The Hunger Games is a 2012 American dystopian science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem, where boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in the Hunger Games, a televised annual event in which the "tributes" are required to fight to the death until there is only one survivor. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place. Joined by her district's male tribute, Peeta Mellark. Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy.
Story elements
Opening sequence In the opening sequence we first see a black screen and hear string orchestral music followed by a series of titles in white writing introducting the audience to the law of The Hunger Games. - From the Treaty of the Treason: In penance for their uprising, each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public "Reaping". These Tributes shall be delivered to the custody of The Capitol. And then transferred to a public arena where they will Fight to the Death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pagent shall be known as The Hunger Games. The last words on the sentence begin to fade and only The Hunger Games is left, we then begin to hear off screen dialogue saying "I think its our tradition, that comes out of a particularly painful part of our history". We are then shown a scene of two men sitting on what seems to be a stage/interview sound stage for television, and hear the audience applauding the comments. This small scene tells the audience that The Hunger Games has become a spectacle, something broadcast for all to see. We then hear a blood curdling scream from a young girl as the image cuts to a new scene of District 12 an old town of wooden shacks and broken horse carts. This is a huge contrast to the glits and glamour of what we later know to be The Capitol. The scenes that follow are Katniss comforting Prim after her nightmare and series of handheld shots establishing District 12 as a dark grey and blue broken world filled with extreme poverty. The audience is then introduced to the forest, a beautiful pure area just below the towering fence where Katniss is free to be herself, a skilled and determined hunter. This is also where we are introduced to Gale, who proposes the idea of them running away together to live the perfect life in the forest, away from The Capitol and the Reapings. Later that day at the Reaping the audience is introduced to Effie and the peace keepers, a futher reinforcement of the stark difference between The Capitol and District 12. By the end of the Reaping when Peeta and Katniss are introduced to District 12 as their Tributes for this years Hunger games the audience is left with a range of narrative possibilities.
Narrative possibilities What will The Hunger Games look like? Will Katniss survive? How will they deal with having to possibly kill each other? How will Katniss's family survive without her? What does the hand symbol mean?
Setting The location of the film is Panem a dystopian nation in Northern America. The time period is not made overtly clear to the audience throughout the film but we can tell it is set some time in the future due to the technology present. By not having a clear time period the audience can imagine that this may happen some time in their future, in a way it acts as a cautionary tale. There are three distinct location settings within Panem that the audience is introduced to, District 12, The Capitol and The Hunger Games arena. District 12 is the smallest and poorest of the thirteen districts of Panem. Located in Appalachia, it had a population of around 8,000 people and District 12's main industry is coal mining.
The Capitol of Panem is a technologically advanced, utopian city where the nation's most wealthy and powerful citizens live. The Capitol is also the colloquial name for ruling government of Panem. As the seat of power in Panem, the nation's thirteen districts (twelve after The Dark Days) are ruled from this city, and the Hunger Games are organised and celebrated inside its walls. The Capitol is a tyrannical dictatorship, led by President Snow, and holds total political and economic dominance over Panem, enforcing its rule through an army of Peacekeepers, capital punishment, propaganda, and the Hunger Games.
74th Hunger Games arena contained forests, streams, meadows, pools, a wheat field, caves, and a lake. It was enormous, and it would probably haven taken a tribute several days to walk from one end of the arena to the other. In addition, there were some Capitol-made creatures, including tracker jackers and the wolf-like creatures. The forest was rigged with several Gamemaker-made traps, including a device that sent fireballs at the tributes and places where the mutts could come in and out of the arena.
Character development KATNISS EVERDEEN (JENNIFER LAWRENCE) The Hunger Games’ protagonist, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to participate in the games after her younger sister Primrose is randomly selected during The Reaping. Katniss is headstrong and independent, stepping up to take care of her family after the death of her father. In the opening sequence of the film, she defies the order of The Capitol by venturing into the woods to hunt with her close friend Gale Hawthorne. Although Gale suggests running away and defying The Capitol, she is far more pragmatic and says they wouldn’t make it five miles before the government caught them and cut out their tongues. Katniss cares deeply for her younger sister Primrose, comforting her when she wakes from a nightmare, helping her to dress for The Reaping and, ultimately, offering herself as tribute when Primrose’s name is drawn. Before she leaves for The Capitol, Katniss implores her mother to take care of Prim. “You can’t tune out again,” she says. “Not like when Dad died. I won’t be here anymore. You’re all she has. No matter what you feel, you will be there for her.” When she arrives at The Capitol, Katniss is overwhelmed by its opulence after living our her entire life in District 12. She is openly defiant, firing an arrow at the judges when they’re not paying attention to her. When The Hunger Games start, her skill with a bow helps her to survive but she refuses to adopt the ruthless behaviour of the career tributes, instead choosing to help Rue and Peeta.
PEETA MELARK (JOSH HUTCHERSON) Peeta Melark is a compassionate and caring tribute from District 12. Peeta’s compassion is demonstrated early in the film through a flashback which shows him throwing a loaf of bread to a starving Katniss. Before The Hunger Games commence, he admits to Katniss that he doesn’t want the games to change him and doesn’t want to be a “piece in their game”. Although he can see himself killing to survive, he wants to “find a way to show them at they don’t own me.” Although Peeta forms an alliance with some career tributes early in the games, it is obvious that he doesn’t agree with their cruelty and ruthlessness. When the group closes in on Katniss, Peeta looks on fearfully, urging her to flee when he gets the chance. HAYMITCH ABERNATHY (WOODY HARRELSON) Haymitch Abernathy is the only tribute from District 12 to survive The Hunger Games. In the film, Haymitch becomes a mentor to Katniss and Peeta. “Embrace the probability of your immanent death,” he says when he is first introduced to them, “and know in your heart that there’s nothing I can do to save you.” Although he is an alcoholic, Haymitch offers Katniss and Peeta some useful advice and does what he can to support them throughout the barbarous tournament. He understands that The Hunger Games is more than just a fight to the death and that it requires political manoeuvring to win. “You really want to know how to stay alive?” Haymitch asks. “You get people to like you. Oh. Not what you were expecting. When you’re in the middle of the games and you’re starving or freezing, some water, a knife or even some matches can even make the difference between life and death. And those things only come from sponsors. And to get sponsors, you have to make people like you.” Haymitch’s contempt for The Hunger Games is illustrated when he watches two children engaging in a mock battle. The scene begins with several shots of a board showing the odds that each tribute has of winning The Hunger Games. Director Gary Ross cuts to an over-the-shoulder shot of Haymitch watching two children unwrapping presents, then to a shot of Haymitch looking on in disgust. Later in the film, he encourages Seneca Crane not to kill Katniss. You’ll just create a martyr,” he says. “I hear these rumours out of District 11. This could get away from you.” Credit: Brett Lamb http://lessonbucket.com/study-guides/the-hunger-games/the-hunger-games-characters/
Cause and Effect The cause and effect chain starts when they go to the reaping and Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place. Many of the effects that occur afterwards
Structure of time This is a linear structure or straight line plot progression, this means that the beginning of the film moves forward to the middle and finally the end. We are introduced to the characters when they first meet at the reaping and on the train, the narrative then follows the events as they unfold in chronological order (the order that they occurred). Filmmakers want to cut unnecessary scenes from the film in-order to make the film more engaging and also to fit all the events they DO need to tell the story within a set time. Structure of time is linked with editing and visual indicators in order to create the illusion that time is passing within the narrative. Different editing techniques like montages can be used to show a long sequence of events in a short time.
Production elements
Camera Techniques Angles Shot size Movement Lighting Sound Editing Mise en scene Acting