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Blindness in 'The Hunger Games'

Warning Spoilers! Do not read unless you are prepared!

By Katy ChristensenPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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The Hunger Games is a film set in a post-apocalyptic time where people are separated by districts and are forced to participate in a game, The Hunger Games. The districts choose two representatives from each district to fight and kill representatives from other districts until one person is left. This film uses mental blindness to address, and make a statement on, psychosocial issues in this era. The concept of a mental blindness that impairs judgment is at the core of the oppressors’ tactics to control the populace. Although the oppressors are outnumbered by those they control, they maintain their control through creating fear, social separation, and changing mindsets, these themes are shown in The Hunger Games through different camera angles and colors.

Fear is a prevalent theme presented throughout The Hunger Games by the color white. This is quite the opposite as to what the color white may mean to most people—that is, purity, innocence, and so forth. The irony presented by this image causes it to be even more frightening. Only those in power or a position to control others wear white, such as in the capital. With his white hair and white rose, President Snow projects an image of fear. The people in the districts fear him and the people in the capital fear him. President Snow wears a black tuxedo with a white rose the first time we see him. He is never fully dressed in white, so he does not seem as great of a threat until the end of the movie. This tactic can be considered his way of blinding most people, because it is masked as something good. Also, the peacekeepers and the gamemakers’ uniforms are stark white. The capital and the districts are living in a constant state of blindness throughout the movie. We see the Peace Keepers, who live in both the capital and the districts, as villains who bring pain and suffering to others. However, the Peace Keepers came from amongst the people they are harming. At the reaping, the word "capital" is in bold, white letters throughout the area. In the woods, Katniss and Gale run from a big white ship above them. White is the color of fear and control throughout the film.

In The Hunger Games, fear is also shown through the the film’s use of camera angles. Every time that fear is prevalent in the movie, the camera angle shows either a close-up or a medium shot. A medium shot is a shot of a person from the waist up and a close up is a tight shot on the object. By using these camera angles, the director is able to focus the audience’s attention on the actor’s body language. One is able to see a shaking hand or clenched fist. One can also see the worry lines from a furrowed brow. This helps the audience form a better picture of the character’s emotions and thoughts. The best example of the benefits of a close-up is when Hamish is concerned about Katniss after she has been badly burned and is up in a tree. The director uses a close-up in order to get the fatherly look of concern on his face. Though Hamish does not say anything in this scene, one can see how he is feeling in this moment. He is feeling helpless, sad, and angry that he is bound by the capital and unable to stop the games. Different camera angles help to accentuate the capital’s control over the people they govern. This is most evident in the use of bird’s eye view shots to make the subjects of the shot seem small and powerless. In addition, worm’s eye view shots of those in power give them a sense of size and strength as they are seen from the audience’s point of view.

The social state of the capital is another form of mental blindness when it comes to appearances. When we are first introduced to a taste of the capital, it is with Effie. The camera shows her in a wide shot in order to include her brightly-colored outfit in full. Looking at her in a medium shot later, we see how uncomfortable she is here. She is aware that her brightly-colored clothes and happiness are out of place in the districts. Next, we are shown the lavish lifestyle of the capital in the train and cleaning rooms. One is able to experience through the difference in costume the separation between districts. The brightly colored and extravagant outfits and makeup of the capital compared to the average and normal districts show this separation to the fullest. For example, in The Hunger Games, when the tribunes are shown off to the world, Peta and Cesar begin talking about showers. While they appear to be the perfect comedic duo, this scene has a touch of sadness behind it. The scene ends with Caesar stating that he has lived here longer and an over-the-shoulder shot on Peta, who slightly clenches his jaw. This shows that Peta is aware of the protected and lavish life of the capital compared to the starving and dark state of the districts. It also shows how aware he is of his likely eminent death. One can see how the all to real separation in society blinds characters to others’ plight. No one is completely aware of the way that the other is living, unless they are living in the capital. The capital has the best of everything, while everyone else has very little. The Hunger Games are held purely for the entertainment of the capital. The capital does not offer tribunes in any of the games. Social separation causes many issues in The Hunger Games and will ultimately be the cause of the capital’s downfall.

Because of the blindness that social separation and fear cause, Katniss changes her mindset. Katniss once was an unsure little girl with a temper, but, in the film, she volunteers to take her sister’s place in the game and then ultimately kills someone. These events change her whole mindset for the remainder of the movie. There are two scenes marking her drastic change in mindset. The first is when Katniss is talking to Peta on the rooftop. When this scene opens, the camera angle is a medium two shot. This magnifies the gravity of the situation they are in: by showing their faces up close, one can see the anger and worry on both of their faces. Katniss does not understand why Peta is worrying about the capital changing him. We see in a close-up on her that she is confused and conflicted. While she does not want to kill anyone, she feels obligated to do so that her sister does not die. The next scene that we see Katniss having a serious conversation is after she and Peta have won. She is talking with Hamish, again on the roof, and the camera switches between close-up and medium shots once again. Katniss has changed her identity to be sarcastic, angry, and vengeful. She is no longer the little girl from district twelve. The games caused Katniss and many others to change their mindsets.

The camera angles and colors help to convey the overall idea of mental blindness and show how this can be applied or seen in our everyday lives. The Hunger Games makes many statements on different psychosocial issues based on hypocrisy. A hypocrite says one thing and does another, a theme which is highly prevalent in this movie, because many people say the right things and still do the opposite. Katniss, especially, is a vision of acting on something she did not believe in. This does not make her a hypocrite, but instead makes her human, because hypocrisy is negative in tone and she only changed because she had to. The change in her mindset in comparison to that of President Snow’s is vastly different. President Snow aims to inflict pain, fear, and control and Katniss only becomes a killer because she has no other option. The districts and the capital have been blinded by hypocrisy and fear. They act on their own lies. As it relates to everyday life and society we deal with hypocrisy, fear, and control all the time due to the people around us, but, in this situation, that fear and control leads to death if one does not comply.

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About the Creator

Katy Christensen

Just another human trying to make a difference in the world...

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