne Collins explores the idea of what power can do to people along with social inequality through many of the characters in The Hunger Games. Collins tells the story of real life situations related to inequality and government issues.
The way that the tributes are selected to be in the Games is perhaps the most obvious indicator of social inequality. Even though the tributes selected, are random, the tesserae system makes the poor more vulnerable and The Hunger Games, then, are the ultimate display of the government’s power and were designed to warn the people against rebellion.
The Hunger Games contribute to the sea of dystopian films, within this film social commentary is exposed in the gruesome scenes of murder preadolescents are forced to commit. In the dystopian film, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capital. Each year two young representatives from each district are chosen to participate in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are televised throughout Panem and are used as part entertainment ,and as part retribution for a past rebellion. The 24 participants are forced to kill one another until there is one left. During this gruesome act the citizens of the Panem are forced to watch. Social commentary is shown throughout the whole movie as subtle evaluations of the society
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
Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, imagines a world where people are divided by district just like the real world does with the high, middle, low classes. This book is full of themes, literary devices and also talks about how the government — in this case the Capitol — oppresses their citizens.
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’
The Hunger Games novel written by Suzanne Collins reflects significant issues in the reality world nowadays which relate to the humanity, the poverty, the violence,… It describes the issues through the characters and what happens in the story, and the most significant issue occurs throughout the novel is the gap between rich and poor people. In the beginning of the novel, Suzanne Collins describes clearly the scene of the poverty, the terrible fear of the 12-district’s villagers, in contrast to the wealthy of the Capitol’s citizens. The inequality of social classes becomes the theme of the novel because of its relation and the effects to the plots of the story. And the reason, which leads to that issue, is the policies of the dictatorship
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 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
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
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 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).
In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, “levers” of power that are constantly in use include societal ideals and fear. Each and every citizen of the Districts are subjected to witness the Games, or partake in them. Katniss Everdeen and twenty-three other citizens that were selected from the Reaping-- a selection process in order to find a tribute-- are forced to fight to the death (Collins 18). The Capitol fears that the districts will rebel therefore the reaping must happen in order to instill fear of the Capitol into the citizens of the Districts. If the Capitol does not host the Games annually, they will lose control over the Districts.
The Hunger Games, then, are the ultimate display of the government’s power and were designed to warn the populace against rebellion. In the Hunger Games, the citizens of Panem become nothing more than pawns
Government Controls Everything In The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, local communities and every aspect of daily life are controlled completely by the government. Similarly relating to today’s society in such ways “Some of these aspects include the obsession with outer beauty, obsession with reality television, and of course, wealth versus poverty.” (www.huffingtonpost.com)l No one in District 12 has the right to do anything without being punished for it by the government. Plus children from each of the districts are chosen to fight against each other in order to help feed their district for that following year.
For thousands of years, governments have been oppressing their people. Although their reasons for doing so may have been different, the outcomes were all the same: a revolt of the people. There are many examples of this throughout history, such as in the French Revolution and the American Revolution. The Hunger Games, a tale of a dystopian society filled with maltreatment by “The Capitol,” displays the path to insurrection triggered by the mounting cases of misery brought on by their government, that was attacking lower classes of people. By using common themes of oppression and rebellion found throughout history, The Hunger Games is a striking example of how repression by government will eventually lead to a revolt of the people.
As with any society, wealth often gives a distinct advantage over the poor. These “career tributes” tend to be the strongest, and more agile competitors, having been trained and prepared since birth. Even though training tributes before the Games is considered illegal, the Career districts generally get away with this because of their wealth and close ties with the Capitol. The murderous mindsets of these Career tributes before the Games even start, cultivated from years of preparation, gives them a tremendous advantage both physically and mentally over the other tributes. Some are born into the coal industry, while others are born to fight in the Hunger Games.