Violence has been a tool used by governments to control their citizens throughout history. The Hunger Games' Capitol employs the games to maintain power and order over its districts, much like past authoritarian regimes have used propaganda and public executions. The recurring theme of using fear and violence to maintain control is a common theme in dystopian literature, emphasizing the risks of unchecked government power. The rise in popularity of reality TV shows and competitions like Survivor and Big Brother raises the possibility of such gruesome events being televised for public consumption, as in the Hunger Games.
The government known as the Capitol uses propaganda all the time to try and keep the people of Panem under control. They use The Hunger Games as something to keep the capitol in control. If the Hunger Games didn’t exist, there would have been an uprising years ago. The first example is that in the beginning of the movie, they have a video that they show before the reaping to try and justify what they are doing. Another example is that they have the pageant in the movie to try and make it look like a nice game show type thing they are doing.
The Games involve a televised fight to the death among twenty-four children, one boy and one girl from each district. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers to compete in the Hunger Games to save her sister and becomes the symbol of rebellion against the oppressive regime. The Hunger Games portrays a society where the ruling class is wealthy and powerful, and the lower class is exploited and oppressed. In this world, the government uses the media to manipulate people's thoughts and emotions and suppress any form of dissent. The central theme of The Hunger Games is the importance of freedom, rebellion, and
Panem the Terrible “Panem et circenses,” is the saying that defines the country of Panem as being a country of hungry fools. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins is a futuristic dystopian novel with roots in Ancient Rome, it centers around a teen girl fighting to survive, day by day. The usage of the Latin word Panem in the novel signifies how the political powers see the country, sheds light on the gruesome gladiatorial games of Ancient Rome, and plays into the phrase “Panem et circenses.” The Capitol sees the districts as communities of fools who hunger, while the powers that be are corrupted by power and status. Whenever Katniss spoke about the Capitol, she often notes that the Capitol (and richer districts) never go hungry, while the (poorer) districts starve.
Honestly, I think the cruelest part of the Hunger Games is the reaction of the viewers. Since the government is organizing this event, the public thinks it’s completely fine to see people suffering, and they even start to see it as entertainment. Just by knowing that the people of Panem view heartless things like this as entertainment, it shows that they are heartless, uncaring people. This has occurred in history, with another event that happened in the past; the Holocaust. This was a brutal time for Jewish people, where all of them would be captured and placed in concentration camps.
The quotation “The hunger games are a reminder of what happens when we rebel against the capitol" implements foreshadowing to postulate that rebelling against the capitol is a heinous and dangerous act that will result in severe consequences. The Hunger Games themselves serve as a metaphor for the consequences of defying a totalitarian government. This statement underscores the significance of the games to the capitol in maintaining control over the districts. The game serves as a warning to anyone who attempts to invoke or confront the capitol, or even goes against the capitol's rules. The use of foreshadowing and symbolism emphasises the importance of obedience and the consequences of rebellion which is dystopian behaviour.
Theme # 1- No matter what tyrannical environment you live in, your identity can never be changed The Hunger Games focuses on the theme of identity and how it is immutable in any tyrannical environment. This tells the audience that no one can take away your identity and it can only be controlled by you. In the movie, 24 tributes are forced to enter a game where they kill each other in order to survive which led them to losing their identity and becoming pawns to entertain the people of the Capitol.
Responsibility is key to survival in The Hunger Games because you must be responsible and careful before making a decision that depends on your life. “The price of greatness is responsibility.” (Winston Churchill) In The Hunger Games, two tributes, one male and one female under the age of eighteen, must leave their district to go and compete in The Hunger Games. While in the games all twenty-four tributes must fight to the death to entertain their Capital city.
Watching people suffer is an astonishing action that people love to see. This happens all throughout the world, with movies, shows, and even in schools. In the film, The Hunger Games, the world is similar in a creepy way. It shows people suffering, while others sit back and enjoy watching people suffer. The Hunger Games is trying to warn people around the world about segregation reoccurring, entertainment of suffering, and the effects of poverty on young people.
There are several themes in the book, each one has a significant meaning to the storyline. The first symbol that describes the theme of abuse of power is government control. The reason that they hold the Hunger Games is because it is a dystopian society and most of the districts are poor and the capitol likes it because it keeps them entertained just because they believe that they are superior to everyone else who lives outside the capitol. To explain this more into detail, the government controls all the districts and all the districts have to follow the rules or else there is a serious punishment.
Fear can be defined as an unpleasant feeling triggered by a situation. It is an emotion encountered by every human being. However, the reactions of people to fear may vary. Indeed, it ranges from the loss of rationality to the capacity of adaptation in extreme conditions. Thus, fear can be perceived as a weapon to control and manipulate society.
In the Hunger Games series, a dystopian future is set up. The government of Panem, The Capitol, holds the wealth of Panem giving it the power to control all districts. In order to enforce this theory, they created the Hunger Games. They suppressed the rights of the citizen’s of Panem and selected their children in order to fight each other do death for survival. These games were created to scare the people and show them who was in charge.
The hunger games by Suzanne Collins is typically called a dystopian novel. Since it sheds the light upon a utopian society that is controlled by the government. A society that is fooled by the totalitarian government of the Capitol in order to maintain power, and prevent the uprising of the Districts.that authority is practiced by making people from the districts live in a dehumanized state using another form of dystopia which is propaganda for the reason that they showed them the penalty of disobedience. Another characteristic of a dystopian society that we can see in the novel are keeping the players during the games under surveillance at all times, and everywhere. The last thing that make "The Hunger Games" a supreme example of a dystopian society is the fact that freedom is restricted by forcing the families from the districts to send their kids to death, also known as the hunger games.
The Hunger Games is a fairly popular and typical tale that includes a heroine, courage, and bravery. This story can be read or watched through many different lenses such as a Marxist lens, feminist lens, or even an archetypal lens. Through these lenses one can see as a reader or viewer that this is not just a story that fits into one category, but one that can fit into many. Using the Marxist and feminist lenses a viewer can gain a great depth of knowledge into The Hunger Games story itself.
The Hunger Games trilogy revolves around universal dystopian themes such as :oppression, rebellion, class tension as well as appearance vs. reality ," Collins creates the world that on one hand seems quite improbable and extreme, but on the other, vividly reflects some specific issues in a real world, like social inequalities, ignorance and passivity of the people" (Macanić 7). Oppression is perhaps the most common and prevalent dystopian theme as it serves as a warning against a highly probable dark future through shedding light on the dark side of contemporary trends such as advanced technology and reality TV-shows .The Capitol 's oppression operates on two levels; districts and individuals. The districts in general and districts 11 and 12 in particular have suffered great injustices at the ruthless hands of the Capitol ; however, there is no greater injustice than The Hunger Games themselves not only are the people of Panem forced to surrender their children as tributes for the Capitol 's citizens viewing pleasure for a crime they had no hand in committing ,but they are also forced to watch helplessly as their children are killed in the most brutal of manners .In Catching Fire (2009) , President Snow decrees that " the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors" in order to get rid of Katniss once and for all ,and to further assert the Capitol 's dominance and quell any thoughts of rebellion(172).
