Sociology of 'Hunger Games'

Human interaction, culture and the ways of living within a society can be altered in order for the rehabilitation of humanity. The Hunger Games is based on what was once North America now called Panem, a nation separated into twelve districts each functioning individually but all connected and dictated by President snow. The division between districts within the Capitols jurisdiction causes chaos which is created by President Snow who supports the hierarchy of power, creating an unstable city and leaving most poor districts to survive and wealthy districts to thrive. Human behavior and humanity are displayed throughout The Hunger Games but it is predominantly shown between the function and the structure of The Hunger Games, the districts and their cultures and the main character and how she survives in a post-apocalyptic world. The Hunger Games is a complex

The Hunger Games contribute to the sea of dystopian films, within this film social commentary is exposed in the gruesome scenes of murder preadolescents are forced to commit. In the dystopian film, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capital. Each year two young representatives from each district are chosen to participate in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are televised throughout Panem and are used as part entertainment ,and as part retribution for a past rebellion. The 24 participants are forced to kill one another until there is one left. During this gruesome act the citizens of the Panem are forced to watch. Social commentary is shown throughout the whole movie as subtle evaluations of the society

In the movie film The Hunger Games, the nation of Panem is a society very dissimilar to our own. This nation once began with 13 districts, until the thirteenth district chose to take action against the oppressors. They were quickly put down, the remaining 12 districts were punished and were forced to fund two participants which were known as tributes , a boy and a girl of young age to the Capitol each year to compete in the Hunger Games which is a brutal fight to the death. The winner of the huger games is then rewarded with a number of rewards, as well as their home district receives an extra amount of food for one year. The government of Panem administrates these annual “games” as a reminder

Can you imagine the feeling knowing that at anytime, a close one could be taken away. A best friend could be stolen. A family member could be killed. Even yourself could be sacrificed for nothing. Do you think that the emotions a family member may encounter, the sadness of an entire community, or even just the thought of dying, is worth it to provide a dominant government their “Hollywood ending”? Well, in the book “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society where her community is divided by 13 different groups. Each year, their government randomly selects two participants from each group to play in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death among the other participants. In the book, Katniss’

The Hunger Games, the movie, was adapted from the popular young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games is sometimes described as another cliche love story for which the young adult genre is infamous. Despite appearances, The Hunger Games illustrates a complex and creative dystopian world with a much deeper underlying message, including topics such as, politics, history, and celebrity worship. The setting appears to be a futuristic version of America. This future America is very classist, and the tyrannical government is sure to keep the classes divided by heavily oppressing the working class. The working class is divided into twelve districts, which used to be thirteen districts until the thirteenth district was annihilated as a result of its uprising. In response to the thirteenth district’s resistance, the President created a game called “The Hunger Games” in an effort to instill obedience in the remaining twelve districts. Through the course of the movie, we learn that “The Hunger Games” are not only a mechanism to force obedience on the working class, but also to serve as entertainment for the elite society who live in the Capitol. The Games require 24 randomly selected children from the working class districts to fight to the death in an elaborately staged battle, all of which is filmed and broadcasted to the entire nation, working class and elite alike. Thesis: The Hunger Games, the movie, has a hauntingly feasible storyline and clear references to real

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.

The dystopian genre makes parallels between the fabricated society and actual society. The reality TV element of the games demonstrates the link between the society of Panem and our society. From child beauty pageants to a rich family that no one knows why is famous, these shows are watched by many in today's society. People forget that these people are real and living their own lives compared to the “scripted” TV shows with paid actors. Capitol dwellers are obsessed with their image, making body modifications to look young and to stay in trend. This aspect of the novel makes a comment on plastic surgery and image in today’s society (Frade, 2014). The use of the hunger games as a social event shows that Capitol views the people in the districts as lesser individuals and are willing to watch people die for their entertainment. The games are watched “At homes and community halls around the country, every television set is turned on. Every citizen of Panem is tuned in” (Collins, 2008, p. 124). There is a disconnection from the people in the Capitol and the children fighting in the games. To the Capitol, those children are just part of an elaborate game, but for the Districts, those children are daughters, sons, brothers, and sisters. The view of humans as lesser individuals can be translated into society today. The top 1% of the population that control most of the wealth have power over the individuals that have less money. The Capitol is comparable to the top 1% and the Districts are comparable to the rest of the world. The geographical aspect of

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins expresses two themes. The first one is that we can’t let the government use their power to treat, and use people like they want, they are oppressing them. “At one o’clock, we head of the square. Attendance is mandatory unless you are on deaths door. This evening, officials will come around and check to see if this is the case. If not you will be imprisoned.” (Collins, 16) we can see that the Capitol forces the people to participate in the reaping by threatening them. “When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to

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.

As the human idea and perception of society continues to evolve, many new ideologies are beginning to form. No longer do we look at how the individual effects society but upon the group dynamic and its ability to promote change. To understand how Hollywood portrays sociological concepts within its films, we must view these films with the sociological perspective (understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context). Through observing movies like The Hunger Games Mocking Jay with this type of mindset, we can understand how the structures of a given society and the presence of the full human potential (the harder you work the more you give up) affects the behaviors of its inhabitants. Conflict theorist argue that “inequality exists as a result of political struggles among different groups in a particular society (Conley 30).” This relationship is both unfair and occurs at the expense of the less powerful. The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay most closely resembles the sociological concept of conflict theory with its depiction of class conflict, deviance, and class consciousness.

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

The Capitol does everything in their power to suppress the people of the twelve districts so they do not revolt and take over the government. The Capitol forces twenty four tributes, a male and a female, from each district to enter into the Hunger Games and limit the job opportunities in each district. All of these problems are the reason for the poverty in the districts. Like Panem, which was the name of the fake country in the book, third world countries like Cuba, Libya, and North Korea also struggle with the lack of jobs opportunities and poverty due to the corruption of

The Hunger Games itself is to repay a debt the capital believes all the districts have because they started the war. ‘Panem Et Circenses-translates’ to ‘bread and circuses’. Part of Panem’s government's original intent was to keep the people distracted from their poverty and pressing issues. This derives from Greece where the emperors and royalty would force gladiators to fight against others and animals to provide entertainment. By doing so leads the people to ignore the pressing issues that really matter. The children that are forced to take part in “The Hunger Games” can be related to the Gladiators who were also forced to take part in the killing of other humans.

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