by Lama Alshami
1. Introduction
Science fiction has historically been embroiled in political discourse. From the Star Wars franchise to Dune, this genre has long provided social critiques on the state of the world. However, audiences often fail to recognize the underlying political messages when watching such films due to a watered down version of politics being written in order to maintain box office success. Films will also typically stray away from embedding political messages in hopes of catering to a wider audience and making the content more palatable to viewers.
The film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, directed by Francis Lawrence, recognizes the fault in this convention and instead transmits a clear political message through its narrative, characters and setting. The film, a science fiction dystopia adapted from the novel written by Suzanne Collins, revolves around the tenth annual Hunger Games, a competition in which 24 people from the 12 districts in the dystopian world of Panem are forced to battle to the death in response to their failed rebellion against the Capitol. Coriolanus Snow, an 18-year-old from a once wealthy and powerful family is selected to mentor one of the tributes for the Games, Lucy Gray Baird, and he is eager to help her win to prove himself and gain the Plinth Prize scholarship to restore his family’s prosperity.
Through Lawrence’s implementation of the science fiction and dystopia genres, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes thoroughly depicts an oppressive and fascist regime where the media and technology are used as tools for authoritarian control, ultimately highlighting the corrupting influence of power and unchecked ambition. To begin, this essay will explore how the dystopian world-building of Panem, lends itself to emphasize the glaring inequalities between life in the Capitol as opposed to life in the districts, as well as illuminate the power dynamics among the elite. Which will then lead to the dissection of the media as a potent tool for exerting control over the masses. Finally, by analyzing Corialanus Snow’s character development as a microcosm of the broader moral dilemmas inherent in Panem’s oppressive regime, themes of the ethical complexities of power, individual agency, and resistance can be explored.
2. World Building Illuminating Inequality
The film presents a meticulously planned dystopian version of North America by utilizing real world settings as a way of relaying themes of inequality. The juxtaposition of the two settings within Panem, the Capitol and the districts, demonstrates the stark differences in the quality of life offered in each area. This contrast is evident through the production design, including costumes and props. The Capitol is an opulent and extravagant metropolitan hub, gleaming and polished. It is full of ornate architecture, vibrant colours and gaudy costumes (seen in the blood-red uniforms at the Academy, and Dr. Volumnia Gaul’s extravagant outfits), all of which represent the superfluity of the ruling class. The districts on the other hand are impoverished, dark and bleary, with a muted colour palette, crumbling infrastructure and utilitarian clothing, reflecting the abject poverty and extreme subjugation they face.
As the book, Projecting Politics writes, “In the best movies . . . settings are not merely backdrops for the action, but symbolic extensions of the theme” (Haas et al., 43). The film utilized fascist-era architecture from Europe, illustrating the atmosphere of a nation oppressed by tyranny. One of the most important settings is the arena in which the coveted hunger games physically take place. The exterior of the arena was shot in Berlin’s Olympiastadion in Charlottenburg which was built by the Nazis for the 1936 Summer Olympics. The interior where all the fighting, death and destruction occurs also has a past related to the Nazis. Centennial Hall in Wrocław, Poland, was a venue where Nazi officials, including Adolf Hitler used to make speeches about “lebensraum,” an ideological concept concerning Nazi military conquests and racial policy. The Karl-Marx-Allee, a monumental boulevard designed in communist East Germany which was first named Stalinallee after Soviet premier Joseph Stalin, is also used as part of the Capitol’s buildings.
The deliberate selection of these infamous locations lends itself well to the science fiction genre. “When science fiction movies located in the future use contemporary architecture for settings rather than construct sets in the studio or with computer imaging, they suggest a more disturbing continuity between the present and the future,” (Grant, 14). The use of such places adds a tangible feeling of terror to the film, reminding the audience of a real-world example of oppression. Through world building, the audience is able to make a comparison between the fascist policies of Nazi Germany and the Capitol, where both governments persecuted members of a group they deemed as undesirable. The combination of fictional elements with real architecture from the German Reich and the former East German state allows the film to create a realistic portrayal of a dystopian future, rooted in the factual history of a fascist regime. The locations emphasize the grim beginnings of the Hunger Games, entrenched in historical oppression and authoritarian rule.
3. Media as a Tool of Authoritarian Control
Throughout the film, the dystopian landscape allows for the media to be used as a means of exerting power over the districts. The Capitol maintains strict control over information through surveillance. The Hunger Games are televised for all to see, which aids the Capitol in reinforcing its authority and suppressing dissent. Close-up shots of television screens, cameras, microphones and other video recording equipment are used throughout the film to remind viewers that the Capitol is watching at all times. Recurring images of cameras can also be seen as a motif of the incessant surveillance of Panem’s citizens.
In his essay, Fascism and Science Fiction, Aaron Santesso argues that, “Technology will make possible the new state; technology will defend it,” (Santesso, 143). The Capitol uses the media to brainwash its citizens into believing that the Hunger Games are a mere form of entertainment. Casca Highbottom, the Dean of the Academy, said in the film, “the esteemed citizens of the Capitol have grown bored of the games and simply aren’t watching anymore, and if the games are to continue there must be an audience,” (00:09:55). Leaders in the Capitol know that if the Hunger Games were not televised, they would quickly lose the power they hold over Panem. Rebels from the districts use this to their advantage. When the rebels bombed the arena of the Hunger Games on live television, they knew the implications it would bring. They wanted to tear down the largest symbol of the Hunger Games while everyone was watching, to release a message to the Capitol.
In the dystopian genre, the manipulation of media and the exploitation of tragic events for entertainment are common themes. As viewership of the Hunger Games diminishes, Snow orchestrates a strategy to increase participation by allowing people to place bets and give donations to a tribute of their choice. Through his idea, the media turns the death of children into a spectacle where viewers are encouraged to gamble on the tributes’ survival. With the help of the media, Snow effectively increases viewership by making the stakes more personal and more entertaining.
Additionally, Snow exploits his assigned tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, by having her use her talent for singing to further captivate the audience and increase their engagement with the Hunger Games. He knew that by having her perform, more people would buy-in to the idea of the Hunger Games. This is evident as when she is singing, the number of bets shown on the TV screens soars (00:45:20). This manipulation of the media to enable it to exploit tragedies for entertainment echoes the dystopian themes present throughout the narrative, highlighting the power of the media in perpetuating control over the masses.
4. Ethical Questions Raised Through Snow’s Character Development
As the film progresses, Snow’s character descends deeper into evil, displaying the psychological dynamics of ambition and its corrosive impact on morality. As Grant states, “Genre movies take such social debates and tensions and cast them into formulaic narratives, condensing them into dramatic conflicts between individual characters and society or heroes and villains” (Grant, 16). Examining the character of Snow reveals his descent from a once ambitious and impressionable student who possessed empathy for those categorized as beneath him, into a cunning, self-centered villain, all to regain the power his family lost.
During the beginning of the film, Snow does not exactly agree with the notions set out by the Capitol, decreeing anyone from the districts as a rebel and lesser than as he cheats in the Hunger Games to save Baird. Yet, in the latter half of the film, he abandons any morals he previously had to have his friend, Sejanus Plinth, executed for treason, just to further his power.
However, the greatest indicator of Snow’s regression into villainy is his answer to Dr. Gaul’s question of what the Hunger Games are for. Before the commencement of the games, he answers that they are punishment for the districts’ rebellion. Yet, after Snow returns to the Capitol from his assignment as a peacekeeper in the districts, his answer changes greatly, symbolizing his departure from any empathetic traits he once held. Snow now claims that, “The whole world is an arena. And we need the Hunger Games. Every year. To remind us all who we truly are,” (02:21:35). Further, when asked by Dr. Gaul who he determines himself to be, he answers, “the victor,” (02:21:40). As Snow is answering Dr. Gaul, the shot is taken from a low angle, and he is centred in the screen. The lights around him are dimmed and the camera slowly zooms in on him. This combination of camera angle, shot and movement is done to signify his ascension to power. His change in answer represents his disregard for the human life lost in the games and his willingness to uphold the Capitol’s oppressive regime as long as it renders him as a winner. His response shows how he believes violence is necessary to maintain the Capitol’s power, and instill fear in the districts. Snow’s new reasoning for maintaining the games exposes his moral decline and readiness to forgo his morality for his own selfish instincts and the preservation of his political power. His answer outlines how people can go from youthful idealists into cunning and brutal dictators, underscoring the lengths of depravity they will reach in pursuit of dominance.
4. Conclusion
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes serves as a cautionary tale of how power can corrupt the minds of young utopian visionaries. The desire to have a perfect society quickly falls into the ideals of fascism, and if left unchecked, such goals can lead to the rise of oppressive and authoritarian regimes. Francis Lawrence effectively utilizes elements of narrative, production design, and character evolution to demonstrate how populations can be controlled and oppressed within the framework of a dystopian society while also including components of the science fiction genre. The film actively seeks to critique tyranny and inequality by showing the audience what their collective future can look like if they do not take a stand against fascism in the present day. There are enormous parallels between the dystopian world of Panem and that of the real world, the most prominent being to Nazi Germany. The docility of the media and the role it plays in shaping society is evident in both Panem as well as many dictatorships across the globe. While a fictional character, Corialanus Snow is not the first to be corrupted by the influence of power and he will not be the last. He is merely a representation of what can fester in the mind of someone raised to believe they are above others. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was created to prevent the masses from becoming desensitized to oppression, death and destruction by fascist regimes. It highlights the importance of youth involvement in politics to ensure that their future does not mirror the harrowing realities depicted in the film.
Works Cited
Grant, Barry Keith. Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology, Wallflower, 2007, https://go.exlibris.link/RnQX4nhY.
Haas, Elizabeth, et al. Projecting Politics: Political Messages in American Films, Routledge, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentra-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/lib/ryerson/detail.action?docID=201120
Lawrence, Francis, director. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lionsgate, 2023.
Santesso, Aaron. “Fascism and Science Fiction.” Science-Fiction Studies, vol. 41, no. 1, 2014, pp. 136–162, https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.41.1.0136.