Via Week 9: Power In "The Hunger Games"

Everyone in America should know what "The Hunger Games"  is. 

Recently, the franchise has been thriving again due to the release of the movie "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," allowing many to reflect back on how incredible Suzanna Collins' creations are. 

Many themes of power revolve around her series. 

(Citizens of Panem were restricted by the Capitol. The Capitol would exploit their power by abusing their citizens to keep them "under control." Individuals were impeded from any acts of rebellion; anyone caught had to suffer severe consequences.) 


Father and Son (Basically).

During Katniss and Peeta's Victory Tour, an old man from District 11 throws up the salute that Katniss does to show her respect for Rue, a young girl from District 11 who participated in the Hunger Games with Katniss. However, at this point in the storyline, the salute is seen as an act of rebellion. This was enough to warrant the execution of this old man. 


This scene truly shows how unfairly used power is in "The Hunger Games" universe, along with many more cruel and violent acts from their government. One could go on and on about the different types of abuse of power that occurred in this series, but it would require pages and pages to include it all. 

Collins' series is relevant to reality due to her display of power in her series closely reflecting issues in the present society and its governments. 

...

Many fans root for Team Katniss and are very in support of revolting the Capitol. However, when there is real-life oppression happening and oppressed people are fighting to get their land and rights back, everyone is suddenly like...

 "Oh my god." 

"Why are we using violence, why not love?"

Collins' creation is not to be taken lightly because it accurately depicts how dangerous power can be when it is misused. 

If one can love "The Hunger Games" and be in support of what is happening in the movie, but turn a blind eye to the actual living human beings experiencing oppression and violence from real abuses of power, it becomes contradictory. 


Comments

  1. Ethan NguyenJanuary 24, 2024 at 5:16 PM

    Hi, Via. To start it off, the large text introduction effectively captures attention while introducing the subject and creating a connection with the reader. Also, the irony of the support of “The Hunger Games” while supposedly ignoring the oppression in the real world was another good aspect of the blog. Your connection to our reality by drawing parallels between “The Hunger Games” and modern society encourages the readers to think on the implications of the power dynamics shown in the series. Overall, the blog’s reflective nature and use of criticism allows the reader to realize the state of power in today’s world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Danial HashemiJanuary 24, 2024 at 9:59 PM

    Hi Via,

    Your blog had many interesting and skillful techniques such as the enlargement of your first sentence which emphasized the reputation of "The Hunger Games'' in America. Furthermore, your use of italicizing and bolding throughout your blog were masterful in highlighting the important arguments you wanted to get across to the reader. "The Hunger Games" was one of my favorite books to read growing up and it taught me a lot about power in America, especially through the varying perspectives of President Snow and Katniss, both raised in different environments which caused them to develop different views on the world. I felt this parallel to be one of the strongest parts of the book series since it underlined how a conflict always has two sides and two completely different lifestyles which led to each individual's opinion. It is definitely interesting that most fans support Katniss against the Capitol, but act pacifist in real life. I believe this is due to "The Hunger Games" being fiction so there was always a sense that this story is all fiction and lives are not really being lost. In contrast to fiction, there are real consequences to revolts in real life which can lead to the loss of many lives. Finally, I agree with your point that it becomes contradictory when you support fighting for your beliefs but do not make any effort to achieve representation.

    ReplyDelete

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