Catching Fire does a good job in reflecting real life current events into the film. Throughout watching this film, now with a more critical eye, it was easier for me to see the connections among RCG and the events that are currently happening in society. This film made it very obvious that we are a class divided society. Whether is be colors, costumes, or simply the characters themselves, it was easy to pick up what class/district each character was from. Pop-culture such as TV, proves to be such an important aspect to those of Panem when many of them are watching people fight to the death for entertainment.
The most moving representation of RCG in the film was the act of police brutality. Although this movie came out in 2013, police brutality has been going on far before this film. I think that this subject really connects with what is going on in society. In the scene where Katniss is about to go in the arena and Cinna is saying good-bye to her and he is taken and brutally beaten for no good reason (from what I understood). Not to mention that Cinna is a person of color, this act of inhumane treatment can be seen in society as well. On this same topic, I thought it was interesting that the “police-force” in this movie was dressed in all white. Usually white is used as a sign of being “pure.” I didn’t find anything in this movie that they did “pure.” Although it’s a touchy subject, I think it is important that they included this in the movie because this movie is awfully similar to what our society is facing. When making an act of defiance, the Peacekeepers do not tolerate this.
As mentioned above, the force that the “Peacekeepers” in Catching Fire are not keeping the peace, in fact, they are disrupting it. This article, (although about all 3 Hunger Games films), really shows the connection between the world of Panem, and where we are now in society. From both the film and the article, it is known that the Panem (mostly the capitol) broadcasts even the most violent deaths to the public for entertainment. I find this very disturbing. It also discusses the close relation to how the media is a major source for viewing the validity of a certain situation.
When talking about the rhetorical situation, I think that besides this movie being based off a book, the purpose of this piece of text is super important because it is trying to communicate with the audience about many things regarding RCG, including police brutality.
Attention!!! This may be a touchy subject for some. https://oliviaacole.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/white-rage-the-hunger-games-and-the-lack-of-justice-for-eric-garner/
-Kaitlyn Leigh
kaitlynleighblog 