In 2012, The Hunger Games took the world by storm, filling movie theaters and amassing enough gold to challenge the overflowing banks of the Capitol itself. With the resurgence of adaptations of juvenile fantasy and sci-fi novels in films and shows, The Hunger Games the franchise will follow suit with the November release of the prequel film, 8 years after its last installment. Based Suzanne Collinsprequel of the novel of the same name, Ballad of songbirds and snakes beloved Katniss Everdeen will not appear (Jennifer Lawrence) or Pete Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), but this is not a cause for concern. Considering that the original The Hunger Games The trilogy reflected the widening divide between rich and poor, the new film will now complement the current growing discourse around this issue, fitting right in with its comparable “eat the rich” counterparts.
What is The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes about?
Set 64 years before the original trilogy, the prequel follows President Snow’s early years and his experience as a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12. Unlike the bloodthirsty and heartless President Snow we see in the original, played by Donald Sutherland, the younger Snow seems more ambitious and compassionate. Focusing on the less ruthless origins of the franchise’s most hated villain puts huge casting pressure, but Tom Blyth seems to do the job. Blyth was approved by both Lawrence and the producer. Nina Jacobson, who argues that “Tom’s performance will both complement and destroy everything you think you know about Coriolanus Snow.” There also seems to be a complex romantic plot that could humanize Snowy, but after the original’s tiresome love triangle, this one can’t afford anything but brilliant. Romance and origin story aside, this prequel explores how the games became so popular in Panem, pitting the people of the area against each other for a chance at a life of opulence and fame.
How relevant is The Hunger Games?
With distinctly anti-capitalist ideas, The Hunger Games creates a dystopian world with an extremely wealthy Capitol and poor neighborhoods. In 2007, a year before the release of Collins’ books, the national income of the top 1% was the highest since the Great Depression, while those who were poor got even poorer. The novels reflected the widening social divide at the time - at least in an emphatic version that directly touches on social inequality and its grim consequences. But now these issues have been brought to light, rising to the surface of everyday discourse more than ever before. While dystopian societies in cinema have been around for centuries, the last couple of years have seen an influx of “eat the rich” comedic detective films. Glass Bow: Mystery of Knives to sinister Menu. After a pause of 5 years, a new party The Hunger Games the franchise will thrive among today’s audiences with an “eat rich” attitude.
On the other hand, the prequel may simply be drowned out by its anti-capitalist counterparts and thus may feel redundant. The Hunger Gamesthe cult games themselves are the driving force, and their subsequent releases, which gradually focused on the political side, failed to get the notoriety that the first film had. So while socio-political rhetoric can be used in favor of a film in this social setting, it can also just be its downfall. The film faces a monstrous task: to humanize a character known for its inhumanity, while also balancing the game’s brutality with social commentary. The characterization also faces a problem. The songbird-like Lucy contrasts sharply with Katniss’s bitterness and is more like the sweet and almost anonymous Peeta Mellark, and therefore faces the danger of being insipid. If we don’t care about the person who enters the game, then why should we care at all? The entire production teeters on the verge of becoming a pale copy of the original or a tantalizing tribute that raises current social and economic consciousness.
Is The Hunger Games Another Eat The Rich Movie?
However, the premise The Hunger Games goes one step further than simply exaggerating the economic condition that exists around us. Games are terrifying concepts that we can casually dismiss as science fiction, but just one look at history tells us otherwise. Financial and class divisions have existed in almost every civilization, from royalty to slavery. Inspired by Roman gladiatorial games and arenas, Collins even borrowed the Latin word for bread for the city of Panem, alluding to a satirical poem that criticized social stratification. The lines “only crave two things - bread and games” reflect how both are used as a means of control: the rich abuse bread and blood games, while the poor have limits on bread and are often locked in the games. Many films also explicitly deal with the idea that rich people use the lower class as entertainment, as in Cleaning or Hunting. Hypotheses like these are much more horrifying when we realize that people have been using blood for entertainment for years (and we still do it in movies), so Ballad of songbirds and snakes The study of how games have been received is becoming alarmingly relevant today.
The prequel also reflects how a member of the lower class can enter the sacred top 1% of earnings. Two members of each of the 12 districts are chosen to destroy each other, and then only one (before Katniss and Peeta, of course) is allowed to enter the sacred luxury and glory of the Capitol. There is an incredibly low chance of survival and an even lower chance of being picked in the first place, which is a reminder of how unlikely it is to be in the top 1%. The odds should really be in your favor. The film is practically a mirror of our own economy and capacity for social mobility. Based on terrible realism, but with a spark of good dystopian premise, Ballad of songbirds and snakes today more relevant than ever. It not only reflects the feelings we have had for years, but are only expressing now, it reminds us why these discussions about the widening social divide are important and need to be addressed.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters November 23, 2023.
Source: Collider
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