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(NB: potential spoilers of the entire Hunger Games trilogy, as well as of the brutality of supposed civilised society)
In 2012 I
wrote an article
comparing The Hunger Games to The X Factor. After watching the live
shows of the latter I was given an uneasy feeling as, for me, they almost
paralleled the brutality of the Games. I even went so far as to claim that I saw
little difference between the contestants and the tributes. Although I still stand
by this comparison I now realise that the brutality of the Games is not only
relevant to The X Factor, it is prevalent
throughout modern society.
I recently
went to the cinema to watch the third film in The Hunger Games saga, Mockingjay
- Part 1. After having read the trilogy in 2012 I already knew the basics
of the story and vaguely what to expect. However, I was not prepared for the
intensity of which I would relate Mockingjay
to current affairs. Not only the violence and the comradery, displayed by both the rebels and the government, but
the propaganda and rumble of revolution, of the majorities revolting, were
naturally connected to real life events within my mind.
I went into
the cinema with few expectations which was both a positive, conscious effort
and an unconscious effort with disturbing results. Going in I had forgotten all
of the comparisons I had previously seen around the internet. From the
brutality displayed by the Peacekeepers of Panem to
the slogans taken directly from the film and applied to real life, the reality
of revolution became all too real for me through the fiction of the film.
From the murder
of Mike Brown to those occurring throughout the world every single day the brutality of the dystopian world is seeping into
our everyday lives. People may find the violence depicted in films such as Mockingjay shocking but it is nothing
compared to the broadcasts of real beheadings and torture readily available on
the internet.
In addition
to subtle similarities between The Hunger
Games and current, horrific events are blatant ones. Protestors in Ferguson,
Missouri even graffitied a monument with a line of desperation from Mockingjay: “if we burn, you burn with
us”. When my eighteen year old self read the trilogy these words held little
relevance for me, but now they are scarily real. In addition, the
three-fingered Mockingjay symbol used
throughout the film is starkly similar to “hands up, don’t shoot” sparked by
the murder of Brown and supported throughout the world.
One of the
lines of the film which stuck with, even haunted, me the most was one spoken by
President Snow directly to Katniss. President Snow, the tyrant of Panem,
reminds Katniss that “[he] told [her] what a fragile thing peace was”. After
the recent murder-provoked riots throughout the US and, indeed, the world these
fictional words from Snow resonate strongly and painfully with me. Civilians
are supposed to be able to put their faith, even their lives, in the hands of
the authorities but these is no longer the case for countless individuals.
In addition
to that, the propaganda created by District 13, as well as that used by the
Capitol, presented a harsh reality. While it is not widely believed that our
western governments publish propaganda in this day and age, the information
presented to the general public is always warped. Whether it’s in the subtle
way that they condemn all believers of Islam, especially after the recent
events in Sydney, or the strategic cropping or selecting of images propaganda
and falsities are widely spread by the government and the media every single
day.
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It makes it
almost impossible for the general public to view the full picture, to get both
sides and to judge fairly but it is the only information they are provided
with. While the Peacekeepers were mowing members of the public down I was
starkly reminded of the brutality of, and fear instilled by, the police,
experienced especially by young, black, American men.
The constant
attacks and consequent unrest has led to protests all over the world. The recent
Mall of America protests not only displayed protests and rumbles of revolution,
as in Catching Fire and Mockingjay, they also contained similar
warnings both to and from the masses. The physical warning presented by the
authorities were enough to transport anyone into a dystopian world.
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#blacklivesmatter
#handsupdontshoot
#justiceformikebrown
#ferguson
