Female Empowerment
It is extremely unusual for a science fiction adventure film to be driven by a female protagonist, yet Katniss Everdeen is the epitome of a superhero who just happens to be a girl. She is both traditionally feminine and masculine, and does not fit into any gender stereotype or role. She is athletic, strategic, blessed with intelligence and beauty. Yes, there is an element of the traditional heroine in her, for instance, there is love and romance and the suggestion of a relationship; but there is also an ability to fight, to shoot an arrow better than any of the boys, an ability to come out on top in a contest that pits the genders against each other. Katniss is Girl Power 2.0 and this is in many ways the reason for the incredible success of the film.
Panem et Circences (Bread and Circuses)
The Hunger Games is the first edition of the movie series trilogy. It is not only set in a futuristic world with futuristic technology but also a dystopian world characterized by dictatorship and games where children are forced to kill each other. Propaganda is one of the major themes in the movie. In the movie, citizens are controlled using propaganda; information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted; a figurehead or concept is worshipped by the society; citizens are under constant surveillance living in a dehumanized state; the natural world is banished and distrusted; and conformity is strictly enforced. This situation can be briefly explained using the Latin phrase Panem et circenses meaning “bread and circuses." This phrase was used by the writer Juvenal to satirically describe the society of ancient Rome. It means that people can give up their rights and political freedom to have Panem et Circenses, i.e., bread and circuses. This is exactly what the people in the Capitol and the districts have done; they have given up their right to question the state. The phrase panem et circenses explains how the Hunger Games are connected to entertainment for the citizens in the Capitol. This metaphor of food being traded for political power is used often in the film and gives us a great overview of Panem's political structure and propaganda. Panem is a society where this form of rule is prevalent and is not necessarily a place where the government is fair to all its citizens. On the contrary, as long as the citizens get their basic and superficial needs met, like food and entertainment, those in charge can do as they please. To the people in the Capitol, the Hunger Games have taken the role of “circenses”, the distraction; they are so caught up in the artificial drama that plays out on the television that they fail to understand the fact that their ‘president’ is a dictator who attained power by murdering his rivals, or that he becomes ‘wealthy’ at the cost of a ‘lack of food and neccessities’ elsewhere. In the Capitol, compassion towards fellow human beings is nullified and thus there is no moral concern about sending children to slaughter. To say it pointedly, the people of the Capitol have forsaken their humanity and care for others to live a carefree life, where the most terrible thing for them is to be out of nail polish, whereas the terrible things are not thought twice about. In one instance; Gale asks Katniss why she rescued her stylists when they were a part of the Capitol. To this, she replies, “I know them. They're not evil or cruel. They're not even smart. Hurting them, it's like hurting children. They don't see...I mean, they don't know”. Here, Katniss means that the Capitol people are unaware of the situations around them and are living in a world of panem et circences. The citizens of the Capitol have given up their right to have a say in politics and to be compassionate towards their fellow human beings for which, in return, they are provided with an abundance of food and the ultimate form of entertainment: the Hunger Games.
Media Propaganda
‘Media Propaganda’ is a major theme in the movie The Hunger Games since the capitol uses it to control the other districts. Media is used in its extreme sense in all manners to control the citizens in the form of surveillance and by projecting a show. Media is used as propaganda not only in this movie but also in the society around us. We are so dependent on media that it has become the controlling authority in our lives. The novel satirizes this aspect of modern society who are entangled in the clutches of media and media violence. The media content available in Panem is controlled and broadcast by the government and the citizens have no freedom of speech. In Panem, it mainly keeps the country in control by exalting the Capitol, entertaining the rich, and deterring the poor from inciting a rebellion. Even though The Hunger Games is supposedly set in the future, the only type of media that is made available in all of the districts is television and this might be used to show the totalitarian authority that controls the citizens through a single medium. This television device is a medium of one-way communication, which instills the idea that the only available channel being used to control the districts is completely controlled by the government and that the public has no way of communicating their ideas. The control of the media is an essential tool of the Capitol to control the population. Most houses, even in the poorer districts where they hardly have enough money for food, still have a television device. For those who do not have a television, some screens are located in the cities where the capitol can publicly show what they want. The games are so important to the Capitol that they shut down school for the events related to it. To spread their propaganda, the Capitol makes a solid effort to ascertain that the Hunger Games are as captivating as possible. They control the footage of the games so that the violence is highlighted, and depict the tributes in ways that suit their purposes. They want to keep the citizens of the Capitol entertained so that they do not see the horrible conditions that the people in the districts suffer from. They do this by creating the most magnificent show with amazing environments ranging from hot to cold. They have the power to censor whatever they like, and their goal is to entertain the population of the Capitol, and at the same time remind the people of the districts who are in charge. After the games are over, the recapitulation of the games is mandatory to watch. This summary features the most interesting or rather violent parts of the televised event. They emphasize the journey of the victorious tributes as well as the deaths of the tributes who died in the arena. This part is summarized because the government wants to make sure that none of the citizens of Panem miss the fact that they are in control of everything. After each game, the result is always supposed to be the same - a single victor. The Hunger Games is used by the Capitol to remind the citizens of Panem that there once was a rebellion that was struck down with brute superior force. The story of the rebellion is told every year, making sure that no one forgets it.
