The Hunger Games

I was reminded of why I don’t normally watch blockbusters when I watched the lame and predictable Snow White and the Huntsman (I might muster up the energy for a review of that later on, but I’m not sure it even deserves one). The Hunger Games, however, is something else. It is a blockbuster that offers entertainment but also has depth, complexity, an inspirational heroine and subtle yet powerful political and social messages. 

The premise of the story is truly horrific. In a dystopian future USA, the evil empire Panem wields its power over its twelve districts in a tyrannical fashion. One of the ways it does this is by pitting districts against each other in the annual Hunger Games, where one boy and one girl from each district are set loose in the woods to battle the elements and each other until one person remains alive. The Hunger Games is public entertainment and is broadcast across Panem, including all the districts. It felt like a combination of the reality television show Survivor and Lord of the Flies, with a bit of The Truman Show thrown in the mix. But it was much more gruesome than any of those. 

The heroine, Katniss, captures the heart of the public from the beginning because of the courage she displays in volunteering for the Games to save her little sister from having to compete. Her little sister, Primrose, would not have survived five minutes in the Games, and everyone, including Katniss, knows it.

Katniss retains the heart of the public by somehow remaining humane during the Games, when everyone else involved (apart from dear little Rue) seems to be ruthlessly intent on killing the other competitors. By the end, she shows up Panem, with her integrity and courage, and comes out a winner in more ways than one. Obviously she can’t avoid killing but she sees there is another way, and although not sure how to pursue it initially, she follows this instinct. She is the most wonderful heroine I have seen in a movie for a long time. In a reversal of what happens all the time in movies, she saves the male lead’s life; she tells him to ‘come on’; she takes control, but never in a domineering or power-hungry way. She’s sensible, grounded and brave. And guess what? She’s not beautiful or sexy—that’s never the point—she’s just awesome.

Initially I couldn’t stop thinking, ‘Why don’t all the competitors band together and decide not to kill anyone – that way they will win and the evil Panem will be ruined! That’s what I’d do!’ But then I realised that these kids had grown up with this. Every year of their lives they had witnessed the Hunger Games. In fact, the pair from District 11 had spent their entire lives preparing for them! The Hunger Games was a part of everyone’s lives. Rebelling against it was not an option. It was outside their sphere of what was possible. For me this was one of the movie’s most important messages: that social oppression of one group by a dominant power often operates in a way that makes the oppressed turn on each other instead of raging against their oppressors. This becomes the focus of rage. But Katniss (and Peeta) represented an alternative—they gave the districts hope—and as the character played by Donald Trump intimated, with hope, the oppressed will see that it is possible to fight back.

The costumes and makeup were fantastic – who can resist Lenny Kravitz with gold eyeliner? I’m aware of the criticism of this film that it was slow-paced and that it attempted to avoid violence. I didn’t feel it dragging for one moment. I watched it twice and even the second time around I found myself surprised to find it ending. As for avoiding violence, I’m not sure why anyone would think more violence was necessary in this movie. It was pretty gruesome and there was enough blood to go around for everyone.  It was a bunch of kids slaughtering each other...you want more violence and gore? Seriously? This criticism makes me think that some people, film critics especially, are desensitised to violence in films. Frankly, if it was any more violent I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it so much.

The Hunger Games can be enjoyed on a number of levels. As a blockbuster action flick I think it’s pretty good. But it also offers a political and philosophical insight into war and oppression. While the ending is not exactly a happy one because the districts remain under the rule of the despotic Panem, the message offered by the story is ultimately one of hope.

P.S I haven’t read the books :-)