Film Analysis: The Hunger Games

When the film shows the Capital attendees viewing the Hunger Games, all of them have colorful makeup all over their face and are dressed in bright vivid outfits that resemble an exaggeration of the clothes worn at a Kentucky derby. When Katniss partakes in the events preceding the kick off of the Games, she has her body waxed, eye lashes plucked, and is hosed down to look beautiful enough to be in front of a screen. Although Katniss can be pampered and dressed to fit in with the Capital, she also has to be charismatic and play up to the cameras and audience in order to be endorsed by sponsors. These sponsors will pay mass sums of money to provide tributes that they like, the survival resources they may need. Katniss’ fatal flaw however, is that she in an introvert who has a hard time connecting with people. She already has a tough time making acquaintance with singular people such as Haymitch, her assigned mentor, who flat

out tells her “what keeps people alive is getting sponsors and to get sponsors you need to be likable, and unfortunately that seems to be a problem for you”. Katniss further appears to be a complete fish out of water when her likability conflict is heightened as she has to campaign for herself in front of all of Panem. Katniss’ acknowledgement of the fake games a tribute must play in order to gain the popularity and endorsements in turn make her seem more down to earth. The lack of insight into this celebrity culture grounds Katniss by making her seem more relatable to the average audience member. She struggles to grasp the mass popularity game has a lack of understanding for star culture and the angles various reality contestants must take on in order to gain votes.

While Katniss is the main protagonist of the Hunger Games, Peeta is an essential component to giving Katniss a character arc and making her more likable. Peeta is the male counterpart from District Twelve who accompanies Katniss as a tribute in the games. Although he has gained some strength from tossing large flour bags at his family’s baking shop, he contrasts from Katniss as not a survivor but rather an adapter. Towards the beginning of the movie, many of the characters see Peeta as just another unfortunate tribute that will be picked off quickly. Even Peeta’s own mother tells him “District 12 might finally have a winner.” while referring to Katniss as opposed to her son. However, Peeta thrives in adapting to his surroundings. After being selected to partake in the Games, Katniss and Peeta ride a speed rail with their mentor, Haymitch, a previous victor from a Hunger Games. Clearly a toll has been taken on Haymitch from participating in the games. When he is first introduced to Katniss and Peeta, he is drunk and states the only reason he is even bothering in to participate in mentoring the tributes is because he is provided with free refreshments. Katniss and Peeta both have opposing ways of handling this situation. Whereas Katniss decides this sloppy drunk man is of no use to her survival, Peeta sees the value of his experience and persists in trying to have Haymitch take upon the mentorship role. He succeeds because Peeta sheds the role of a victim “with an imminent death.” As Haymitch adapts to begin playing the part of a mentor, Peeta also adapts to gain advantages many times. During the games he manages stay alive and even thrives by forming an alliance with the pre-trained favored tributes by appearing to be a vital resource to the team as he knows how to track down the alliances main threat, Katniss. Peeta also even physically adapts to his surroundings as he uses his cake decorating skills to camouflage his arm as a tree and later his face as a rock, to hide while injured.

The role Peeta creates that is most influential on Katniss’ is literally creating a relationship between the two of them. During an interview before the Games, Peeta plays up to the cameras that he’s had a crush on a girl since the first grade, but unfortunately it’s on the girl who came to the Hunger Games with him. At first this infuriates Katniss as she has no romantic interest in Peeta and is afraid this will make her come off as weak. Haymitch interrupts by reminding her “It’s a television show!” Peeta has provided the star crossed lovers angle which Haymitch can sell to get Peeta and Katniss sponsors. While Peeta has the social ability that Katniss lacks, Katniss has the survival expertise that Peeta lacks. The effect of this lends to the idea that both characters need each other in order to make it through the Games. Unfortunately they both cannot survive as there is only one victor of the Hunger Games…or is there?

After Rue’s death, her home district violently riots and begins fighting against Panem’s military force. The Capitol wants to find a way to appease District 11. Haymitch uses Peeta’s young love approach and pitches the idea of implementing a new policy in the middle of the Hunger Games where if the two members of a district are the last standing, they are allowed to both be the victors. This new rules gives hope to the districts as they watch the games, for it is now possible for love to triumph in the end. Upon hearing the new rules announced Katniss quickly finds a brutally injured Peeta who is not able to walk. Peeta tells Katniss to leave him behind, but Katniss helps him stumble to a cave which they use as shelter. This is where the choices that make Peeta a favorable character further aid to get a viewer to root for Katniss, as Peeta’s life rests in her hands and further raises the stakes and rewards going into the finale.

The last conversation Katniss held with Peeta was before going into the arena the night before the games. Peeta told Katniss that no matter what happened he did not want the games to change him. Katniss replied “I can’t afford to think like that. I have Prim.” This quote marks where Katniss’ main value lies toward the beginning of the games. She is willing to do whatever is necessary so she can go back home to care for Prim. When the games start, Katniss attempts to survive in the forest on her own. Throughout the games her initial philosophy changes as she protects and eases Rue, particularly because of Rue’s many similarities to Prim. While this helps Katniss’ likability by showing she can care for others besides herself and Prim, it is ultimately unsatisfying. This is because Rue dies, making Katniss unsuccessful as her guardian. When the rules change to allow the possibility of both Katniss and Peeta, the two characters the audience has been made to like and desire to have win the games, Katniss’ trait of taking care of those in need is now more immediate and essential than ever. Katniss cannot fix Peeta’s wound with the materials she has and in turn takes a page from Peeta’s book. She plays the star crossed lover role for the first time to try and get materials from a sponsor that can heal Peeta. This marks the first time Katniss, during the games, has tried to appeal to the emotions of the sponsors, a task which she has always met with discomfort. Even though Katniss has to kill and pretend to be in love to survive in the games, the games themselves have failed to change Katniss’ moral of helping those in need.

Katniss is faced with one last challenge at the end of the games. When Peeta and Katniss are the last two standing tributes, they believe they have won the games, until the game maker announces that the rule of two victors being allowed to win is now revoked. The capital does this to tarnish Katniss’ moral image and Peeta even allows her the option of killing him. Katniss’ main moral is in direct conflict; if she kills Peeta, she goes against being a caretaker, but if she does not make it home she fails to protect Primrose. Katniss puts poisonous berries in her and Peeta’s hand telling him to “trust her.” Katniss looks up to the camera as she prepares to eat the berries with Peeta, figuring the possibility of both of them dying is going to make the Capital un-revoke the rule as it will cause chaos in the world of Panem if there is no victor of the hunger games. And, in the case she and Peeta both die, it is better that the capital gets no victors than a victor who directly breaks their moral code. The audience is left at the end of the movie believing that Katniss successfully defied the dictatorship of the Capitals’ jurisdiction. Katniss can now be viewed as a hero - not because she survived the games, but because rather because she kept her own code intact by saving Peeta’s life.

“The Hunger Games” movie is the first piece in setting up the rest of the series.

It was essential to make Katniss a likable character as if she was not; the movie runs the risk of the audience finding “The Hunger Games” only as a grotesque culture that kills children. The framework needs to be set that Katniss is a character that a viewer wants to invest in and further watch her collide with the corrupt system throughout four films. While Katniss’ character flaw may be that she is hard to relate to, the choices in the film throughout the story allow an audience to find Katniss favorable and relatable. Through visuals and audio techniques, one can better experience the world as she does. Through Primrose, Rue, and Peeta, one is able to identify better with who Katniss is and see her growth throughout the movie. The plot allowed for Katniss’ morals to be tested and rise above being both a physical and a moral victim of the Hunger games. All these details allowed for Katniss to be a likable character where one hoped the odds were in her

favor.