‘The only thing stronger than fear is hope’ Jo Gough reviews The Hunger Games film.
Get yourself to the cinema for The Hunger Games, but just ensure you have the written trilogy waiting at home (£8 from The Works with beautiful covers – bargain!). The film has been widely compared to the Twilight and Harry Potter films, but this is belittling to a film with a strong female character as the lead and collective humanity at the fore. The film adaption was co-produced by the author, Suzanne Collins, which is why it is the only film adaptation I’ve seen that equals the book. It will not disappoint.
The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian, post climate change/resource war world, where adolescents are picked yearly to fight to the death as collective punishment for a past uprising. The Capitol enjoys wealth, ease and luxury through being supplied with essentials by twelve poverty-stricken districts, whose previous uprising was crushed. Their punishment and warning is the Hunger Games, in which a male and a female adolescent from each district fight to the death in a televised reality show. It is called the Hunger Games as adolescents can put their names repeatedly in a rolling lottery in return for more food. The Capitol’s inhabitants see it as entertainment and present it as an honour; the districts see it as unjust and their hatred simmers away.
Katniss, the main character, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, unwittingly becomes a symbol of this hatred through volunteering in her sister’s place, an act of humanity which is the catalyst for those on the edge of rebellion. She is the carer and breadwinner for her family since her miner father died in an explosion and her mother gave way to grief. She hunts to gain food and money, and concentrates on keeping her sister safe. As the main character she could be any one of us (except for her skills with a bow), and is ultimately a female character who has to deal with and save a puppy-eyed counterpart, Peeta, rather than the usual other way round. Lawrence’s acting makes the film very effective, and her casting has the added benefit that, unlike so many Hollywood actresses, she is not extremely skinny.
Katniss’ story is the centre of the plot, but the film expands on the first-person narrative of the book to show the actions of those behind the scenes: the gamesmasters adding obstacles such as a forest fire when the game becomes too boring; her mentor persuading rich sponsors to send her life-saving medicine. This allows us to see the grotesque Capitol in full and highlights the themes of entertainment and wealth distorting how we treat each other.
Katniss’ survival depends on how she works for the cameras in pretending there is a love story between her and Peeta, irrevocably distorting her feelings and future relationships. Her life, regardless of whether she lives or dies, is now owned. Those who win the Hunger Games are rich for life, but have to mentor future ‘tributes’, who will most likely die. In the Hunger Games the only winners are the rulers. Or so they think until she changes everything,
Some have likened the story to Battle Royale, but this is not the time to say a previous story is preferable. The Hunger Games has surpassed expectations in both book and film sales and relates to young people today. The story is so powerful because it is not far from where our society is. The Capitol is London, Wall Street, our millionaire government, the bankers. It is not unreasonable to think that these wealthy will try to keep their power and lifestyle at all costs and make the majority pay. The film also parallels elements of how we do live now. Those in charge make us believe that we should compete against each other, that we should be thankful for what we have, that what they do to us is for our own good and that any alternative would be much worse. This is a lie.
The succeeding two books focus on uprising and revolution through Katniss’ eyes. This first instalment sets up Katniss’ transition from a person simply ensuring her family is fed to the symbol of the revolution and a fighter on the front line. Within these, pertinent questions about Western society and our alternatives are raised and beautifully addressed – who is the enemy? When should violence be used? Will people always be used as pawns and will leaders always abuse their power? The trilogy will leave you with hope, which, as The Hunger Games says, will override fear every time.
