May the odds be ever in your favor. What about the evens? I mean, evens are sooo much better. They let you divide by 2, and two is always better than 1! The odds have to pick one, but the evens let another win too! Amiright?
Righto, so… I guess I’ve been doing a lot of watching and thinking lately. You may have noticed my plan to build up for Star Wars episode VII. Well, that got me thinking and I realized that the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy (quadrilogy?) comes out this weekend! Suddenly I remembered that it was the Hunger Games that first got me thinking about starting this blog. That was years ago and here we are now…
Right off the bat, I gotta say there is a lot of good in this movie, but there are also some dangerous shades and obscurities. I’ll warn you now: spoilers for this movie and the upcoming parts. I’ve not seen all the movies out (yet), but I have read the books so I’ll pull just a little of the future plots in to make a point.
First of all, I just want to briefly mention that the books and movies are almost certainly meant to trigger some self-evaluation on the part of Americans, especially regarding the disparity of wealth b/w the Capitol and the districts and the demands of children as “tributes.” I can go into more detail if some are interested, but for now I’ll just leave these questions: How many countries supply Americans (and other developed countries) with their food, clothing, and trinkets? How many of these countries do so at a price which keeps them well below our own standard of living? America doesn’t ask directly for the slaughter of children (at least, not televised), but how many children have their whole lives destroyed by the psychological and social harm of dragging them through the entertainment industry from an early age? What will be the long term effects even on Jennifer Lawrence? I don’t know these answers but the movie and books are meant to make us ask these questions.
Overall, these books and movies move through story of oppression, through rebellion, and into a hopefully better world. Katniss is the catalyst for all of this change. All of this is a beautiful sentiment to which Americans immediately respond because we so love our “freedom.” But what is the real message of this freedom? What qualifies as freedom and how do we claim it when others try to take it away? Well, as far as the first two books go, there are some… difficulties. As with anything in real life, there is a complicated mixture of good and bad in the way that freedom is pursued. I think we can boil it down to two main strains of thought and action: resistance and violence.
On the one hand, we have Peeta talking to Katniss just before the Games.
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| “I don’t want them to change me in there; turn me into something that I’m not.” |
He goes on to wish that he could show them he’s not “just another piece” in the game and that they don’t own him. Since it’s featured in a dramatic conversation right on the edge of a huge battle, these lines are meant to stick with the viewer. It’s safe to say that we as viewers are meant to agree with what has been said. There is some dim view of resistance to evil buried in this line.
On the other hand, it is very likely that the writer and director intended us to connect this sentiment to what becomes a very central image in the books and… well, I’ll see how the second movie treats it. This image is of Katniss and Peeta holding the nightlock berries as a threat of mutual suicide if they don’t allow both of them to win together. This is a rather (self) violent course of action.
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| “Together” |
What is the movie telling us in this scene? It is the climactic moment which ends the game and, against the odds (go evens!), allows the both of them to go home newly in love with each other (sort of). The way that Katniss asks for Peeta’s trust makes it pretty clear that she intends to bluff; that she doesn’t intend real suicide. If I’m not mistaken, in the book they actually put the berries in their mouths before Seneca caves in and allows them both to live. We don’t see it in this movie, but later on the people throughout Panem see the image of them holding these Nightlock berries as a symbol of freedom. It becomes the token gesture of defying the Capitol. In effect, it appears to be a way of answering Peeta’s wish of not being a piece in their game, basically saying “I can kill myself and deny them the power of killing me.” Even if Katniss and Peeta never intended suicide to be that kind of symbol and that kind of answer, it is what it becomes, at least in the midterm.
Allow me to be a prophet of doom for a minute: This is a violent and distorted image of freedom. If accepted without critical thought, it will have calamitous effects on the wider culture’s view of life, freedom, death, and suicide. Suicide is intrinsically evil – it is always and everywhere wrong. For it to be a symbol of hope and a symbol of “freedom” is a dangerous line of thought. It is, in face, not a sign of freedom, but a claim to mere “self-determination.” It is a radical embracing of the lie that “I am the ultimate master of my life.” This. Is. Not. True. Life and death belong to God, not us. It is a powerful form of arrogance to so exalt your own “freedom” (read “autonomy”) that you are willing to destroy yourself to prove it.
BUT, this may not be the story’s message after all. There is hope on the horizon. Katniss’ efforts ultimately lead to a very violent and destructive revolution. Without giving away too much to those who haven’t read the books, suffice it to say that her path leads her to some dark places and there is a scene later which may be meant as a way of contextualizing the whole image I’ve discussed above.
Until then, is there some message of hope we can rely on for now? I say yes, in the adorable form of Rue, the meek girl from district 11 whose presence is a symbol of love in the midst of a terrible evil.
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| “Is it true?” |
Unlike Katniss, Rue is never shown killing anyone. Not only that, but she is downright helpful and in fact necessary for Katniss’ survival (3 times!). Without any proof that it would pay off, she tips off Katniss to the Tracker Jackers, and then treats her wounds. She even saves Katniss after her death via Thresh’s respect for her. Her childlike trust of Katniss is touching and Katniss’ arranging of flowers on her body is a far more valuable symbol of human freedom than any suicide berries. That is freedom – the power to express love and care for another even when the whole world wants you to simply kill them. Rue basically becomes a martyr, and she dies without bloodying her own hands. If there is a Christ-figure in this movie, it is Rue. She is the purest image of resistance to evil without violence.
Perhaps some will argue that Katniss and Peeta did what was necessary to end the games. Perhaps others will point out that they meant it as a bluff, but the example of Rue is a powerful sign of contradiction even within the same story. Rue’s people were moved by the injustice and beauty of her death, not by any bold defiance. It stirs them to resist the tyranny of the Capitol. In the movie, they immediately resort to violence. Perhaps an alternative outcome could have been found with an approach like MLK or Gandhi: Civil Disobedience. The story doesn’t go that route, but I think its fair to wonder if Katniss and Peeta’s efforts to simply win over the public of the Capitol could have been maximized to the point of a more, but probably not completely, peaceful shift in power.
Katniss and Peeta did not have to positively act (or bluff) to take their own life to demonstrate their freedom. Instead, they had the option to simply refuse to kill each other, to boldly cling to each other in love and force the hands of their wicked opponents. If they stood there in an embrace, it would have an equally, if not more, disastrous effect on the Capitol’s plans to force a single victor. To arbitrarily kill one would upset the people just as much as watching them kill themselves. To simply kill them both would have been even worse. On top of that, the simply resistance of love would have probably led to a much more effective and less destructive rebellion. I’m not saying violence is wrong (I’ve actually defended it elsewhere), but there are often ways to use it less frequently and less aggressively than what we will see as the story unfolds.
Of course, it may be that this story is a kind of negative example of how suicide and violence are not the answer. It could very well be that this post-apocalyptic world with such inconsistent hope is meant as a kind of warning to us here and now. However it turns out, I hope to see that message through. I’ll be back again soon. Until next time, stay free… truly free…