The Hunger Games is a worldwide hit trilogy based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. History, having gained immense popularity, turned the idea of what problems and phenomena are of interest to young people. An indicative situation in which teenagers with a difference of 3-4 years prefer films of completely different genres. So, the previous franchise, which received the same youth resonance, belongs to the genres of romance and fantasy (the well-known “Twilight”), and the film we are considering is already the so-called “teenage dystopia”. Serious art critics call the dystopia, designed for a young audience, the “new dystopia”, characterized by the bright personalities of the main characters and simplistic, obvious metaphorism.
To understand what the meaning of the Hunger Games movie is, let’s take a quick look at the main plot points.
To begin with, let’s turn to the structure of the state structure of the world in which the main characters operate. The state consists of a capital, into which all the resources of the country flow from twelve provinces, which are called “districts” in the film.
Each of the provinces has its own type of production. Those closest to the capital are engaged in profitable production, relatively well paid, but the farther, the more unbearable living conditions.
So, in the last of the districts in which people are engaged in the coal industry, things are the worst. There is not enough food, the work is hard and extremely dangerous (the Capitol does not allocate enough funds for the safety of miners). There is no freedom in any of the districts, but those of them that are more favored by the center are less likely to accumulate protest potential. So, on a simplified model of dystopia, the capitalist model of society is shown.
The main character lives in the poorest of the provinces. On her shoulders lies the care of the family, so the girl is engaged in illegal hunting.
Every year, in each of the settlements, a ritual of selecting a young man and a girl takes place, who will represent their district in the so-called “Hunger Games”, in a show with a fatal outcome for all participating young people, except for the winner (he must get rid of all rivals).
The cruel game instituted by the Capitol is an instrument of suppression of riots, a constant reminder of the invincibility of the power of the capital. The games were created after a riot, as a result of which one of the provinces was wiped off the face of the earth.
The main character, whose name is Katniss, becomes a participant in these games and is going to return home, no matter what it costs her. However, the girl does not want to play by the cruel rules of the show, so she often behaves unpredictably.
An explanation of the movie The Hunger Games, its meaning, can begin with the Katniss family. Mother, the main character herself and her younger sister represent three generations and three types of worldview.
The girl’s mother is in a long depression, she personifies the older generation, which is so oppressed by the prevailing world order that it no longer has the strength to resist, to try to make life better.
The girl herself has a strong-willed character, but she is not prone to empathy and it is difficult for her to empathize. It may not be noticeable on the first viewing of the film, but Katniss is able to play on the romantic feelings of others for herself in order to achieve social justice, she can drown out pity and compassion in herself if her future and the future of her people depend on it. She is a typical representative of the generation of revolutionaries, that is, strong and noble people, but not at all kind-hearted.
But the representative of the younger generation has both a penchant for heroism and the ability to empathize (the girl participates in the uprising, but is not directly involved in the war, but in medicine, she is trying to alleviate the suffering of people). She is the only absolutely positive hero, but a dystopia would not be a dystopia if such heroes could live. Even after defeating the existing power, there is no place in the world for Primrose, and she dies.
The film also has strong political overtones. In addition to the already discussed problem of the fight against capitalism, there is another painful problem – the impossibility of global changes through revolutionary upheavals (after the victory over the cruel power, its place is immediately taken by a no less cruel representative of power. Katniss kills her, but the metaphor is clear – global changes do not immediately are real, “He who slays a dragon becomes a dragon”).
The meaning of the ending of the Hunger Games movie is as follows – victory in the political struggle for the majority is not a personal victory either. Katniss ignites the fight, wins, but ends up in a comfortable but exile at the end of the trilogy. Revolutionaries have no future after the end of the revolution. Thus, a teenage film raises very non-childish problems that concern modern youth.
