Film Blog: Hunger Games

I had been so against watching this movie for so long, mostly because of the hype, but I'm really glad I finally caved and watched it. Hunger Games is both thoughtful in its exploration of society and artistic in it’s handling of oppression. It has a little bit of every good sci-fi/action movie rolled into one. The oppressive government with their “peacekeepers” (who look surprisingly like stormtroopers) are reminiscent of the Nazi regime (at least to me), keeping the ‘peace’ through the fear and continual punishment of the game – which also seems to reference the final Egyptian plague in the bible: death of the firstborn. The game itself was futuristic Thunderdome, pitting those who have no reason to fight into mortal combat. Like the Romans, the people of this world thrive on the violence, much like we thrive on violence in film. But I wonder, could we ever revert back to the days of the Romans when this actually was a sport that was desirable to watch? Or does it require that we think of those fighting as ‘less than human’, even as they do in the movie: after seventy-four years society still treats the districts as rebels that need to be punished.

I was also surprised at the James Newton Howard’s haunting score (which I will probably go buy tomorrow) and artistry of the Philip Messina’s production design. I’m not sure if this was Messina or director Gary Ross, but the limited color pallet of pastels (for the crowd in the capitol) combined with the combination 50’s and Edwardian dress was mesmerizing. It made the crowd an absurd mirror of the rich upper class, unreal in both their dress and manor. At times they reminded me of the extras from Rocky Horror, especially in the scene when Rocky is being born. This futuristic design contrasted with the stunning landscapes that aren’t usually seen in either sci-fi or dystopian films.