Examples Of Marxism In The Hunger Games

2257 Words10 Pages
The Hunger Games is a science fiction and adventure film, based on the novel written by Suzanne Collins, which explores concepts of Marxism and numerous aspects of its principles through the dystopian world of Panem. The Hunger Games follows Marxist theories on bourgeoisie and proletariat class structure as well as capitalist production and the distribution of good. Thelma and Louise, a 1991 film directed by Ridley Scott, is often referred to by critics as “the ultimate feminist film”. This film in bare essence is a buddy road film, of which the two protagonists set out together on an adventure. Through this adventure we explore theories of feminism such as social roles and views of society on women at the time. Gary Ross’s “The Hunger Games”…show more content…
Forced to watch the broadcasted hunger games, the citizens of each district are being ideologically controlled by commercialised mass media in the form of an entertaining game show. This is a tactic used by the Capitol to manipulate and distract the proletariat class from confronting the injustice and not only to keep them from potentially rebelling again, but to serve as a reminder of that past failed rebellion. Along with these forms of manipulation, in the film President Snow states, “Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it's contained”. This is another method utilised by the Capitol in order to keep the proletariat class in line by the controlling in social organisation and ruling principles, beliefs by Marx. By ruling a government that controls everything and allowing the citizens of the districts to live with a glimmer of hope in them, Snow believes he can prevent the citizens of Panem from revolting once…show more content…
Annette Kuhn expresses her views on society’s image as “culturally dominant representation of women with a tendency to emphasise the concepts of image and role”. This point is made clear throughout the film by the amount of times Thelma and Louise are seen fixing up lipstick, hair and makeup. It is shown that females in general hold this image to a standard themselves, shown specifically in the bar scene where Louise is seen fighting other women to get in front of the mirror to fix up her lipstick. A major turning point for Louise is when she is sitting in the car while two elderly ladies stare out at her from a beauty salon. Louise is wearing no make-up and slightly messy hair, while the two elderly ladies are dressed rather sophisticatedly with makeup. Louise pulls out her lipstick to apply and fix up her image, said by Bernie Cook to be a conventional gesture involving the cosmetic application of femininity, looking into the passenger’s side mirror to apply the lipstick. In a significant moment, Louise decides to toss the lipstick out of the car, casting away the symbol for of

    More about Examples Of Marxism In The Hunger Games

      Open Document