Image Credit: The Hunger Games Wiki
After checking out Micky-the-slanted-salerno's newest blog for "The bitLanders Film Series" to Support Women Empowerment - Oct 15 to Nov 04, 2018, I decided to make a movie review about "The Hunger Games" movie.
➴The Hunger Games➶
Video Credit: Gary_Ross via Bitlanders
➴The Setting➶
Image Credit: Matte da Leggere
The Hunger Games is a movie that was adapted from the novel "The Hunger Games Trilogy". It is the first movie of the Hunger Games Trilogy. It a movie that occurs in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. It is a story about a dystopian world where cruelty and bloodshed are televised and watch as a sport by the wealthy.
The story occurs in a country named Panem, It is a civilization that rose up from the ruins of the previous country of the United States of America that was destroyed by a catastrophe.
Image Credit: Kompasiana
Panem is dictatorial a country that is ruled by the wealthy and elitist that lives in the "Capitol city" that is located in the center of twelve districts, which are totally subservient to the Capitol. In the movie we can see the contrast between the Capitol as well as the districts surrounding it quite early, while the Capitol is both rich and technologically advanced, the other twelve districts are much poorer.
As the story progresses, the reason why the districts are required to pay tribute was both as a punishment as well as a form of control that the government exercises. Seventy-four years ago the thirteen districts raised a rebellion against the Capitol and were subsequently put down. The government razed down the thirteenth district to the ground, which resulted in only having twelve districts. The government to both punish and remind the districts about their power forced a new yearly game called the "Hunger Games" where the twelve districts are to offer a tribute in the form of one male and one female, between the ages of 12 to 18 year's old, wherein they are to fight to the death in the arena until only one is left standing, while being watched by the people in the Capitol. The winner's district is then given the necessary supplies needed for the next year.
Here is a brief video introducing Panem and its districts.
Video Credit: MovieFlame via Youtube
➴The Story➶
Image Credit: Cooking Ideas
The story starts out with our two tributes for the 74th hunger games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), A young kick-ass girl, who is knowledgeable in foraging, wildlife, hunting, and survival techniques. She is the sole provider of her family, by hunting animals from the wilderness.
Image Credit: Wired.com
Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), a young man that is in love with Katniss. He is not as skilled as Katniss, so he uses his charms as well as his physical strength in the Hunger Games.
Image Credit: Popsugar.com
from one of the poorest and least populated district, the twelfth district.
Image Credit: The Hunger Games Wiki
To choose the tributes for each district, a lottery system is implemented, and the tributes for that year is Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields), Katniss' younger sister, and Peeta Mellark. In order to stop her younger sister from being made into that year's tribute volunteered herself to be that year's tribute.
They are soon mentored by their district's 50th hunger games winner, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), a fatalistic man who has been living in a haze of alcohol for the last 24 years.
The tributes are soon taken to the Capitol in a parade and to live a life of luxury before being thrown into the arena.
Image Credit: Eeza1986 via Flickr
Peeta soon announces his love for Katniss in an interview before the games start. This confession causes the ratings to explode and in order to gain wealthy sponsors, Haymitch advices Katniss to pretend to reciprocate Peeta's feelings, although she is in love with her friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth).
As the game begins, Katniss teams up with a young girl named Rue. After Rue is killed, the rules are changed by the game masters, stating that there can be two winners that are from the same district. After various encounters and deathmatch, Katniss and Peeta are the only ones left alive, but to further enhance the game, the game masters redacted the previous rule of two people winning. In here it can be seen that Katniss is now developing feelings for Peeta which in a way causes both to become unwilling to kill each other, Katniss provided a solution of double suicide and that there would be no winner for that year's Hunger Games. This decision forces the authorities to allow the previous rule to once again be implemented thus saving both of their lives.
The two winners are both Katniss and Peeta, but the authorities in charge to save face pretends that the reason for the ruling was because of Katniss' love for Peeta. In the ending, we can see that Peeta learns the truth that Katniss staged her love for him and was dismayed. This now sets the tone for the next sequel "Catching Fire"
➴My Thoughts on The Hunger Games➶
Image Credit: comic book
The Hunger Games is a dark, dystopian, sci-fi, thriller movie where a totalitarian dictatorship society is divided into two castes. The elite and rich and the poor and powerless. The government in here rules over its 12 satellite districts with an iron fist, depriving them of common necessities to prevent them from rebelling. The only way they can get these needed supplies is to conform to the government's demands of paying tributes, in the form of one male and one female, to become entertainment for the rich and elites in a gladiatorial death match that is shown as a reality TV to the people of the Capitol.
It actually reminded me of a hybrid society between ancient Romans and medieval England. The way that the people are treated like serfs from the medieval period of England, where the people from the districts are required to pay tributes as well as not being able to own a lot due to the government restricting their resources, making the districts more reliant on them for foods, supplies, as well as other necessities. It also reminded me about ancient Rome because the hunger games remind me of the gladiatorial fights that are more prevalent in the Roman culture, where slaves, as well as gladiators, are required to fight in the arena for the entertainment of the masses to win money or their freedom. Showing off the government's power to remind the people as well as giving out rewards to keep them compliant as well.
You can see in the movie the heavy contrast between this two society, the rich and elite in the capitol are hedonistic and decadent, wearing gaudy and colorful jewelry and clothing, as well as eating rich and decadent foods while those living in the districts are shown to wear more down to earth, plain cut clothing. This not only shows the differences between the two classes of society, but it also shows the cruelty of having a caste system where the rich rules over the poor.
What I loved about this movie is that it was able to show a strong heroine without turning her into a sex symbol. the movie shows a strong woman, who can stand up on her own, without becoming a damsel in distress. Here Katniss is shown to be smart, tough, and compassionate, which allows her to triumph against all obstacles, this kind of female lead in today's pop culture is hard to come by.
Image Credit: Study Breaks
In here, we were able to get a heroine that has broken the barrier between gender roles. She was not the heroine because she fought with the male lead, but because she was the protagonist of her own story without having the need to rely on men, undermining the stereotypical trope of women being protected by men, in some scenes she even needed to protect Peeta.
It is refreshing to see a strong female lead that doesn't become romantically involved with the male lead at the start of the story and then sacrificing themselves or their welfare for the male lead. The movie was able to show Katniss strong sense of self as well as her ability to stand tall without the stereotypical need of women needing men to be strong.
So have you seen The Hunger Games yet? If not, then you really should watch it now, you will certainly enjoy the experience, just like I did.
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Thank you for taking your time and reading this!
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Written by Eeza_1986 for Bitlanders.
