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. Firstly, “The Hunger Games” is set in a futuristic period where war and rebellion have caused a serious problem with the development of society (or its progress). Basically, in the Hunger Games Universe, both men and women are thrown into a situation where the success of their families and hereditary lineages is based solely off of social status. Even in the beginning of the movie, it is made clear that people from differing districts cannot simply make normal exchanges and social interactions with each other due to the cruel and brutal nature of the social bar that was raised extremely high off the bat. In other words, in order to be viewed as successful in the Hunger Games universe, one must be in an elevated social class position so as to be respected and accepted by the upper-class members of society (those members being the men and women fortunate enough to be located in districts one, two, or three). This fact is highlighted in the scene where Peeta graciously gives Katniss a purposefully burnt loaf of bread in order to help her feed herself and her family alike. However, Peeta gets beaten for his act of kindness by his mother because bread is seen as the only way to efficiently make a stamp or impact in the society in which they found themselves living in. Therefore, food and clothing were always in high demand due to their value in making connections with
Furthermore, the rich who do become tributes tend to have an additional advantage, because they are often trained is the aspects of the games. These trained tributes (or Careers) are generally bigger, stronger, and better prepared for the tribulations of The Hunger Games than those poorer tributes selected by chance. The theme of social inequality in this book also suggests to the audience to consider the simple pleasures of our lives that we take for granted that others that have a lower societal class do not have access to. An example of this effect in the book is when it is pointed out that starvation is common in District 12, and Katniss risks hunting
Until page 50 it was a perfect beginning , and I had a good time in reading this pages and a lot of something to learn and something make me feel interest, such as, the deep description of the characters, places, and even food which made me feel the moment and as if I were living with them. Also, the way that the author had depicted how people suffered because of the hanger and poverty. Another thing that I want to notice about is that girl – Katniss – who was the ideal sister and daughter, when she prefers to go to The Hunger Games instead of her sister – Prim- ,and when she takes care of her ill mother. Furthermore, while all the bad things that happened to her and all the responsibilities that placed on her, but it didn't prevented her
In the history of cinema, most movies involving a hero 's journey involve mostly the same plot; man gets a call, goes on a journey, gets in a battle or two, and saves the helpless woman from some evil source. The Hunger Games has the same plot as other hero films, but takes a complete turn on the actor encompassing the hero. The hero in this film is a Katniss Everdeen, a poor girl from a dystopian society. In this film Katniss volunteers for her sister to be in the Hunger Games, which is an event where individuals are thrown into an arena where people from twelve districts fight each other to the death for entertainment. Katniss must win the hunger games and make it back to her family. Katniss eventually befriends Peta and they defeat all obstacles and win the Hunger Games together. The Hunger Games is a perfect example of a hero 's journey plot. It follows the steps that any hero journey movie would, including the call, crossing the threshold, a supreme ordeal, companions and mentors, a transformation and the end gift. This film encompasses the classic hero journey plot, with an exception of having a strong female lead instead of male.
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.
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
She began her career with writing for children television shows in 1991 and worked as a staff for Clarissa Explains it all and The Mystery files of Shelby Woo an Emmy nominated TV show. She along with her co-author Peter Bakalian was nominated for a WAG Award for their animated work Santa, Baby! Alice in wonderland were a major inspiration for her work Gregor the Overlander in which she reimagines the pastoral setting of the first one with that of the urban New York City where you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole. Collins released an autobiographical picture book titled Year of the Jungle in September 2013 which recounts her experiences when she was six years old and her father was deployed in the Vietnam War.
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
What do the middle ages, the 1960’s, and the future all have in common? All eras face the gruesome struggle of being oppressed. Author, Geraldine Brooks’ demonstrates this oppression by sending her audience to the past, in her novel Year of Wonders, to follow Ana Frith through the struggles of the plague, societal standards, and coming of age. Showing her audience oppression can be both an internal and active battle. Susan Collins takes a different approach, leading her readers through a futuristic dystopian novel, The Hunger Games, in the eyes of Katniss Evergreen: allowing Collins to convey how solidarity and fellowship can be the cure to oppression. Sue Monk Kidd while she was no dystopian author, she does use fiction to portray the
Teenagers are constantly being regulated by society’s set of obligatory rules, with failure to comply resulting in isolation. Societal factors that affect our lifestyle can derive from family, friends, and the media. In the novel series, The Hunger Games, the dystopian society of Panem can relate to how our society functions. The Hunger Games is an annual competition where 24 teens are forced into an arena where they must survive an all-out deathmatch with each other for the amusement of the viewers in the Capitol. Protagonist Katniss Everdeen resides in District 12, the least wealthy district with the most unfavorable chances of winning. Career Tributes are competitors found in Districts 1 and 2, that are much more wealthy, have been training all their lives, and have an overall advantage in the competition. This imbalance between people shares similarities to teenage society. Wealthy families have the ability to wear stylish brand-name clothing and designer makeup, have access to all social medias with their smartphone, and dominate in popularity. Whereas teens deriving from lesser income families do not have access to these luxuries and feel of less worth. Teenagers reject opportunities because they fear the judgments that accompany failure. Embarrassing events from the past loom over a teenager’s head and telling them to steer
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.
The Hunger Games demonstrates many examples of oppression in a capitalist society. Collins created a society with a very noticeable difference between the rich, the poor, and the people in charge. The districts with more money often train their tributes from the time they are very small and then they volunteer to become tributes, whereas in the poor districts most people are starving all year round and going to the games is a death sentence. Much like in our world today where the rich have very many opportunities to get ahead and the poor are struggling to keep up. Another demonstration of class difference is how the capitol uses the games to intimidate the people of the districts and let them know that they are in charge.
This is especially visible in the behavior of Katniss after the game makers decline to acknowledge her when she is trying to generate a good rank. Instead of falling under the disrespect of the game makers, Katniss successfully pins the apple out of the pigs mouth onto the wall behind the large group of game makers leaving the men astonished not only by Katniss’ precise dexterity with the arrow but further intrigued by her guts to acquire their attention. Similar to Katniss’ actions, it is crucial for the lower class of the U.S. to draw the attention of the upper class in order to establish an up-rise. In addition this occurrence alone earned herself the respect of the game-makers and resulted in Katniss receiving a rank 11, the highest between all the competitors that year. The Hunger Games encourages American society to do something about the corruption that is still existent in current society. Similarly, John Gerring and Strom C. Thacker research “the causes and effects of political corruption” and how it has “emerged in recent years” and despite this many individuals “know little about the possible role of different political institutional arrangements on political corruption” (Gerring & Thacker 1). This is significant because it demonstrates how many people are oblivious to the dishonesty within the government, correspondingly the viewers of The Hunger Games were unaware of all the lies that surrounded the games. The dichotomy between upper and lower class shows how crucial it is for one to take a stand against a powerful institution such as the
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
In District 12 of Panem, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen is walking to meet her friend, Gale, a boy she seems to like, in the woods so they can do some hunting for food. As she’s walking, she thinks about her mother and her younger sister, Prim, who is 12 years old. They have depended on Katniss for food ever since their father died in a mine explosion when Katniss was 11.