{"id":20,"date":"2017-10-14T16:27:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-14T20:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/f18-engl117-01\/?p=20"},"modified":"2017-10-14T16:27:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T20:27:39","slug":"politics-in-modern-film-may-the-odds-be-ever-in-your-favor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/f18-engl117-01\/uncategorized\/politics-in-modern-film-may-the-odds-be-ever-in-your-favor\/","title":{"rendered":"Politics in Modern Film: May the Odds be Ever in your Favor"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hunger Games is the 3rd highest grossing action film of all time, making 408 million dollars at the box office (The Numbers<\/a>). But why? Aside from an expansive production budget and top name actors, there must be something more that appealed to the public enough to generate this cult following and extensive profit. One review argues that the film, \u201cBegs us to be disgusted by the spectacle of the games and, like Katniss, to determine what is the best response to those who would go to any lengths to maintain power and wealth for themselves.\u201d (Power and Wealth<\/a>). The public sees hope in Katniss\u2019 struggle against an oppressive, overtly classist totalitarian government and cheers her on from their theatre seats. But what you likely missed, masked by the pseudo-progressive fight against oppression, are the hidden politics that reinforce the very same oppressive systems that it externally seems to speak out against. As much as this film seems to speak against the system, it strikes a much different chord in its ideological charge.<\/p>\n

First off, to establish the basis of why this film reads as interpreted as anti-establishment. The first scene of the film shows extravagant showman Caesar Flickerman in a television interview with meticulously bearded Game Maker Seneca Crane talking of this year\u2019s Hunger Games. Crane says \u201cIt comes out of a particularly painful part of our history. At first it was a reminder of the rebellion, it was the price the Districts had to pay\u201d (The Hunger Games) demonstrating the oppressive nature of the games. They punish the masses for revolting against the government by hosting a gladiator-esque showdown between tributes from each district in the futuristic, dystopian version of North America known as Panem. The next scene pictures Katniss illegally hunting in the woods and talking to Gale about how they could stop the games with a boycott. Barely three minutes into the film, it’s obvious what the conflict is meant to be. The individual, female, rebellious Katniss is pitted against the oppressive, overarching, predominantly male capital embodied by Seneca Crane and, later, godlike president Coriolanus Snow. And, in the end of course, Katniss wins the Hunger Games along with her newly found love interest Peeta Mellark. The heroine shows up the oppressors and gets a boyfriend along the way, so her side wins, right? This often-reached conclusion has misled most every viewer of the film and successfully masks the ideological charge.<\/p>\n

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As we move throughout the film, the underlying politics become increasingly evident. Katniss and her sister Primrose walk solemnly to what is known as the \u2018Reaping\u2019. The scene of all the children of District 12 walking to this event is visually reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps, featuring children in literal striped pajamas surrounded by sterile guards, known as \u201cPeacekeepers\u201d, armed to the teeth. The children\u2019s fingers are pricked for blood to determine their identity and register. The stage is taken by the ridiculously adorned Effie Trinket, whose name (Trinket? Really?) and garb reflect eccentricity and wasted wealth, a not-so-subtle reference to the 1%. Effie calls the names of the tributes who are being sent to their seemingly imminent demise, in the games. This situation shows a decadently rich socialite being allowed to act as essentially the Grim Reaper, randomly selecting individuals for death. As she calls the names, Katniss\u2019 younger sister Primrose is called as the female tribute. Katniss, of course, \u2018volunteers\u2019 to be tribute in her place to spare her 14-year-old sister. Katniss is congratulated by Effie on her choice, remarking that this is the first \u2018volunteer\u2019 from District 12 in the history of the Games. Katniss is consistently reminded that she \u2018chose\u2019 to be there much like in today\u2019s world, oppressed people are often reminded that their position is their choice as they could have simply worked their way out of it. The motif of the \u2018Illusion of Choice\u2019 reverberates throughout the film in even the most basic explanation of the games, suggesting that the Districts consent to the Games by their own choice. The illusion of choice throughout the film is highly reminiscent of modern society\u2019s similar mode of oppression.<\/p>\n

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Moving away from District 12, the two tributes are whisked away in a lavish train towards the Capital where they meet their advisor, the jaded alcoholic Haymitch Abernathy. He is the sole living Victor from District 12 and one of those stereotypical characters obviously trying to drown their past torment and current problems in alcohol. It is suggested that though Haymitch has lived in the Capital since his victory 24 years ago, he drinks to forget his time in District 12 rather than the horrors he saw in the games as he never truly seems bothered by the gore and death that the games present. Haymitch consistently represents the reality that without the full support of the Capital (read: rich people), it is impossible for District 12 (read: poor people) to come close to winning. Haymitch\u2019s first piece of actual advice, instead of just telling them they are going to die, comes when he says, \u201cYou really wanna know how to stay alive? You get people to like you\u201d (The Hunger Games). This reinforces the idea that you can\u2019t win unless \u2018chosen\u2019 by a member of a higher class with real power, much like in today\u2019s world, many success stories come from people \u2018chosen\u2019 by the rich (see Jay Gatsby, chosen by Dan Cody) rather than people who work their way up. This implies that Katniss and Peeta are not Victors in the end, they were merely spared by the rich which seems to be the highest form of achievement for a citizen of District 12. This ends up ringing true as Katniss is saved by the sponsors as after she was burned, Haymitch was shown schmoozing the elite members of the capital to get Katniss some medicine. Her life was saved by the sponsors here as was Peeta\u2019s in a similar situation. Later in the training process, Katniss reinforces this ideal by actually setting herself on fire to get the attention of the sponsors. While this becomes a sort of signature look for Everdeen, it is an entirely desperate attempt at appealing to the rich by any means necessary. When asked about dressing to represent their District, as most do, their stylist Cinna says, \u201cBut I don’t want to do that. I’m gonna do something that they’re gonna remember\u201d noting that representing their actual district would be horribly banal and forgettable. The system in which the games are played and presented silently reinforces classism and shows how without being \u2018spared\u2019 or \u2018chosen\u2019 by the powerful, the lower classes can\u2019t possibly succeed, in today\u2019s world as well.<\/p>\n

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Additionally, the way in which resources are distributed in the Games reinforces class systems. For most of the games, the Career tributes hold the Cornucopia and all the resources that came with it. They took this treasure trove over in the initial bloodbath, fighting off and killing anyone who tried to get their weapons and supplies. The only way in which lower class tributes are shown acquiring resources is theft. Most notably, Katniss receives her trademark bow in a scene depicting Katniss, in a hallucinogenic stupor, stealing the bow off Glimmer\u2019s dead body. To me at least, this was highly reminiscent of a date rape scenario, with Katniss taking advantage of the compromised Glimmer, shown at the 2:30 mark in the clip below. So, the only scene depicting a lower-class tribute getting resources from the rich tributes, also known as redistribution of wealth, is presented as rape.<\/p>\n