Hunger Games Archives - Lisa Lilly

The Hunger Games: And Still Men Talk More (Women & Men in the Movies No. 11)

admin — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 22:38:56 +0000

This week I’ll look at how women are portrayed, and how they interact with other characters, in the 2012 dystopian thriller The Hunger Games, one of my favorite films. And books for that matter.

(You can find out more about the 3 tests I’ll use in Women, Men, and Movies or just read on.)

The Story

In the future a wealthy capitol city governs twelve districts that once rebelled against it. As payback, the Capitol requires each district to draw names of one boy and one girl—called Tributes—each year to battle to the death in a staged reality show/pageant.

Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who lives in impoverished District 12, volunteers when her little sister’s name is drawn. Katiniss and Peeta, the boy from District 12, become allies, friends, enemies, and love interests as they fight the Tributes from other districts and struggle against the Capitol’s machinations.

Quick Results

Bechdel: Pass

Sexy Lamp: Strong Pass

Mako Mori: Strong Pass

Chasing Bechdel

(Does a (named) female character talk to another named female character about anything other than a man?)

Who’s Talking To Whom About What

Three sets of named female characters talk to one another about something other than a man. I was surprised, however, at how many more one-on-one male conversations there are than female-to-female given that The Hunger Games features a female lead and a large cast of both male and female characters.

Here’s the breakdown:

Women To Women

Katniss and her sister, Prim, talk about:

the Hunger Games
how Tributes are chosen
Prim’s nightmare
singing
a Mockingjay pin

Effie (a mentor for the games) and Katniss talk about:

Katniss volunteering to save Prim
an interview where Katniss does a good job

Rue, a young female Tribute, and Katniss talk about:

getting food
their districts
healing wounds with plants
strategy
Peeta
signaling one another through Mockingjays
Rue’s fatal injuries (Katniss sings to her)

The rest of the one-on-one conversations between female characters include one or more who are never named.

For instance, Katniss and her mother, who is unnamed, talk about:

the Hunger Games
the way mom shut down after Katniss’ father’s death
how to survive while Katniss is gone
clothes for the Reaping Day

Katniss’ mom and Prim talk about:

clothes for the Reaping Day
Prim looking pretty

Also, Katniss talks to an unnamed female vendor about the Mockingjay pin and trading.

Men To Men

TV personality Caesar and gamemaker Seneca Crane talk about:

past and current games
the Rebellion
the Tributes
Katniss volunteering

Caesar and another announcer, Claudius, talk about:

the Tributes
the victors
the crowd size
the history of the games
costumes and stylists

Seneca Crane and President Snow talk about:

Katniss
why the games have a victor
hope
underdogs
containing potential rebellions

Peeta and Haymitch (a mentor to Katniss and Peeta) talk about:

how to survive

Caesar and Peeta talk about:

the Capitol
Peeta’s feelings for Katniss

Haymitch and Seneca Crane talk about:

giving the crowds something to root for

Women And Men

Katniss and Peeta talk about many topics, including:

their mentor Haymitch
seeking help
strategy
who is stronger
Peeta’s declaration of feelings for Katniss
injuries
other Tributes, including Rue
their families
remaining true to themselves
winning
how much to risk to get medical supplies
their childhoods
hunting
food and plants
surviving

Katniss and her friend Gale talk about:

hunting
killing animals versus people
the games
selling to Peacekeepers
their families
running away
getting food
caring for Katniss’ family when she’s gone

Haymitch and Katniss talk about:

that he believes she can win
strategy
the consequences of making the Capitol look bad

Katniss and Cinna (the stylist who designs her clothes) talk about:

being likable
interviewing
sponsors
making an impression
Katniss being brave and volunteering
making friends
costumes
his faith in her

Caesar and Katniss talk about:

the flames under her costumes
her promise to Prim that she’ll try to win
her nervousness being on stage

Many other conversations occur between mixed groups of male and female characters.

For example, Haymitch talks with Peeta and Katniss about strategy, sponsors, and their skills, as does Effie. Peeta talks with a group of Tributes about hunting Katniss. The same group talks about Peeta when he’s not there and about strategy.

Conclusion

The Hunger Games passes the Bechdel Test.

In one of the earliest scenes Katniss talks to her sister, Prim, about the games. During the games, Katniss allies herself with Rue, a girl about Prim’s age. While the two talk about Peeta, they mainly talk about strategy and survival. Katniss also has a couple one-line conversations with Effie.

Women v. Sexy Lamps

(can a female character be replaced by a sexy lamp without affecting the plot?)

No question Katniss drives the story rather than solely being an object for male characters to protect, chase, or attack. She promises her sister to try to win. She knows how to (and does) hunt, forage for food, fight, protect others, protect herself, and outwit enemies.

While Peeta falls in love with her and that has some effect on both their fortunes in the game, Katniss’ storyline turns on her ability to survive, fight, make alliances, connect with people, play a part, and be herself.

Conclusion

The Hunger Games passes the Sexy Lamp Test.

Mako Mori

(does a female character have her own narrative arc that does not support a man’s story line?)

Yes, for the same reasons in the Sexy Lamp Test above.

Also, interestingly, here it is Peeta’s storyline that supports Katniss’. He feels he has no chance, while Katniss does. His approach is to help her and/or to hide from others. Without her, he probably couldn’t survive.

In many ways, Haymitch’s storyline also supports Katniss’ story. True, Haymitch has his own arc. He allows himself to hope that, for once, one of his Tributes will survive. But it’s Katniss more so than Peeta who sparks that hope and feeds it.

Without Katniss, there’s no story for Haymitch or Peeta.

Conclusion

The Hunger Games passes the Mako Mori Test.

Did I Like It

I love so much about The Hunger Games, including Katniss as a hero. I’ve probably watched it three or four times in addition to the first viewing in the theater. Before that I read the book, which I also love.

Along with being a great story with compelling characters, The Hunger Games highlights a lot of issues women face.

Without being heavy handed, the film shows us how much more time and effort Katniss must spend on her appearance and also the double standard that requires her to be both fierce/scary to other Tributes and approachable/likable.

Coming Soon

Not sure, but I keep hearing good things about the horror film Jennifer’s Body. So I’m thinking about that next.

You might also like:

Avengers: Infinity War – Women Talk, Men Talk More, & Everyone Fights (Women & Men in the Movies No. 7)

The Terminator: Men Talk, A Woman Fights (Women & Men in the Movies No. 5)

Terminator 2: Sarah, Action Hero, But… (Women & Men in the Movies No. 6)

Leia Says Little In The Last Jedi (Women & Men in the Movies No. 9)

Annihilation: Five Women And The Unknown (Women, Men, and Movies No. 4)

Ex Machina: If An A.I. Were A Woman (Women, Men, and Movies No. 3)

The post The Hunger Games: And Still Men Talk More (Women & Men in the Movies No. 11) appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

The Workplace, Veterans, PTSD, & The Mockingjay

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:08:00 +0000

Over the last week, I rewatched the Hunger Games movies. (CAUTION: Some spoilers ahead.) In the beginning of Mockingjay Part One, hero Katniss Everdeen, survivor of two battles to the death, hides in a narrow corridor, rocking and whispering the few facts she remembers, desperate to reorient herself. The scene reminded me of a question a friend asked me after I saw the film at the theater. She hadn’t seen it yet, but she’d heard other moviegoers say they did not like it as much as the previous two Hunger Games films because, in this installment, Katniss seemed weak.

Having just read an article on veterans and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it occurred to me on rewatching Mockingjay Part One that Katniss suffers from PTSD. In her two times in the arena, Katniss sees people killed right in front of her, including a little girl she thought of as a younger sister, and she kills others to defend herself, Peeta, and her allies. She sets off an explosion that causes her to lose her hearing in one ear (though the hearing loss is omitted from the movies). These are all experiences that can cause PTSD, especially close proximity to explosions.

The symptoms of PTSD include many of those we see Katniss exhibit in Mockingjay Part One and, to a lesser extent, in Catching Fire. Flashbacks, disturbing dreams, severe emotional distress on being reminded of anything related to the trauma, negative feelings about self, overwhelming guilt (think of how angry and upset Katniss feels over being rescued from the arena while Peeta was not), trouble concentrating, angry outbursts, and feelings of hopelessness. Fellow survivor Finnick Odair, also shattered by the experience, tells Katniss with conviction that they’d be better off dead.

I admire Suzanne Collins for delving into the consequences of war. Both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the first two films, depict the pageantry of war. Young people are sent to fight battles with everyone knowing how many of them will die. (Further, those in lower income brackets are the most likely to “volunteer,” as each time a family puts its child’s name in the reaping, it gets extra rations some need to survive.) Catching Fire and the third film, Mockingjay Part One, show the severe effects of combat on the survivors. These consequences are particularly striking seen against the propaganda both sides engage in during Mockingjay. While obviously Katniss Everdeen is a fictional character, that some audience members might see her as as weak when she exhibits those effects made me think about our culture’s views of strength, weakness, and emotional and mental challenges.

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People who live with PTSD, depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues also face the challenge of how others see them. Despite greater awareness, many people still see emotional or mental illnesses as a form of weakness. I am a fan of many self-help guides and methods, and I use techniques I’ve learned regarding meditation, goal setting, and being aware of what questions I ask myself to feel my best and achieve as much as possible. But versions of these techniques and their related messages often trickle into popular culture in an oversimplified form. We are told that your life circumstances are those that you’ve created, as if we had complete control; that you get what you focus on; that the world returns to you what you put out into it; and that if you are struggling with anything from low earnings to depression to difficult relationships, it’s all your own doing. Further, improving anything is solely a matter of the adopting the correct mindset, evoking the right emotional state, or taking a more spiritual path. These advice soundbites can leave those facing challenges that can’t be addressed through a change of individual mindset or habits alone feeling guilt and shame over not being able to “pull themselves together” or “get over it.”

Reactions to Katniss are also, I suspect, grounded in cultural stereotyping of certain emotions as feminine or masculine. When Katniss cries uncontrollably and is distracted and depressed, President Coin of the rebellion sees her as weak. When she expresses anger, even against the President, she’s seen as a strong symbol for the rebellion. This is not so far off from norms for girls and boys, and women and men. Boys are socialized not to cry but are allowed to express anger while girls are taught that crying is acceptable, but showing anger is inappropriate. Because of this socialization, many women report that they cry when they’re angry, making dealing with workplace disagreements particularly challenging. A man who raises his voice to a coworker in anger or slams a poorly written report by a subordinate down on the conference table never risks being seen as weak. A woman who cries in the same context will likely never be seen as a leader. She might not even be seen as competent.

I saw shades of this in my past life as a large law firm litigator. In a retreat for senior associates, a consultant advised that if a junior lawyer came to your office, started talking about a work problem, and began to cry, you should immediately leave to give her a chance to compose herself because the woman crying would be embarrassed and also needed to learn to manage her emotions better. Talking while calm is a good idea, but the idea of standing up and walking out on someone who starts to cry strikes me as awful in most circumstances. I did not hear any similar advice given about men who became angry, though women were cautioned against expressing anger too often or too strongly given the likelihood of being perceived as a bitch. Recently I read a woman blogger who said that her new plan is that every time a man shouts in the workplace, she’s going to say, “I can’t talk to you when you’re so emotional. Please come see me when you compose yourself.” If that starts happening, I will be more OK with the advice about walking away from a woman who cries. But the reality is still that expressing emotion through tears is seen as weak, while expressing anger, for men, is seen as empowering.

It’s a stretch to imagine that The Hunger Games books and movies can change that. But I love that in Katniss, we have an action hero who shows the real effects of what she’s been through. Rather than being stoic, she cries and shouts, falls apart when confronted with certain scenarios, and eventually finds her way through–not by toughing it out, but through finding a sense of purpose and with the aid of medical help and friends. Perhaps her story will open the way for more heroes, real and fictional, of any gender, to express all types of emotion.

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Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you’d like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.

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