A Feminist Approach

The Hunger Games has feminism hidden in the deepest corners of this novel and there are a wide range of ideas that can relate the book to feminist aspects. These include culture, stereotypes, equality, power and class. Individual characters and groups of people in The Hunger Games give us a clear image of how our world could be different if there were not strong gender roles.

In today's society, gender roles and stereotypes are very strong; in Panem, there are no gender roles. This is partly because of the cultural value of Panem as well as the economic, or social class of the citizens. Everyone works in the fields or the mines or factories, and if they do have an income or some type of reimbursement for labor, it is the same across genders. I feel like Collins creates this world where the general population has equal pay and job status according to district. Districts as a whole, I feel, were treated very different, but had fairness between genders. Those from Districts 1, 2 and 3 may not have the power that the Capitol has, but both genders have what they need and then some. Whereas in districts like Katniss's, people don't have what they need and die of starvation; but both women and men alike are treated equally yet unethically. The same goes for sponsors, the game makers and the mentors; both male and female are in these roles. Even in the actual 'games' girls don't get special treatment. Both genders kill each other and get killed; girls and boys alike are thought of as weak if they cry. Everyone has to be tough and able to fight just to survive.

Power is another aspect that lacks for most of the population, most men and women have no power against the Capitol and those with power such as the game makers are both genders. The Peacekeepers remain genderless, so it is most likely that their occupation is for both genders as well. The only person with the most power in the first book is President Snow, who is a man. This shows some form of a patriarchy society, but being a man he does not give special privileges to other men in lower positions. So in that aspect, it is not necessarily a patriarchal society. Further books in the series show Katniss as a symbol of power and leadership, reversing the gender roles by reading a story of a female heroine.

Katniss as an individual breaks away from the typical gender stereotypes that we would assume reading an action packed love story. Katniss takes care of others, which shows a somewhat feminine side to her, when she nurtures Rue and Peeta as well as when she looks after her younger sister Prim. Most of the time though she prefers to not show emotion and doesn't want to receive help from others, especially Peeta. When Peeta professed his love to her on screen she was horrified, most girls would be flattered. But to her, that would make her look weak, and she knows looking weak could cost her life.


Peeta, the boy with the bread. When it comes to cooking, baking and painting, he is an expert. Most of us would not expect a teenage boy to excel in these activities and also enjoy them. Not only do his choice of activities make him seem like a feminine character but his personality and responses do as well. Peeta is more reserved in front of Katniss, but is very charming and likable in front of a crowd. At times, he does show his strength and expresses anger; he also shows his protective side, trying to keep Katniss safe. It's times like these that his stereotypical masculine qualities stand out. Most of the time, Peeta shows very different qualities such as his vulnerability (expressing his love to Katniss), his emotions (tearing up on the train ride to the Capitol), and some of his weaknesses (inability to hunt and shoot arrows).
 

The stereotypes of gender are well defined throughout characters, whether it is following through the classic gender role or breaking away from it. I think The Hunger Games just shows us the extremes, more or less, of either role to emphasize we don't have to fit a certain mold; girls can be nurturing and defensive like Katniss and boys can be sweet, yet strong like Peeta.

 

What are Others Saying?

Having an idea of what other people think about something relatively new, in this case a book, can gives us not only other perspectives, but give us an idea if it is worth the time and money. Even if we hear good things about the movie, we wonder if we should bother reading the book; or vice versa. In my opinion, having read the book before watching the movie, I was glad I read the book first because I knew what was going on. The book was also extremely enjoyable, quite a page turner. I thought it was so exceptional I read it three times in about four months. I did look at a few websites to see what others thought of the book as well.

On the website goodreads.com The Hunger Games was voted #1 in the category for 'best books ever' and #2 in the category for 'best young adult books.' The average ratings were 4.48 out of 5 stars, most of the comments were greatly positive as well. "This is probably one of the better books I've ever read." (Kat Kennedy, goodreads.com) Many of the positive comments were similar to this, saying it was one of their favorite books. Their were a few negative comments from readers, such as saying they were disappointed and some say they liked the book overall but pointed out a few flaws or issues they had while reading.


The average rating on Barnes and Noble was similar, 4.5 out of 5 stars. I glanced over assorted comments from both editorial reviews and customer reviews; the editorial reviews were positive for the most part and the customer reviews varied in positivity and negativity. John Green from the New York Times said "brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced…the considerable strength of the novel comes in Collins' convincingly detailed world-building and her memorably complex and fascinating heroine..." (barnesandnoble.com) Reading a review like this from John Green gives the novel a lot of credibility and would make me want to pick up the book as soon as possible.

Amazon is another reliable website to  survey reviews from other readers, The Hunger Games had a 4.6 out of 5 rating, another great rating for piece of pop culture. Many readers said they could not stop reading it because it was so good, they could not wait to read the next book. Others loved the world created by Suzanne Collins. One reviewer Micheal A. Behr said, " I would have given it 4 stars, but they say great art leaves you changed after you experience it... and this book definitely did that. Suzanne Collins has, with one amazing work, propelled herself onto my top shelf." (amazon.com) Comments like this show the book may not be perfect, but it still is a great piece of art that can change one's life.

All of the comments I had a chance to read gave me insight on other points of view. Reading comments from men and women, teenagers and older adults showed me that assorted age groups and genders have taken the time to read the book and have different attitudes toward the book. I was glad to see most of them were positive and thoroughly explained the honorable parts of the storyline, and those that explained why they didn't like this book as much gave compelling arguments that I find understandable, even though I don't completely agree.

A Form of Art in a Society of Artificial Entertainment

The critical essay called “Revolutionary Art in the Age of Reality TV” by Katheryn Wright is an analysis that makes comparisons between The Hunger Games as viewed by the audience of Panem and the reality TV on air today. Television plays a key role in both our society and the society of Panem. We use it as a form of reaching to others through news and broadcasts, entertainment, and expressing ideas; the Capitol uses television as both entertainment and broadcasting the Capitol’s power over the citizens. Television is a symbol of power in Panem; the Capitol forces everyone to watch the games; in school, home, or around town.

The Hunger Games are very similar to the reality TV we watch today. The games encourage the audience to cheer for the success or failures of the tributes, just like we cheer and support contestants on shows like Dancing with the Stars or American Idol. Romance is also key in the 74th Hunger Games, like The Bachelor. Survivors also tour Panem, like the final American Idol contestants go on a tour to various regions around the country.



The Hunger games is much more artfully written and portrayed in both the book and the movie than in the reality television we watch. It evokes emotion; everything is real and happening live. This differs from reality television which is only meant to entertain and stir up responses from the audience, increase ratings; it is also often edited to show the exciting details of one’s life such as the reality shows on TLC like Long Island Medium or My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding do. Shows like these all have a common message, but drag on for many episodes to the point when you think “how am I accomplishing anything by watching this?” One episode can give you enough insight in a culture, but then we get addicted to it and get caught up in other people’s lives. Like the Capitol, citizens get caught up betting and sponsoring tributes they don’t even know; we do the same voting for contestants or watching reality shows that end up being the same story line every week.

Today’s reality television ranges from programs such as makeover shows to documentaries, talent competitions to talk and games shows. Which in some form, the novel demonstrates these programs through the behind the scene makeovers, the interviews with Caesar Flickerman, or competing in the games itself. Caesar Flickerman is an example of the typical, witty television show host, in a way poking fun at the hosts we watch on TV.


The Hunger Games encompasses everything we value in reality television, and basically points out that worse things are happening around us (making comparisons to when 9/11 occurred,  a type of reality television, the news, that is live, emotional, and life changing) , making The Hunger Games a form of revolutionary art.

Reality television today and in Panem can also be analyzed through feminine analysis. Most television we watch enforces stereotypes; whether it is the classic high school TV show or selling a product. Not only that, but some media demeans men or women, usually women, by using their body to sell something. That is not the case in Panem. Gender stereotypes are not seen during the games, all the boys and girls participating must go through the same tragedies and struggles. Women do not have it easier than men or the other way around, all of them must train before the games and all of them must fight to survive and even kill during the games. This too shows the creativity that Suzanne Collins used to show equality in a dystopian society, giving it a Utopian quality even if overall if it is not a perfect society.

A Comparison Between Film and Novel

The movie and the book of The Hunger Games had both similarities and differences, but overall thought the movie stayed true to the major themes of the book. The beginning explained why the games were occurring, mostly for those viewers who have never read the books, it may have not been from Katniss's point of view like the book, but it thoroughly explained the events that took place before the Hunger Games began. Even though there are differences, the general flow of events is the same throughout the movie. There will of course be differences in the movie because things need to be edited or changed to fit the time limits of the movie as well as what is humanly and technologically possible to create into a movie, yet make it appealing to the eye.
 

One of the major differences that I noticed between the book and the movie was Seneca’s death. In a way it bothered me, because the first time I watched I did not understand what was exactly happening in the scene where he enters the room alone and looks into the bowl of berries. It took me a few times to understand that he had to commit suicide because of the loss of control of the outcome of the games and not foreseeing the possibility that nightlock could be used for suicide. Since nightlock was the choice of death Katniss and Peeta attempted to use to take advantage of the games, Seneca is locked into an empty room with a bowl of nightlock, he has no other choice but to commit suicide. The book is very different, no mention of Seneca’s death is addressed until the second book, Catching Fire, which isn’t described at all in the way the movie portrays it. This was a more creative approach that the film makers created, which is most likely why the creators chose to show Seneca’s death is such a way. I actually like the movie’s version more than the book’s version; it allows us to draw our own conclusions of what happens to Seneca and makes the audience imagine what happens to him instead of just saying he died. Although this was not mentioned in the book and only briefly shown in the movie, I feel like it is an eye opening scene. It shows us even those with high power are still defeated.
 

 

A similarity between the book and movie is the depiction of the Capitol; everything from the food, to the people, to the design and architecture. The film creators made the movie very similar to way I imagined it based on the descriptions in the book. The novel clearly paints a picture of Panem, “All the colors seem artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, the yellows painful to the eyes, like the flat round disks of hard candy we can never afford to buy…” (Collins 59) The film has very bright colors and extreme amounts of makeup on each of the Capitol citizens, it looks like Halloween. Perhaps the creators chose to do this because it would give the audience a strong image of how materialistic the Capitol citizens are. Even though it is not my personal taste, and it is almost blinding how eccentric some of them are dressed I did like the approach the creators took to show what the Capitol was like. It gives a true image that the citizens clearly only worry about one thing: appearance. 

 
Both the novel and the movie show feminism through stereotypes, equality, power and culture. The characters, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, all have strong personalities and qualities that are either very feminine or very masculine. The way the book describes them gives the reader a clear picture of Katniss being protective, strong and independent which tend to be our cultures more masculine qualities, she is often shown hunting or protecting others. Peeta is more reserved and takes the less aggressive approach to survival. The film shows this when he paints himself to look like a rock after being attacked, rather than fight Cato back or seek revenge. Gale is the stereotypical male, like Katniss, he hunts and takes care of his family; he is definitely a provider. Other roles in the film are fairly neutral,men and women are the sponsors, the mentors and the game makers.