The Hunger Games movie is a love story about a lady from a district known to be poor who volunteered to replace her sister in the Hunger Games in which the participants had to fight to death in the capital city of a country. Every year in the North American ruins, the twelve districts are forced by the evil country’s capital of Panem to send a teenage girl and boy to take part in the Hunger Games competition. This is a twisted punishment for an ongoing government intimidation and a past uprising tactic, this event is televised nationally in which tributes have to fight with each other until one survivor remains. This movie was transformed from a novel into a fantasy film that has captured the hearts of many audiences worldwide through sound, editing, cinematography, acting, and storytelling (www.thehungergamesmovie.com). This paper aims to use a formalist approach to explore the elements and overall textual themes of the film.
The Hunger Games movie derives from Suzanne Collins’ science fiction novel of 2008. Gary Ross is the director of the Hunger Games movie with a screenplay by Billy Ray, Suzanne Collins, and Gary Ross. The movie is produced by the Color Force of Nina Jacobson in tandem with Jon Kilik. The movie takes place in the post-North America ruins where the heroine displays her love for her sister when she volunteers to take the place of her sister as a tribune in the Hunger Games. The entire district witnessed the affection she displays for her sister; this shows that she could not imagine placing her sister in danger or her sister dying in the hunger games since no one would be allowed to offer her support or protect her during the game (Outlaw, 2012).
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The volunteering act of Katniss as tribune symbolizes the existing love between the two sisters and among families. Katniss at the beginning faces an internal conflict because she finds herself in a situation where she has to decide whether to let her sister participate in the Hunger Games where she might die or sacrifice herself and take the place of her sister in the game. The conflict later is solved when she chooses to volunteer to replace her sister in the games. Besides, Katniss also faces external conflict as she has to choose between saving her life and human actions, and she later solves this conflict by winning the games instead of having to face difficult choices throughout the games.
During the adventure, the movie captures situational irony; when only one tribune has to survive and each of them has to do what it can to make sure that they are the last one standing. The cold-hearted action of each tribune is shown in the televised hunger game and it is expected that alliances will not be formed by the tribunes and they won’t be kind to each other. However, Katniss forms an alliance throughout the adventure with the youngest tribune, with whom they help each other in the games up to the time the young tribune is killed. Besides, an alliance is also formed between Katniss and Peeta; Peeta has a crush on her and they are from the same district. At the start Peeta had formed alliances with other tribunes from other districts to protect Katniss since she had been ranked high before the games; hence those tribunes had the desire to kill her. While in the alliance Peeta managed to deceive them that he was on their side, hence managing to protect Katniss.
Satire is also shown in the Hunger Games movie when the organizers of the games are mocked by Katniss by sarcastically repeating the infamous slogan of Hunger Games. Besides, satire also appears in the movie when a shift in the rules of the games is forced by the love between Peeta and Katniss during the games and allows having two winners instead of one winner. Peeta and Katniss decide to eat poisonous berries and kill themselves when the new rules of the games are reversed, to show that the two are in control of their lives irrespective of the situation they are in. This resulted in political and social change by changing the expectations of the citizens and makers of the game in the capital city.
The role of Katniss is played by Jennifer Lawrence who is an Academy Award nominee and has established herself as one of the most promising young actresses in Hollywood. She has played various roles in different plays, but her role in the Hunger Games movie made her popular with the film going public and popular, especially among young girls, which earned her the ‘star actor’ title. A star is known to be a distinctive screen persona who is popular and known well with the film going public mostly to the point that avid film fans become curious about the private life of the actor.
The acting type used in the movie is a mixture of stylized and realism. Realism acting is the one that does not draw attention to it but instead provides an impression of genuine action and reaction of human beings. Katniss’s district’s citizen interaction seems natural, though this era’s interaction may differ from that one. In the movie, the interaction among families, friends, and neighbors seems natural. Stylized acting refers to over-the-top performances that exaggerate the outlandish personality of the characters and situations to the extreme, and this is performed by the characters that played the role of the Capitol City citizens. They dress in very bright colors and wear hairstyles that are strange and makeup over the top that depicts their wealth. Viewers through the way these citizens walk and talk enable them to understand they see themselves as elite and look down upon those from districts.
Cinematography; the lighting, clothing, makeup, and setting are used in the movie to show the mise en scene. Dim light is used in the districts, and there is a dreary feel even in the daytime in each film scene in the district. On the other hand, bright light is used in the capital city compared to the district one; this indicates the existing contrast between the thriving capital city and the poor districts. Old buildings are depicted by the setting in the district and many houses are plain and lack paint and windows. They have holes in the roofs, old furniture, and little space. In the movie, there is a scene where Katniss is seen taking a bath in an old metal container that lacks a bathtub. People in the district make money by selling old trinkets and trading items in an overcrowded marketplace. These help viewers understand the presence of a poor neighborhood in which citizens struggle to survive. In the Capital city, the buildings are freshly painted, large and modern with large windows, and have fashionable and luxurious furniture.
In the movie, shots are used to draw the attention of the viewers to the organizer and to portray that district citizens are being intimidated by the organizer. While selecting the tribunes, the camera angle is down, thus informing viewers the tribunes are inferior to the organizer. The feeling of sympathy, suspense, and drama is created in the movie through the use of a mixture of long and close-up shots from different heights levels, and angles. Most parts of the movie are shot from a subjective view as an extension of Katniss to enable viewers to see what is being seen by Katniss.
Editing is another aspect of the film; the flashbacks of Katniss on the first interaction she had with Peeta are shown in the movie, which utilizes direct cut shots, especially at the time of the games when the action is more intense. Every scene is replaced by another quickly and a good transition is maintained, however, dissolve is used at the time Katniss hallucinates in the forest. This enabled the viewers to understand what was happening and to see what happened in the hallucination. Master shots are utilized by the editor when the tribunes arrive in the forest to get their supplies while others run to find shelter. This form of editing was used in the movie to create an illusion since within the scene numerous positions of the camera are used. Fast motion is used to edit the movie scenes during the games, thus helping to make every fighting scene in the forest intense. This relates directly to the score music and soundtracks heard in the movie.
Music; the Hunger Games movie incorporates sound effects, dialogue, and music. The score music employed in the district for each scene was appropriate and some had somber and faint sounds to inform the viewers that the scene is emotional. For instance, the music used in the scene where Katniss was with her mother and sister. Upbeat score music is employed throughout the games to intensify the scenes and to give the viewers a feeling of being at war. Dialogue is used primarily in the scenes where Katniss communicates with other characters, together with low-score music that is complimentary to the scene. The voice and words of Katniss help the viewers to understand what she is experiencing in the scene. The noises of insects and animals and the sound of the blowing wind are used to provide a feeling of a natural forest and help viewers to relate what is seen, heard, and felt by the tribunes while in the forest. The soundtracks of the movie employed in the movie include songs from the most popular and young artists like Taylor Swift; hence young viewers can relate to the movie through the music.
Societal impact; the movie at some point relates to the current political climate of America. Game makers in the movie have the power and ability to manipulate districts’ mayors and they control the Hunger Games event. These game makers are like Congress, the senate, and the president, and the American political figures are represented by mayors who can be manipulated by the highest political figures. The game makers in the American culture often pit one candidate against the other and tribunes are recognized according to their respective districts. The allegory in the movie can be compared to social classes, sexual orientation, and race in the United States.
Conclusion
The movie provides escapism from the natural situations and the viewers are provided with a movie in which they experience an individual’s fight for survival. There are visual depictions that remind the viewers that it is a game, for instance, the tribunes showcase their skills to gain sponsorship and support. The movie narrates a story in which a less privileged social class is manipulated by the social elite in a game where the participants have to fight for their survival. It also portrays individuals overcoming adversity via willpower and determination. Aspects of love and sacrifice are expressed in the movie. This paper has explored the movie-making aspects such as editing, sound, music, cinematography, acting, and dialogue using a formalist approach to show the way makers of the movie organize those elements to convey the intended meaning. These aspects played a vital role in capturing the hearts of the audience and in achieving the overall movie's accomplishments.
References
- https://www.thehungergames.movie/
- Caulfield, K. (2012). Hunger Games’ Soundtrack Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200. Retrieved from: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/498744/hunger-games-soundtrack-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200
- Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.
- Jacobson, N. & Ross, G. (2012). The Hunger Games. [Motion Picture]. United States: Alliance Film.
- Manno, M. (2013). History and The Hunger Games. Retrieved from: https://teach.com/blog/history-and-the-hunger-games/
- Murty, G. (2012). Decoding the Influences in ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘From ‘Spartacus’ to ‘Survivor.’ Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/03/decoding-the-influences-in-hunger-games-from-spartacus-to-survivor/255043/
- Outlaw, K. (2012). Suzanne Collins Reviews ‘The Hunger Games’ Movie. Retrieved from: https://screenrant.com/the-hunger-games-movie-reviews-suzanne-collins/
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