The Hunger Games

Year:  2012

Filming:  Color

Length:  142 minutes

Genre:  Action/Drama/Horror/Sci-Fi

Maturity:  PG-13 (for intense themes, strong violence, and some language)

Cast:  Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abernathy), Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket), Lenny Kravitz (Cinna), Amandla Stenberg (Rue), Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen), Paula Malcomson (Katniss’s Mother), Stanley Tuccman (Caesar Flickerman), Wes Bentley (Seneca Crane), Donald Sutherland (Pres. Snow)

         

Director: Gary Ross

Personal Rating:  3 Stars

***

    I may not be a major fan of fantasy/sci-fi, but some films have undeniable power, whatever their genre. You can feel them affecting you instantly, and drawing you in to the struggles of the characters. The Hunger Games is not a “fun” film to be watched for entertainment purposes, but it is a profoundly disturbing vision of a future world that has too many frightening parallels with our own. If taken the right way, it can steel us in our determination to fight for human dignity, even in the darkest of circumstances.

    Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl who lives in Panem, a dictatorship carved out of future North America. After her father’s death in a mining accident, she takes it upon herself to provide for her mother and younger sister by hunting beyond the borders of District 12. Hardened by her dismal circumstances and surroundings, she stays mostly aloof from everyone except her family and her hunting partner, Gale Hawthorne, a young man from the district. He has long had a romantic interest in Katniss, but she seems content to just be friends.

    But Katniss’s world is turned upside down by an unexpected series of events. Every year, the tyrannical government under the command of President Snow extracts vengeance for a past rebellion by ordering each district to offer up a male and female “tribute” between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete in “The Hunger Games”, a gladiatorial fight to the death. This year, the female tribute selected at random is Katniss’s innocent little sister, Primrose. Desperate to save her, Katniss volunteers to take her place in the arena. The male tribute chosen to go with her is Peeta Mellark, who once gave Katniss bread when she was starving in the streets.

    Both of them are escorted to the glamorous Capital by Effie Trinket, their well-meaning but hopelessly superficial sponsor, and Haymitch Abernathy, a cynical past winner of the Games who is supposed to serve as their mentor. When Katniss, Peeta, and the other tributes arrive in the Capital, they are treated as celebrities and interviewed by the chillingly cavalier Caesar Flickerman on live TV. At the same time, the tributes are being trained together in the use of weapons which they will be expected to kill each other with when the games begin. When the day of the match finally does arrive, Katniss must use all her strength and wits to survive, and make heart-wrenching decision between “survival and humanity, life and love.” 

    The Hunger Games is artistically top notch. The acting overall is emotionally engrossing, and there is not a hint of falseness in it. Jennifer Lawrence has been called “a force of nature” in her portrayal of Katniss, and that is a pretty accurate description. The realism she brings to the screen is stunning, as her facial expressions mirror the turmoil the character is going through inside. Katniss is a very a complex character to bring to the screen, and has both strength and vulnerability. Some have said she combines masculine and feminine characteristics, although I would simply say she has an ability to adapt to her surroundings which enables her survival, even when she is being torn apart inside.

    The filming style is very much that of a docu-drama, complete with jerky camera motions that seem to have quickly come en vogue. The depiction of District 12 looks like something out of a poverty-stricken community in Appalachia, and one must wonder if that is where it is supposed to be located in “future North America”. It is dingy, cramped, and surrounded by barbed wire. Sepia tone shades characterize the scenes shot there. The technology is primitive, and while there does seem to be some electricity in homes, people still have to hunt with bows and arrows. On the other end of the spectrum, the Capital is portrayed as a glittering wonder-land of sparkle and pizzazz. Brilliant colors come into use, and the highest technology is brought to the fore. 

    But in the midst of all this supposed splendor there is something deeply perverse. The citizens of the Capital have sought to dehumanize others for their own entertainment; at the same time, they themselves have become dehumanized. They live in an artificial bubble of wealth and comfort, making them callous to the suffering of others, to the point of taking pleasure in it and laying bets on which of the tributes are more likely to survive. Also, the citizens are hideously decorated with excessive make-up, body-piercings, and gaudy clothes and wigs, making them look very inhuman indeed. It is a close parallel to C.S. Lewis’ perspective on Hell, saying that he believed it would be a place where the most heinous crimes are committed by those with quiet voices and manicured fingernails.

    Perhaps the true horror of the Hunger Games is the glaring paradoxes that surround the event. Teenagers are being trained to hack each other to death in an arena, and yet the proceedings are treated as if they are being prepped for nothing more than a beauty or talent contest. The tributes are provided with the finest accommodations in glitz-and-glitter hotels, served the finest food and drink, and interviewed by posh TV hosts. For me, the creepiest character in the whole movie is Caesar Flickerman, who can slap on a broad grin and make witty remarks as he interviews the doomed tributes, treating them with a false friendliness that belies how expendable he believes their lives are. Also just like in the Roman amphitheaters of old, the contestants are dressed in dazzling attire and made to drive into the arena in chariots while the onlookers cheer.   

    The lack of religious belief in Panem is uncanny. I mean a communistic society is easy enough to grasp, but in this case, even the suppressed masses seem to have discounted God altogether. Not once do those facing death utter a prayer or ponder the afterlife or even express anger at God for allowing such things to happen. There are not even any substantial superstitions among them, except perhaps when Katniss tells her sister that the Mockingjay pin will protect her (although I don’t think she believes that herself), and the motto of the Hunger Games, “May the odds ever be in your favor.” It’s also noteworthy that many of the names of the characters are drawn from Ancient Rome, as if man, in the process of “progressing” has really regressed. Like in Star Trek, one must wonder if the author is insinuating that humanity is bound to “outgrow” religion, just like racism and sexism, within a few centuries. This is sheer silliness, as there will always be an instinct in man to look beyond this world.

    That having been said, the sheer hedonism of the godless society cannot help but bring to mind the story of the Tower of Babel. Human beings convincing themselves of their own supremacy have no further need of virtues or the moral law, and are therefore robbed of their own humanity as they seek to turn others into animals. Whereas The Lord of the Rings is set in a distant past before there was a full awareness of God, so The Hunger Games is set in a distant future when Man seems to have forgotten God. There is only the religion of the state in the latter case. And yet, just as in LotR, there is providence at work through the humanity of the characters. The Capital may be trying to turn the Tributes into pieces on a chess board, and to some extent they succeed.

    Yet they are unable to control them entirely, as Katniss and Peeta prove by refusing to kill each other in the end. Also, there are the deeply moving scenes when Katniss befriends the young tribute Rue in the forest, and is heart-broken when she is killed. There are also the powerful final moments before the games when Katniss is comforted by her fashion designer, Cinna, who places his forehead against her own and kisses her on the cheek. Indeed, it is telling that all human beings, no matter how “dehumanized” they are by others and their own actions, are still made in the image and likeness of God with free will and natural law written on their hearts. We are made to love one another.

    Katniss shouting “I volunteer as tribute!” is quite similar to Frodo’s declaration, “I will take the Ring!” I think the main difference is that, while both are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others, Katniss is basically agreeing to participate in murder against her fellow teenagers, which in and of itself is an evil. It must be noted that the virtues portrayed in The Hunger Games are more natural than supernatural. Katniss may be willing to make sacrifices for those she loved, but would she do the same for strangers? Also, the concept of doing “anything” to protect one’s family is flawed in and of itself. Surely, one should exercise every moral means of achieving that end, but one should not be willing to harm others in the pursuit of that goal. Then the situation really is beyond your control and out of your hands.

   I still don’t understand why she couldn’t just refuse to participate in the killing, since it would be easier to just be shot by the authorities than to murder others and than probably be murdered by them in the end. And I wonder what would have happened if all the other tributes agreed to follow suit? Surely, even The Capital would have a hard time killing them all and saving face. Also, there is the issue of suicide. Is it ever justified? While I can certainly understand the motivation behind the attempt made by Katniss and Peeta, would it not have been better for them to simply refuse to kill each other and allow The Capital to kill them if they so chose rather than trying to take their own lives?

    There were saints who made difficult decisions to defy those who were forcing them between a rock and a hard place. St. Magnus was captured by Vikings and forced to raid a Welsh village, but refused to lift his hand against the villagers even though they were fighting back against him. Telemecus the Monk cast himself into a gladiatorial arena to plead for an end to the slaughter before being killed himself. St. Moses the Black, a converted robber, vowed never to raise his hand in violence again, and was later killed when raiders attacked his monastery. But the point is that Katniss is not a saint. She is a young woman who deeply loves her family and has the toughness to survive the horrors to come. She will fight and kill to come back to them, even though she does show signs of nervous break-down during the games, frantically rubbing the blood from her hands and bursting into tears. If anything, she embodies a type of Pagan Heroism out of ancient Rome.

    The Hunger Games is a rarity for a teen-fan-flick in that it actually has good acting and thought-provoking content involving the meaning of life, death, love, sacrifice, morality, survival, fear, hope, and all the attributes that makes humanity what it is. That having been said, I have mixed emotions about “The Hunger Games Craze”. As I said in the beginning, this is a deeply disturbing story-line and watching it all unfold on film is pretty sickening at times. I will admit to having to fast-forward the bloodiest scenes in the center, as I was already creeped-out enough just watching the young people training for the event as the blood-thirsty crowds laid bets. For the sensitive, this is bound to be difficult viewing. Really, I would hope anyone watching it would be pretty disturbed.

    But some people seem to find it all terribly entertaining. While I can understand the feeling of being “glued” to the story at times, the concept of “enjoying” the action eludes me. I mean, these are young people being forced to brutally kill each other! Who cares how much wit and strength they use to do it? Besides, in cheering for Katniss and Peeta, are we brushing aside the worth of the other kids, merely viewing them as objects preventing the main characters from achieving victory? The whole construction of the games is horrible, and it’s supposed to be seen as such. But instead people are getting inspired to wear Hunger Games tee-shirts, greet people with “may the odds be ever in your favor”, and learn archery because bow-and-arrows are commonly used in the games.

    To me, that’s pretty sick. It’s turning the critique of violence into an enjoyment of it. The audience can become callous, just like the people of the Capital. Hence, my opinion is that it’s a powerful film, but also one that can be potentially dangerous if used in the wrong way. Parents are rightly cautious about letting their children see it. I personally wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under 16, and that even depends on how much inferred violence the individual person can handle. Still I will say that the movie has opened up discussion on a wider level about ethics, world history, and politics, which is definitely positive. I wonder perhaps if the natural virtues portrayed in The Hunger Games might lead to an interest in or even a desire for supernatural virtues exercised by others in times of darkness and peril.

       

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) hunts with Gale (Liam Hemsworth) in District 12