3.15 Critically Interrogating An Especially Violent Scene in 'The Hunger Games'
The Hunger Games depicts a world where violence is performed as a public spectacle and intended as a means for controlling the population. Young people, each representing a different region of the country, are pitted against each other in armed conflict, a struggle that is televised to a population legally required to watch the slaughter unfold. The Tributes are chosen randomly in each community. In many cases, they lack the capacity to defend themselves because they are too young to do battle with older children and young adults. One of the most terrifying scene in The Hunger Games (2012) occurs midway through the movie when the televised portions of the Games begins. In a very short period, half the tributes are killed while the others confront with horror their first acts of brutality in a struggle for survival. They make choices about who to kill and who to let live, knowing that anyone who escapes may come back later to kill them. The Hunger Games works on multiple levels, but encourages the viewer to reflect on the roles that violent spectacle plays in our contemporary culture.
What does the violence in this sequence mean? Even those who have no previous experience with The Hunger Games will be able to identify which characters are intended to be sympathetic and which are seen as evil. Look for the mechanisms the filmmakers use to shape our emotional response to each figure in this scene. Consider the choices they make in how they depict violence (such as the use of slow-motion photography, the persistence of close-ups, the rapid editing, or the absence of natural sound). Now, in a manner similar to how we interrogated the violent scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, discuss the questions we have raised about fictional representations of violence:
1. What basic conficts are enacted through the violence?
2. What power relationships, real or symbolic, does the violence suggest?
3. How graphic is the depiction of violence, and what function does it serve in the narrative?
4. What are the consequences of the violence depicted in the work, and how are the consequences dictated by the conscious choices of characters to engage, explain and justify those choices?
5. What perspective(s) does the work offer us about the character engaging in violence, and what roles (aggressor, victim, other) does the protagonist play in the depiction of violence?
6. What moral frame (pro-social, antisocial, ambiguous) and what tone does the work take towards the represented violence?
ACTIVITY: Interrogating Fictional Representations of Violence
Watch this scene below. On the previous two pages, we've modeled an analysis of Lord of the Rings and violence. Now, it's your turn!What does the violence in this sequence mean? Even those who have no previous experience with The Hunger Games will be able to identify which characters are intended to be sympathetic and which are seen as evil. Look for the mechanisms the filmmakers use to shape our emotional response to each figure in this scene. Consider the choices they make in how they depict violence (such as the use of slow-motion photography, the persistence of close-ups, the rapid editing, or the absence of natural sound). Now, in a manner similar to how we interrogated the violent scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, discuss the questions we have raised about fictional representations of violence:
1. What basic conficts are enacted through the violence?
2. What power relationships, real or symbolic, does the violence suggest?
3. How graphic is the depiction of violence, and what function does it serve in the narrative?
4. What are the consequences of the violence depicted in the work, and how are the consequences dictated by the conscious choices of characters to engage, explain and justify those choices?
5. What perspective(s) does the work offer us about the character engaging in violence, and what roles (aggressor, victim, other) does the protagonist play in the depiction of violence?
6. What moral frame (pro-social, antisocial, ambiguous) and what tone does the work take towards the represented violence?
As you consider this sequence, keep in mind that The Hunger Games was written as a young adult novel and that its typical readers are often about the same age as the depicted characters. What are the implications of adding a consideration of the film's youthful audience to our discussion of the scene? Is this appropriate for younger viewers? Why or why not?
As you consider these questions, you might also think about the differences between reading descriptions of these actions on the printed page and experiencing them on the big screen. What role might differences in media play in shaping how we respond to the issue of the appropriateness of The Hunger Games for younger readers?
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