Sociology of “Hunger Games” By. Tom ************ Soc 101 11/17/13 Introduction 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 …show more content…
Social Stratification The division of the districts, each district has a specific area of production. Ex. District 1-Luxury items, District 4- Fishes, District 11- Agriculture, and District 12- Coal Miners. All districts produce their items for the rich and powerful Capitol. This can be viewed as a division of labor. Each district has a specific job, a specific labor that contributes to the whole nation but mostly to the Capitol. The first 2 districts live comfortably while as the number of the district increases their quality of living decreases. Because of this caste system those born into one of the districts have very little if any opportunity for advancement in the class system and are generally stuck in their respective district. Structural Functionalism 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
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.
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’
Human interaction, culture and the ways of living within a society can be altered in order for the rehabilitation of humanity. The Hunger Games is based on what was once North America now called Panem, a nation separated into twelve districts each functioning individually but all connected and dictated by President snow. The division between districts within the Capitols jurisdiction causes chaos which is created by President Snow who supports the hierarchy of power, creating an unstable city and leaving most poor districts to survive and wealthy districts to thrive. Human behavior and humanity are displayed throughout The Hunger Games but it is predominantly shown between the function and the structure of The Hunger Games, the districts and their cultures and the main character and how she survives in a post-apocalyptic world. The Hunger Games is a complex
In order to control future rebellions by remembering the past rebellion, the Powers That Be of the dystopian society of Panem force two youngsters from each of the twelve districts to participate in The Hunger Games. The rules are very simple: the twenty-four players must kill each other and survive in the wilderness until only one remains,the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors
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
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.
People of each district were forced to work hard labour or they would become homeless and would probably die of starvation. Attempted escape of your district would lead to being turned into an avox, a person will their tongue cut off that usually worked as waiters and cleaners. The Capitol government is very similar to the the dictatorship of North Korea as attempting to escape from North Korea could have serious problems that might come after such as prison or death.
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 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.
Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ caused major controversy when it first published in 1948 and received criticism due to its brutal representation of rituals in American small towns. Although it might seem impossible, events such as the one seen in ‘The Lottery” are scattered all throughout history, from the Mayans to Nazi Germany with no guarantee that humanity will not relapse into the practice in the future. This is a vision that Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games brought forth.
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 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.
While the Capitol is wealthier, there is some districts that are more privileged than others therefore they can train their tributes so they can do great in The Hunger Games; just like in the modern society not everyone is privileged to go to school or college. Another thing point is the video Occupy Wall Street that shows the unrighteous division of the 1% rich and 99% of the working class. In the novel, the working class encounters many problems such as lack of food, clothes and shelters; while the 1% were living the life. To conclude, another point that is related to today’s society is child soldiers I feel like the government choosing a child between the age of 12 and 18 is related to what was happening in Africa where children were forced to fight against one