The movie “Hunger Games” has the best sociological perspective that is visible right from the start of the movie (The Hunger Games 2012). A sense of poverty prevails in District Twelve. Katniss Everdeen shoots a deer sells it off and gets some bread for the family to survive. People of District Twelve live under the hardships and are oppressed by the capitol forces. The children of the District assemble at one place for selection through draws, for the Seventy-fifth hunger games. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are selected to participate and are privileged to visit the capitol. A class changes suddenly as they mount the luxurious train, and the capitol services treat them with the baked goodies and the best food. As the train nears the capital, the social status of the people change and it is more of wealth and prosperity (The Hunger Games 2012). The capitol is a place where money is displayed in a variety of manner; through funny dressing of people, through the construction of the bigger building, luxurious, highly technical living environment and partying. Social structure of District Twelve and the capitol is a contrast to each other. The world in the capitol is superfluous, overflow and un-necessary and surprises both the contestants of the hunger games.
Social comparison of the movie can be drawn to the times of ancient Rome where slaves were made to fight for the amusement of the rich people. The story of the movie has similarity to the world of today. We don’t kill each other for enjoyment, but we do kill each other brutally. We do dress superfluous, and we do over-fashion. We do have super fashion designers and supermodels. But are we making the world a happy and peaceful place with these dresses and fashion? Society of today is just inches away from the world of the capitol of the hunger games. People are getting used to off enjoying the death of others, and there are countries in the world where human life has no value. (Hawkings 2013, 2)
Comparison between the world in the capitol of hunger games and today’s world is not obvious but is not hard to miss. Today’s world loves the athletes and movie stars and spend the huge amount of money on entertainment instead of improving the life standards of places like District Twelve around the world. Politics in the movie, and in the world will do anything including killing for the benefit. The Hunger Games story resonates to be a metaphor of today’s society, with rich elite enriching themselves at the expense of an underclass who live hand to mouth (Hawkings 2013, 2). A nation where a group of companies like General Electric can get away without paying any taxes and government extracts $ 15 Billion from the pockets of poor public on account of food stamps.
There is a social realization in the movie that everyone has a responsibility to share happiness and prosperity with those who are not enjoying the same. In the end, love dominates and love changes the end game, the result of seventy-fifth hunger games (The Hunger Games 2012). Love can change the world and can bring peace and contentment to the entire world. Love should start from home and travel to friends, neighbors, countrymen, and the world and to the District Twelve. Fights bring no peace rather fade the hope and happiness. A social comparison of the movie can be drawn to the circumstances of our own country. There will not be much of the difference between the oppressions suffered by poor people like District Twelve. In the world, there is abundance of food and people waste a lot of food un-necessarily whereas somewhere in the world, mothers cannot feed their children due to no food available and children die due to under-nourishment. A just distribution of resources to all the people of the world is a dream being fought in the movies and being pursued by some in the real world.
The movie Hunger Game like any other Hollywood movie is against the status quo and triggers the discussion on social injustices to the poor and underclass people of the world. The exploitation of poor by the rich elite is unfortunate but goes on around the world with no exception for the developed or developing countries.
References
The Hunger Games. 2012. DVD. Color Force / Lionsgate Entertainment.
Tom Hawking. 2013. Are ‘The Hunger Games’ Films Radical Social Critique — or Just More Evidence of Hollywood’s Cynicism? Available at http://flavorwire.com/426001/are-the-hunger-games-films-radical-social-critique-or-just-more-evidence-of-hollywoods-cynicism
Bo Cassel. 2012. The Sociology of the Hunger Games. MidAmerica Nazarene University Staff and faculty. Available at http://www.mnu.edu/oh-behave/the-sociology-of-the-hunger-games.html
Jeremy Adam Smith. 2012. Five Lessons in Human Goodness from “The Hunger Games”. Available at http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_lessons_in_human_goodness_from_the_hunger_games
Sound and Noise. 2012. The Hunger Games: A Sociopolitical Analysis and Rhetoric on the Necessity of Hollywood. Available at http://soundnnoise.com/2012/11/02/the-hunger-games-a-sociopolitical-analysis/
